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Texas, supervised driving hours

Texas supervised driving hours, and whether the log is turned in

Texas requires 30 hours of behind-the-wheel practice, of which at least 10 must be at night, before an under-18 provisional license, on top of the driver education course's own 7 hours of in-car instruction and 7 hours of in-car observation. TxDPS lists all three on its provisional license page, and TDLR, which regulates driver education, sets them in its course rule, 16 Texas Administrative Code s. 84.500. The supervising driver must be 21 or older, hold a license for that type of vehicle, have at least one year of driving experience and sit in the seat beside the learner (Transportation Code s. 521.222(d)), and commits an offense by sleeping, being intoxicated or not paying attention (s. 521.222(g)). The learner license must be held at least six months first. On the log itself, TDLR form DES150N tells you to take it to DPS with the course completion certificate, although TxDPS's provisional document list does not name it. Adults aged 18 to 24 on the six-hour adult course have no practice log. Checked in September 2026.

Source: TxDPS, Texas Provisional License as a Teen; Transportation Code s. 521.222; 16 TAC s. 84.500; TDLR form DES150N (rev. December 2024), checked September 25, 2026.

Which TX test do you needTX
EExam simulatorFull TxDPS format: 30 questions, 21 to pass, every answer keyed to a statute.1Warm up runA shorter 20 question run pulled from across the TX bank, for a first look before the full sitting.SSigns and lane markingsSigns, signals and lane markings on their own: 61 questions, the group that costs the most points.LState statute questionsThe 24 rules that belong to Texas alone, each carrying the statute number it was drafted against.
Every Texas test and ruleNo account needed

Do the 7 hours with an instructor count toward the 30?

No. The 30 hours sit on top of the course's own in-car phase of 7 hours of instruction and 7 hours of observation. TDLR's parent-taught behind-the-wheel page and its Driver Education and Safety at a Glance sheet both add them up to 44 hours in the car, on top of at least 24 classroom hours.

The 7 and 7 have to be done with a licensed driver education instructor, or with the parent, guardian, or designated person running a TDLR parent-taught course. The 30 hours do not: TDLR's at-a-glance sheet says they are monitored by the parent or guardian and do not have to come from a licensed provider. 16 Texas Administrative Code s. 84.500 bars simulation from replacing any of the 30. TDLR asks for a separate log of the 30 hours and says a parent-instructor typically does not log the 14 course hours.

Hours Texas counts before a teen provisional license
In-car observation (course)7 hours
Watching the instructor demonstrate
In-car instruction (course)7 hours
You drive, instructor beside you
Daytime practice (of the 30)20 hours
Minimum on TDLR form DES150N
Night practice (of the 30)10 hours
Minimum on TDLR form DES150N
The 7 + 7 is the course's in-car phase. The 30 is extra supervised practice, split on TDLR form DES150N (rev. December 2024) into at least 20 daytime and 10 nighttime hours.

Who can sit beside you, and what can they be charged with?

A licensed driver who is 21 or older, has at least one year of driving experience, holds a license for that type of vehicle, and occupies the seat by the operator. That is Texas Transportation Code s. 521.222(d), and DES150N cites the same subsection for the 30 hours. TxDPS's learner page puts that adult in the front passenger seat. A 19-year-old sibling with a valid license fails the age test, and a qualifying parent in the back seat fails the seat test.

Section 521.222(g) makes it an offense for that adult to sleep, to be intoxicated as defined by Penal Code s. 49.01, or to be engaged in an activity that prevents observing and responding to the driver. Section 521.222 sets no fine of its own. Section 521.461, the general penalty for Chapter 521, makes a violation with no specific penalty a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $200. Section 521.222(h) gives a defense when a second qualifying adult also occupied that seat and was supervising properly.

The adult beside a Texas learner
  • Age 21 or older

    Section 521.222(d)(2)(B).

