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Florida, what to bring, under 18

What to bring for the Florida permit test if you are under 18

A Florida learner's license applicant under 18 needs three Florida-specific things beyond identity documents. First, proof of a 6-hour Driver Education Traffic Safety (DETS) course: the learner's license statute, s. 322.1615(1)(c) as rewritten by ch. 2025-104, has required a department-approved driver education course since it took effect on July 1, 2025, and FLHSMV has required DETS since August 1, 2025 of applicants under 18 who have never held a driver license from any other state, country or jurisdiction. Second, a parental consent form, required for any applicant who is under 18 and unmarried. Third, you must be at least 15. If you took the exam online through an approved third-party administrator, add the Parent Proctoring Form (HSMV 71144), signed in front of a driver license examiner or notarized; your parent or guardian will also have entered a valid Florida driver license number when the online exam began. Checked in September 2026. Be aware that some FLHSMV pages, including the Class E Knowledge Exam page, still describe the old four hour TLSAE course; the statute, the teen licensing page and the DETS page are the current authority.

Source: FLHSMV teen licensing requirements and Driver Education Traffic Safety (DETS) page; Florida Statutes s. 322.1615(1)(c) (ch. 2025-104), checked September 25, 2026.

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Is the old 4-hour course still enough, or do I bring DETS proof?

In September 2026 you bring Driver Education Traffic Safety (DETS) completion. FLHSMV's DETS page says that from August 1, 2025, anyone under 18 who has never held a driver license anywhere must finish a 6-hour DETS course before applying. The old 4-hour Traffic Law and Substance Abuse Education (TLSAE) course only counts for teens who finished it before that date, and FLHSMV honors those certificates for one year after completion, so the last of them ran out on July 31, 2026.

The rule sits in s. 322.1615(1)(c) of the 2026 Florida Statutes, rewritten by ch. 2025-104 (Senate Bill 994), which took effect on July 1, 2025. FLHSMV began applying it on August 1, 2025. The statute asks for a department-approved course at or above the Florida Department of Education 1900300 course description, and FLHSMV's DETS FAQ defines DETS as a 6-hour course built to that standard. A DOE 1900300 or 1900310 class, or a DELAP course at a participating high school, may substitute. DELAP's own FAQ has not caught up: it still says DOE curriculum covers the TLSAE material, wording written before DETS existed.

  • TLSAE finished before August 1, 2025: usable for one year after the completion date. A teen with no Florida driver license by the end of that year has to take DETS.
  • TLSAE finished on or after August 1, 2025: does not meet the under-18 rule unless you were enrolled in a 1900300, 1900310 or DELAP course.
  • A valid out-of-state license, or a Florida learner's license issued before August 1, 2025: FLHSMV says the DETS change does not affect either group.
Some FLHSMV pages still describe TLSAE for teens

The Class E Knowledge Exam page opens with a TLSAE section, and the first question on the teen FAQ still asks how to take TLSAE. Both predate the change. The teen licensing page, which lists DETS completion as a learner's license requirement, the DETS page and the 2026 statute are the current rule for first-time applicants under 18.

Which parent forms do I need on exam day, and which ones wait?

At the learner's license visit you need Parental Consent Form 71142. Certification of Minor Driving Experience Form 71143 waits until you apply for the Class E license, once the 50 practice hours are done.

FLHSMV's teen licensing page asks for a signed or notarized consent form from every applicant under 18, and both that page and Required Forms for Teens bar a step-parent from signing unless they have legally adopted the child. For an unmarried applicant under 18, the parent or legal guardian signs the application in front of a driver license examiner or a notary public. The signature carries weight: s. 322.09(2) imputes any negligence or willful misconduct by the minor while driving on a highway to the signer, who becomes jointly and severally liable with the minor for the damages it causes. The forms page adds that a signer can withdraw consent by letter to the department, and the minor's license is then canceled.

Forms for a Florida learner's license under 18
  • Parental Consent Form 71142

    Required for the learner's license. Signed in front of an examiner or before a notary. Step-parents cannot sign unless they adopted the minor.

  • Parent/Guardian On-line Test Proctoring Form 71144

    Only if the Class E Knowledge Exam was taken online through a third-party administrator. Signed in front of a driver license examiner, or notarized if the parent will not be there.

  • Certification of Minor Driving Experience Form 71143

    Not for this visit. It comes later, with the Class E license application, and certifies 50 hours of driving with at least 10 at night.

  • Marriage certificate or emancipation order

    Only if you claim the exception. Married minors show a certified marriage certificate and emancipated minors a certified court order. Section 322.09(1)(a) exempts a minor emancipated by marriage from the parent signature.

Form numbers from FLHSMV Required Forms for Teens. Signer liability: s. 322.09(2).

