How to get a driver's license in Indiana

Eighty percent on each half, with no averaging between them

The BMV's knowledge-exam page and the Driver's Manual describe the same test from two directions. The page says the exam is multiple choice, divided into two sections concerning traffic maneuvers and knowledge of types of traffic signs, and that eighty percent or higher correct responses on each component must be achieved to pass. The manual's Chapter 9 opens the sample-question set by naming the same two components and pointing each one at a chapter: signs at Chapter 6, traffic rules and laws at Chapters 6, 7 and 8. Chapter 1 adds what the exam is drawn from — Indiana law, defensive driving practices and the manual itself — and that you have to be able to read and understand regulatory, warning and traffic signs and signals. The study map, in other words, is published in detail. The length is not.

Neither the knowledge-exam page nor the 84-page manual we extracted on August 20, 2026 states a total number of questions for the learner's-permit and driver's-license exam. The only question counts that manual gives anywhere sit in Chapter 9 and belong to endorsement exams: it introduces the for-hire sample set and the motor-driven-cycle sample set with the same sentence, that the exam consists of 25 questions of which you can only miss five in order to pass. This site models Indiana's car exam at about 50 questions and treats about 40 correct answers as the practice target. That pairing is our arithmetic on an unpublished total, not a BMV figure, and it is deliberately a study target rather than a prediction. What the BMV publishes is the shape and the bar, and the bar applies to each component separately rather than to the paper as a whole.

The exam is computer-based and you sit it at a BMV branch. There is no appointment to book for an ordinary attempt, but there is a clock: the knowledge-exam page, the learner's-permit page and the driver's-license page all repeat that you must arrive at the branch at least 30 minutes before it closes to take the exam that day. Several situations do need one. The learner's-permit page says you need an appointment if you need to have the exam read to you, and the driver's-license page extends that to applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing, with appointments made by a branch manager or through the BMV Contact Center at 1-888-692-6841. The knowledge-exam page adds American Sign Language as an appointment in its own right rather than a footnote to the others: an ASL translator is scheduled at any branch or through the Contact Center at 888-692-6841, the exam cannot be taken on the same day it is scheduled, and only one interpreter is allowed per customer.

The BMV's list of languages the knowledge exam is offered in runs to nineteen, with Spanish among them, and American Sign Language sits below that list as the separate scheduled arrangement described above rather than as a twentieth language. A pass is worth something for a while: the knowledge-exam page says results are valid for 180 days. A failure costs you a day rather than a week — fail the knowledge exam and you wait until the next business day before taking another one.

Fifteen buys a permit only if a school has already enrolled you

Indiana opens the learner's permit at fifteen, but only through a driver training school. The learner's-permit page says you may obtain a permit at fifteen if you are enrolled in an approved behind-the-wheel training course and can show a valid Certificate of Driver Education from the course provider proving that enrollment. The manual tightens the paperwork: the certificate must be dated no earlier than three weeks prior to the start of the class, and the online course certificate of completion for theoretical training is not an acceptable document for this purpose. Without that enrollment the age moves to sixteen, and the sixteen-year-old route is documents, a vision screening and a knowledge exam — the learner's-permit page notes that identity documents are asked for unless you already hold an ID card.

The document list itself is short and unforgiving. The learner's-permit page asks for proof of your identity, your Social Security number, your lawful status and your Indiana residency, and residency is the one that takes two unique documents rather than one. An Indiana Residency Affidavit is available when you cannot produce two, on terms the FAQ below sets out. The same page states flatly that the BMV does not accept Matricula Consular cards for purposes of proving identity or residency.

Two details about the permit itself save trips later. The manual says an applicant under eighteen who is getting a learner's permit has to provide an emergency contact who is at least eighteen years of age, and that permits are valid for two years from the date of issuance. Renewal opens 30 days before the permit expires. Let it lapse and the clock matters: both the learner's-permit page and the manual say you must retake the knowledge exam if the permit has been expired more than 180 days. A lost or stolen permit can be replaced online, the learner's-permit page says, as long as your name and address have stayed the same since the last one was issued.

One hundred eighty days with the permit, then one of two birthdays

Indiana asks for a holding period and an age, and both have to be satisfied. The probationary-license page states the holding period as 180 days, which it glosses as approximately six months, and gives the age as a fork: at least sixteen years old with successful completion of a driver's education program, or at least sixteen years and 270 days without one, which the same page glosses as approximately sixteen years and nine months. The driver's-license page carries the identical pair. Time counts while the permit is valid rather than while you hold the card — the manual says the period of time you hold a valid, not expired, suspended or revoked learner's permit counts toward the required 180-day holding period, and that a permit expired more than 180 days sends you back to the knowledge exam before it can be renewed.

The card that comes out the other end depends on your age on the day it is issued. The probationary-license page defines a probationary driver's license as the term given to licenses issued to applicants who are younger than twenty-one, and the manual says the license is probationary until you turn twenty-one. It expires 30 days following your twenty-first birthday, and you may not renew it before that birthday — the manual puts the earliest renewal at twenty-one years and one day. Renewing after twenty-one is what removes the restrictions: the manual says that when you renew a probationary driver's license after turning twenty-one you receive an unrestricted driver's license. The driver's-license page frames those same 30 days from the other side, as the window you have before an administrative penalty applies, and the fee chart revised January 1, 2026 prices that penalty at $6.00 — confirm the current amount on that chart before you count on it.