  • License for that type of vehicle

    Section 521.222(d)(2)(A). For a car, a license that covers cars.

  • At least one year of driving experience

    Section 521.222(d)(2)(C).

  • In the seat beside the driver

    Section 521.222(d)(2). TxDPS: front passenger seat.

  • Awake, sober, and watching

    Sleeping, intoxication, or a distracting activity is an offense under s. 521.222(g).

TDLR's parent-taught page lets any adult who meets these tests ride along for the 30 hours. For a minor, a parent or guardian (or, in a provider course, a designated person) still certifies the hours.

The supervisor can be charged, not only the teen

Texas writes the duty into Transportation Code s. 521.222(g). An adult who dozes off on a late practice drive has committed an offense even if the teen drives perfectly.

Do you hand the 30-hour log to DPS, or is a signature enough?

TDLR's log tells you to take it to DPS, while TxDPS's own document list for the provisional license does not mention it. Both are official and they do not match, so bring it.

TDLR form DES150N (rev. December 2024) is the log. The paragraph under its signature line says to take the log, the DE-964 completion certificate, and the other required documents to DPS once the student is eligible for the provisional license. The certification above it is signed by a parent or guardian, stating that the record is true and that the student completed 30 hours of guided practice with at least 10 at night. The form has the student sign instead when the student is over 18.

TxDPS's teen provisional page (last updated November 27, 2024) lists the DL-14B application, identity documents, the DE-964 or DEE-964 certificate (DE-964E from a public school), a VOE or diploma, the Impact Texas Teen Drivers certificate, and a passed driving test. DES150N is not on it. In TDLR's Driver Education Provider Certificate FAQ (September 2026), DPS says asking for a student's classroom log and in-car log is not a typical requirement and most locations do not, but field staff may ask when a certificate looks questionable. That answer does not name DES150N. The same FAQ says the parent does not sign the certificate at DPS; it is signed once the 30 hours are done. It also leaves it to each driving school whether to check the 30-hour log before issuing the DEE-964, so your school may be the one that asks to see it.

How the 30 hours become a certificate
  1. 1
    Get the learner license first

    16 TAC s. 84.500 requires a valid learner license or driver license in the student's possession during any behind-the-wheel instruction or supervised practice. Transportation Code s. 521.222(d)(1) also makes carrying the learner license a condition of driving on it.

  2. 2
    Log each session on DES150N

    Each row takes a date, a time, daytime or nighttime hours, and the supervising adult's signature and driver license number. Only 2 hours a day count, however long you drove.

  3. 3
    Reach 10 hours at night

    The TOTAL row prints 20 hours minimum daytime and 10 hours minimum nighttime. A log with 30 hours but only 8 of them at night is short.

  4. 4
    A parent or guardian certifies the hours

    For a minor, 16 TAC s. 84.500 requires the 30 hours to be certified by a parent, legal guardian, or designated person. TDLR's provider FAQ says the certificate for the driver license is signed only after the 30 hours are done.

  5. 5
    Take DES150N and the certificate to DPS

    The form says to bring the log. TxDPS lists the certificate, not the log. Carrying both covers you if a specialist asks.

How soon can you finish the 30 hours?

In no fewer than 15 calendar days. DES150N and 16 TAC s. 84.500 both limit supervised practice to 2 hours a day that count, so 4 hours on a Saturday puts only 2 on the log. TDLR's parent-taught behind-the-wheel page states the 15-calendar-day floor.

The log is rarely what holds you back. Transportation Code s. 521.204(b) bars DPS from issuing a Class A, B, or C license other than a hardship license to anyone under 18 who has not held a learner or hardship license for at least six months before applying, and s. 521.204(a)(1) sets a minimum age of 16. You need both. TxDPS's learner page adds that a suspension during the learner period extends the six months by the number of days suspended.