What identity, Social Security and address papers does Florida actually accept?

Primary identification is one original document showing your complete name: a U.S. birth certificate issued by a county health department or the CDC Bureau of Vital Statistics (hospital-issued certificates are refused), a valid U.S. passport or passport card, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship. A Puerto Rico birth certificate must carry an issue date after July 1, 2010. Social Security proof is a second original: a Social Security card in your current name, a W-2 or 1099 that is not handwritten, an SSA-1099, or a pay stub.

Residential address takes two different documents with a Florida address. Printouts and faxes are fine, but FLHSMV no longer accepts an out-of-state address for a Class E license, and many listed documents, such as utility bills and bank statements, must be dated within the last 60 days. A 15-year-old with nothing in their own name can lean on the adult they live with: that person completes Certification of Address form HSMV-71120 with two of their own address documents, then either comes to the office or signs the form before a notary. For a minor's original license, s. 322.09(1)(b) separately requires a certified U.S. birth certificate, a valid U.S. passport, or one of the Department of Homeland Security documents it lists.

A residential street lined with houses and parked cars in Key West, Florida
A residential street lined with houses and parked cars in Key West, FloridaPhoto: Julian Lupyan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Can I sit the knowledge exam before my 15th birthday?

Yes, through a DELAP high school class, but the learner's license itself still waits for your 15th birthday. FLHSMV's DELAP FAQ allows the Class E knowledge exam at 14 and holds the license back until 15. The statutes set that floor twice, in s. 322.1615(1) and s. 322.05(1).

A DELAP sitting is the Class E Knowledge Exam: 50 multiple-choice questions with 40 correct (80 percent) needed, per FLHSMV's Class E page, and the driver education teacher enters the result into FLHSMV's test records. On language, go by the Class E page, which says English only. FLHSMV announced on January 30, 2026 that its exams would be given only in English starting February 6, 2026, so the DELAP FAQ's line about audio and several languages is out of date. Vision and hearing, required by s. 322.1615(1)(b) and s. 322.12(3)(a), are tested at a service center even after a DELAP or online pass. School attendance is a separate gate: s. 322.09(3) bars a learner's license for a minor who is out of compliance with s. 322.091, which requires school enrollment and attendance or one of its listed alternatives, such as a diploma or a hardship waiver.

What a Florida 15-year-old is actually collecting
  1. Age 14
    DELAP exam only

    A DELAP class may give the Class E Knowledge Exam. No learner's license yet.

  2. Age 15
    Learner's license

    DETS or a qualifying school course, Form 71142, identity papers, vision, hearing, and the 50-question exam if it is not already on file.

  3. First 3 months
    Daylight only

    Every trip needs a licensed driver aged 21 or over in the nearest right-hand seat. Section 322.1615(2) and (3).

  4. After 3 months
    Until 10 p.m.

    Same adult in the right-hand seat. Still a learner's license, not a Class E license.

  5. Age 16, after 12 months
    Class E license

    Form 71143 (50 hours, 10 at night), no moving traffic conviction in that year, and the driving skills test.

Ages and hours from ss. 322.1615 and 322.05 and FLHSMV teen licensing.

If I already passed online, what extra form do I bring to pick up the card?

Bring Parent/Guardian On-line Test Proctoring Form 71144. The parent or guardian signs it in front of a driver license examiner, or has it notarized if they will not come to the office. FLHSMV's Class E page opens online testing to applicants under 18 through approved third-party administrators and makes the proctoring form a condition of it.

The form closes a loop that s. 322.56(8) opens. Before the online exam starts, a parent, guardian or other responsible adult who qualifies under s. 322.09 gives the administrator their driver license number and promises to watch the sitting. Before FLHSMV issues the learner's license, the same adult certifies that they did. Your score travels on its own: the teen FAQ says vendors and DELAP send results electronically, so no printout is needed. What can still happen is a spot check. FLHSMV cites s. 322.56(3)(b) and (e) for random no-fee re-tests of third-party passes at a driver license or tax collector office before the license is issued, and failing one means a re-exam fee at your next attempt.

What does the learner's license cost, and what does a failed attempt add?

The learner's license falls under the $48.00 Original Class E fee on FLHSMV's fee schedule, the same $48 set by s. 322.21(1)(b). A tax collector office must charge a $6.25 service fee, no more than once per visit, under s. 322.135(1)(c), and veterans who show the listed proof are exempt. A failed knowledge exam adds $10.00 for each later attempt under s. 322.12(1). The Class E page, the teen FAQ and the fee schedule set no gap between knowledge attempts and no maximum number of them, so for a teen the retake fee is the only published cost of failing the knowledge exam.

