How many practice hours do you need in Texas?
In Texas, a learner driver must log 30 hours of supervised driving practice—including 10 at night—before applying for a license.
Texas learner permit requirements
- Minimum permit age: 15
- Supervised practice required: 30 hours total, 10 at night (what counts as night driving)
- Permit hold period: 6 months
- License eligibility age: 16
- How hours are certified: Behind-the-wheel instruction log from your approved driver-education program. DriveMint fills in the DES150N 30-Hour Behind-the-Wheel Log from your logged drives (see every state form).
Driver licensing in Texas is handled by the Department of Public Safety (DPS). The 30 hours of behind-the-wheel practice are completed through an approved driver-education program; the Impact Texas Teen Drivers (ITTD) course is also required.
When can you drive with a permit in Texas?
Texas sets no curfew for learner license holders. With a qualified adult in the front passenger seat, you can practice at any hour. The midnight–5 a.m. limit applies to provisional drivers under 18, and it lifts when that same kind of adult rides along.
With a licensed driver 21 or older, with at least a year of experience, in the front passenger seat.
Same as daytime. There's no learner curfew.
Alone, with no more than one passenger under 21 who isn't family.
Only with that kind of adult beside you, or when driving for work, a school-related activity or a medical emergency.
- The adult beside a learner commits an offense if they sleep, are intoxicated, or are doing something that keeps them from supervising.
- Drivers under 18 can't use a phone at all while driving, hands-free included, except in an emergency. That applies to learners with an adult beside them too.
- Work on a family farm counts as employment for the curfew exception. Police can't stop a driver only to check these under-18 rules.
With no learner curfew, the 10 night hours fit any evening after dark. Winter makes them easy: sunset is before 6 p.m. across Texas in December.
Checked against Texas Transportation Code §545.424 in October 2026. Limits after the road test are under restrictions for new drivers.
Requirements change and have exceptions. Always confirm the current rules with the Texas DPS before applying.
Need driver ed in Texas? You can take it online
Texas teens under 18 must complete an approved driver-ed course — including parent-taught options you can take entirely online.
Take Texas driver ed online with Aceable →Disclosure: we may earn a commission if you enroll through this link—at no extra cost to you. It doesn't affect our recommendations.
Texas's graduated licensing stages
Drive only with a licensed adult 21+ in the front passenger seat; complete driver ed and 30 hours of practice (10 at night).
Issued after holding the learner license 6 months; night and passenger limits apply until 18.
Provisional restrictions are removed.
Driving restrictions for new Texas drivers
Until 18, a provisional license holder can't drive between midnight and 5 a.m. unless it's for work, a school-related activity or a medical emergency, or a licensed adult 21+ with a year of experience sits beside them.
Until 18, you can't carry more than one passenger under 21 who isn't a family member, unless a licensed adult 21+ with a year of experience sits beside you.
Drivers under 18 may not use any wireless communication device while driving.
Log every Texas practice hour automatically
DriveMint tracks each supervised drive, separates day and night hours, and generates a PDF you can print or show at the DMV. Prove all 30 hours without a paper logbook falling apart in the glove box.
New to DriveMint? Watch the one-minute video guides, from setup to a signed log.
Texas driving practice FAQs
How many driving hours do you need in Texas?+
Texas requires 30 hours of supervised driving practice, including 10 hours at night, before a teen can apply for a license.
What time can you drive with a permit in Texas?+
Texas puts no time-of-day limit on a learner license. A learner can drive at any hour as long as the person in the front passenger seat is licensed for the vehicle, 21 or older, and has at least one year of driving experience. Texas law bars drivers under 18 from driving between midnight and 5 a.m., but that rule doesn't apply while they're accompanied that way. In practice it limits provisional license holders: until 18, they can't drive without that adult from midnight to 5 a.m. unless it's for work, a school-related activity or a medical emergency.
Do I have to take driver education in Texas?+
Yes — applicants under 18 must complete an approved driver-education course, which includes the behind-the-wheel practice requirement.
Is the practice-hour requirement 30 or more hours?+
Approved programs require at least 30 hours of behind-the-wheel practice, including 10 at night, logged and certified by the supervising adult.
Requirements in other states
Compare practice hours in all 50 states side by side, or read what actually counts as a night driving hour.