Worked example

Aaliyah, 15, San Antonio, March 2026

  1. 1Aaliyah Carter turns 15 on March 3, 2026. She has finished Module One: Traffic Laws of a TDLR teen course, the point at which 16 TAC s. 84.500(c) lets a student apply for a learner license, and TxDPS issues her learner license in San Antonio on March 10, 2026.
  2. 2She starts the log on March 11. Her uncle Luis is 28 and has held a Texas Class C license for 8 years, so he meets s. 521.222(d). Her sister Ana is 19 with a valid license and does not.
  3. 3Aaliyah logs 2 hours every day. Day 15 is March 25, 2026, and the log then shows 30 hours: 20 in daylight and 10 after dark, matching the DES150N totals.
  4. 4On March 25 she is 15 years and 22 days old. Six months from March 10 is September 10, 2026, but s. 521.204(a)(1) still requires age 16, which she reaches on March 3, 2027.

Outcome. The log is finished almost a year before it matters. Aaliyah's earliest provisional license date is March 3, 2027, provided she still holds a valid learner license, has a DE-964 or DEE-964 certificate for the full teen course, passes the driving test, and completes Impact Texas Teen Drivers within 90 days before that test.

Where the 30 hours sit on the Texas teen path
  1. 14
    Classroom can start

    16 TAC s. 84.500 sets the classroom phase for students age 14 and over.

  2. 15
    Learner license

    After the first classroom block (TxDPS: concurrent 6 hours or block 24 hours). The 30 practice hours can start.

  3. 6 months
    Minimum learner hold

    Transportation Code s. 521.204(b). A suspension adds its days.

  4. 16
    Provisional license

    Age 16, six months held, 44 in-car hours done, driving test passed.

  5. 18
    Learner and provisional expire

    Transportation Code s. 521.271(a) ends both on the 18th birthday.

The 30-hour log is one box on the path from learner to provisional. It does not replace turning 16 or holding the learner license six months.

What does the official Texas log actually want you to practice?

DES150N is not a blank timesheet. It prints ten lesson blocks, each with hour boxes split between a daytime and a nighttime column, plus a column for the adult's signature and license number. The only minimums it states are on the TOTAL row: 20 daytime hours and 10 nighttime hours. The lesson mix is the order TDLR prints, not a separate legal requirement.

Lesson blocks on TDLR form DES150N (rev. December 2024)
Lesson on the formHours shownNight box
Getting ready, starting, placing in motion, and stopping2 hours1 hour
Moving, stopping, steering, knowing where you are3 hours1 hour
Backing1 hour30 minutes
Turning, lane position, and visual skills4 hours1 hour
Searching intended path of travel3 hours1 hour
Parking1 hour30 minutes
Turnabouts2 hours1 hour
Multiple lane roadways4 hours1 hour
City driving5 hours1 hour 30 minutes
Expressway and freeway driving5 hours1 hour 30 minutes

Hour boxes as printed on TDLR form DES150N. They add to 30 hours, 10 of them in the night column.

Light trails from traffic on Interstate 35 in Austin, Texas, at night
Light trails from traffic on Interstate 35 in Austin, Texas, at nightPhoto: Maxx@night from Austin, Texas. USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Neither TxDPS nor TDLR defines night for the log. Texas law does define nighttime, as the period from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, but Transportation Code s. 541.401 applies that definition only to the rules-of-the-road subtitle, not to Chapter 521 or to TDLR's course rule. Night hours logged inside that window meet the strictest reading.

If you are 18 to 24, do you still log 30 hours?

Not on the adult route. Transportation Code s. 521.1601 requires a driver education certificate from anyone under 25, and from age 18 it accepts TDLR's course exclusively for adults. TDLR's Program of Organized Instruction for that course (May 2026) sets six clock hours of classroom instruction, with no in-car phase and no practice log.