Florida figures that affect a teen on exam day
Original Class E, including learner's license48 USD
Tax collector service fee, if that office issues the card6.25 USD
Knowledge retest after a failed attempt10 USD
DETS completion certificate3 USD
Fees from s. 322.21(1)(b), s. 322.12(1), the FLHSMV fee schedule and the DETS FAQ. Private DETS tuition is not a state-published figure.
Worked example

Nia, 15, Jacksonville, first learner's license in June 2026

  1. 1Nia Okafor turns 15 on June 10, 2026. Her Duval County high school runs a DOE 1900300 driver education class that takes part in DELAP. On May 14, 2026, while still 14, she sits the Class E Knowledge Exam in that class and scores 42 out of 50, two above the pass line. Her teacher enters the result into FLHSMV's test records.
  2. 2She finishes the class later in May. Because FLHSMV lists DOE 1900300 and DELAP courses as substitutes for DETS, she does not buy a separate 6-hour course, and the old TLSAE course is no longer an option for her.
  3. 3On June 18, 2026 she and her mother, Grace, go to a Duval County tax collector office. Grace signs Form 71142 in front of the examiner. They bring Nia's certified birth certificate from the county health department, her Social Security card and two Florida address documents in Grace's name, and Grace completes Certification of Address HSMV-71120 at the counter, so no notary is needed. Nia passes vision and hearing. The counter takes $54.25: the $48 fee and the $6.25 service fee. Nobody asks for Form 71143.

Outcome. Nia leaves on June 18, 2026 with a learner's license. Through September 18, 2026 she may drive only in daylight, and at every stage a licensed driver 21 or older must sit in the closest seat to the right. Her 50 logged hours for Form 71143 start now. The earliest she can apply for the Class E license is June 18, 2027, when she will be 16, provided the year passes with no moving traffic conviction (s. 322.05(2) tolerates one only when traffic school leads to adjudication being withheld) and she passes the skills test.

What does FLHSMV not publish on this?

A rule on paper DETS certificates. Approved providers report DETS completions electronically, and for the older TLSAE course s. 322.095(10) makes the electronic record the only valid certificate, but FLHSMV states no DETS-specific rule. Check with your provider that the completion was reported before you go.

More questions about this in Florida

Can my step-parent sign the Florida parental consent form?

Not unless that step-parent has legally adopted you. FLHSMV's teen licensing page and its Required Forms for Teens page both rule out step-parents who have not adopted the minor. Section 322.09(1)(a) names the father, mother or guardian, a secondary guardian if the primary guardian dies, or another responsible adult only when there is no parent or guardian. A married minor shows a certified marriage certificate instead of getting that signature.

Do I bring a paper DETS certificate to the Florida office?

FLHSMV publishes no DETS-specific rule on paper certificates. What it does publish: approved providers report DETS completions through the Driver Improvement Certificate Issuance System, the DETS FAQ applies the same certificate requirements used for TLSAE and prices the certificate at $3.00, and for TLSAE s. 322.095(10) makes the electronic record the only valid certificate, with paper ones not acceptable for licensing. The teen licensing page lists proof of DETS completion as a requirement, so check with your provider that the completion was reported before you go.

Will Florida accept my hospital birth certificate for the learner's license?

No. FLHSMV's U.S. Citizen What to Bring page accepts only a birth certificate issued by a county health department or the CDC Bureau of Vital Statistics and says a hospital certificate is not a certified document. Section 322.09(1)(b) separately requires a certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate, a valid U.S. passport or a listed Department of Homeland Security document with a minor's original-license application.

Do I need the 50-hour driving log when I take the Florida permit test?

No. Under s. 322.05(3), the 50 hours, at least 10 of them at night, are a condition of the Class E license for applicants aged 16 or 17. FLHSMV collects that proof on Form 71143 at the upgrade, not when you sit the Class E Knowledge Exam, and a log brought to the learner's license visit does not stand in for Form 71142, DETS completion or the identity papers.

If I am 17 and already have a learner's license, what changes at the full-license visit?

You add Form 71143 (50 hours, 10 at night), you need 12 months on the learner's license unless you turn 18 first, and you pass the Class E Driving Skills Test. The 12 months must be free of moving traffic convictions, except one where adjudication was withheld, and FLHSMV's teen FAQ says a conviction pushes the license back to one year from the conviction date. The upgrade is free if you surrender the learner's license and change neither name nor address; otherwise it costs the $25 replacement fee, plus $6.25 in a tax collector office.

Sources

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How this works in other states

The under-18 stack and the 18-and-over stack for Florida, Texas, California and New York, including REAL ID and name changes. Read the guide.

Written by Vikas. Checked against the source above on September 25, 2026. FLHSMV does not run this site and does not endorse it.