An 18- to 24-year-old can take the full teen course instead, and TDLR's provider FAQ says that student receives the DEE-964. 16 TAC s. 84.500 lists the 30 hours as part of that course and asks for a parent's certification only when the student is a minor, which is why DES150N has the student sign after 18. TDLR's student FAQ closes two shortcuts: teen classroom hours cannot be counted toward the 6-hour adult course, so a student who turns 18 partway through finishes the teen program or takes the full adult course, and out-of-state hours do not transfer to Texas.

Who Texas asks to log 30 supervised hours
ApplicantDriver education30-hour practice logSix-month learner hold
Under 18Teen course: at least 24 classroom hours plus 7 + 7 in-car (16 TAC s. 84.500)Yes. At least 10 at night, certified by a parent or guardian.Yes. s. 521.204(b), plus age 16.
18 to 24, adult courseAdult course: 6 classroom hours (TDLR POI; hours set by rule under Education Code s. 1001.1015)No. The adult course has no practice log.No. s. 521.204 covers applicants under 18.
18 to 24, teen courseFull teen course, accepted by s. 521.1601(a)(1)Part of the course. The student signs DES150N.No.
25 or older, first Texas licenseNone required by s. 521.1601No.No.

Section 521.1601(b) exempts anyone holding a valid license from another state from the under-25 rule. Under 18, s. 521.204(a)(2) still lists a driver education certificate, while TDLR's driver education checker tells a teen with a valid license from another state that no Texas course is needed.

What does TxDPS not publish on this?

Whether an office will actually ask for the log. TDLR's form says to bring it, but DPS, quoted in TDLR's September 2026 provider FAQ, says asking for a student's classroom and in-car logs is not a typical requirement and most locations do not, without naming DES150N, so it is not settled when a specialist will want to see the sheet.

More questions about this in Texas

Can a 19-year-old sibling supervise my Texas learner practice?

No. Texas Transportation Code s. 521.222(d) requires the person beside a learner to be 21 or older, licensed for that type of vehicle, and to have at least one year of driving experience. A 19-year-old fails the age test however clean the license. The adult also has to sit in the seat by the driver, which TxDPS's learner page describes as the front passenger seat.

Does simulator time count toward the 30 Texas practice hours?

No. 16 Texas Administrative Code s. 84.500 says simulation hours must not be substituted for the 30 hours of supervised practice. Simulators can only stand in for part of the course's separate 7 + 7 hours: four simulator periods of at least 55 minutes count as one hour, and at least 4 hours must still be actual in-car instruction and observation.

Can I log Texas practice hours before I have a learner license?

No. 16 Texas Administrative Code s. 84.500 requires a valid learner license or driver license in the student's possession during any behind-the-wheel instruction or supervised practice. Classroom work can start at 14, but the in-car hours wait until TxDPS issues the learner license, and TDLR's parent-taught behind-the-wheel page starts driving instruction only once the student has it.

If I turn 18 during a Texas teen course, can I switch to the 6-hour adult course with credit?

No. TDLR's student FAQ states that teen classroom hours cannot be applied to the 6-hour adult course. You complete the full teen program or the full adult course. Either one satisfies Transportation Code s. 521.1601, which requires a driver education certificate until you turn 25.

Do practice hours from another state count in Texas?

No. TDLR's student FAQ states that out-of-state hours do not transfer, and that you enroll in a Texas driver education program to complete the classroom and driving requirements for a Texas learner license and driver license. Holding a valid license from another state is a different case: s. 521.1601(b) lifts the under-25 course rule for that person. For a teen the two official answers differ, because s. 521.204(a)(2) lists a driver education certificate for a Class C under 18 and TDLR's checker says a valid license from another state means no Texas course, so ask DPS before you enroll.

What if my Texas learner license is suspended during the six-month hold?

The wait gets longer. TxDPS's learner page states that a suspension during the learner period extends the initial six months by the number of days suspended. For a learner license issued March 10, a 30-day suspension moves the six-month mark from September 10 to October 10, and the teen must also be 16 by then.

Sources

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