What you carry to the counter on license day is set out on the probationary-license page. You visit a branch and present a signed Log of Supervised Driving, plus proof of successful completion of a driver education course covering classroom instruction and behind-the-wheel training if that applies to you. You pass a vision screening and a driving test, unless the driver education provider offers a skills test waiver. And the page attaches a note that catches people out: a knowledge, or written, test is also required if you have any points on your driver record.

State Form 54706 is the paperwork the branch actually reads

Indiana law requires at least 50 hours of supervised driving practice before it will license you, and at least 10 of those hours have to be nighttime driving. The driver's-license page carries the exception in the same breath as the rule: if you have a daylight-only restriction on your learner's permit, you do not need to complete the 10 hours of nighttime driving, but you still owe the full 50. The manual names that restriction as the G on your permit and states the same carve-out. The hours are recorded on State Form 54706, the Log of Supervised Driving Practice, which you submit at the time of application; the manual says multiple logs may be used if necessary to reach the required hours, and that the log must be signed by a parent or legal guardian if the applicant is under eighteen.

Who may sit beside you while those hours accumulate depends on your age, and the adult list is the short one. For an applicant who is at least eighteen, the manual allows a licensed driver with valid driving privileges who is at least twenty-five, or a spouse with valid driving privileges who is at least twenty-one. The driver's-license page gives the same two options for someone over eighteen. The list for a minor is longer and carries a condition adults do not face, and the teen guide walks through it. One point catches adults who assume a course buys them out: the BMV's driver-education FAQ answers the question directly, saying that all new drivers eighteen years old or younger must complete the 50-hour drive log even if they have completed a driver education course.

The eye test hands out letters: B, F and G

Everyone is screened. The vision-screening page says you must pass a vision screening to get a license or permit even if you are renewing or amending an existing one, and the manual adds the exception, which is eligibility for online renewal. Wear whatever you normally drive in: the page tells you to wear your glasses or contacts for the screening at the branch. If your visual ability does not meet state standards you are referred to an eye doctor, and you may return to the branch with a statement certifying that your vision has been corrected to meet the standard — but the page is explicit that when you present that statement you will still be required to pass a vision screening at the branch. The manual goes one step further, noting that even with a letter from a doctor, Driver Ability may reserve the right to require more testing.

The result becomes a letter on your card. The vision-screening page lists three: B means the driver must wear glasses or contact lenses when driving, F means the driver must use outside mirrors or a rearview camera, and G means the driver may drive only during daylight hours. The page's chart then maps acuity to letters. Reading without glasses, 20/20 to 20/40 in both eyes carries no restriction, while 20/20 to 20/40 in one eye with the other from 20/50 to blind adds F. Reading with glasses, the same split — one eye 20/20 to 20/40, the other 20/50 to blind — carries B plus F; 20/50 in one eye with the other also at 20/50 carries B alone; and the two weakest bands on the chart, 20/50 with the other eye 20/70 to blind, and 20/70 in both eyes, each carry B plus F plus G together.

There is a paper route around the branch screening. The vision-screening page says the BMV may waive the screening for a learner's permit or driver's license if you provide Vision Screening Documentation, State Form 56520, completed by a licensed ophthalmologist or licensed optometrist. The same form becomes mandatory in one circumstance: if your last renewal was done online, you must take the completed Form 56520 into a license branch with you to renew, because you are not eligible to renew online or at a kiosk. That is the same alternation the manual describes from the renewal side — online or kiosk renewal is available every other renewal — and the vision-screening page states the consequence plainly, that vision screening is not required for renewing online but you can only renew online if your previous renewal was completed in a BMV branch.

Your driving school may test you, unless one of two things happened

The road test does not have to happen at a BMV branch. The manual says that if you hold a learner's permit and attend a BMV-licensed driver training school that participates in the BMV's driving skills test program, you may take the driving skills exam with the school after successfully completing the course, and that a pass administered by the school stays valid until your learner's permit expires. The driver's-license page adds that many driver training schools offer the driving test as part of their program and points to an interactive map of schools. Two situations send you to a branch anyway, and the manual names both: a failing grade in either portion of the driver education course, or a driver training school that does not participate in the skills test program. The probationary-license page states the same pair with a number attached to the first, and the teen guide takes that up in detail.

Booking a branch exam has a window at both ends. The manual says a driving skills exam may be scheduled no more than three weeks, and no less than 48 business hours, ahead of time, through IN.gov/BMV or the BMV Contact Center at 888-692-6841, though visiting a license branch may get you an earlier appointment. The driver's-license page says to arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. You must provide your own vehicle, and the manual states that there is no charge for the driving skills exam administered by the BMV. The car is inspected in practice: it must be legally equipped, insured, and in a safe and clean condition, you must produce its current registration, and the examiner has discretion to reject it — the manual's examples are a vehicle that is not properly registered, unsafe tires, a missing bumper, broken glass or mirrors, and an inoperative door. Any interior cameras must be deactivated for the duration of the exam, which the manual notes does not include backup cameras, and nobody rides along except the examiner or other authorized BMV personnel.

The manual separates things that could cost you points from things that end the attempt. In the second group it lists disobeying a yield, stop, school zone or no-turn-on-red sign; disobeying a traffic signal; backing over a curb; driving into a parked vehicle; failure to follow instructions; failure to use a seat belt; failure to react to hazardous driving conditions; speeding; driving too fast for the conditions; turning into or using the wrong lane; passing in a no-passing zone or otherwise crossing a solid yellow line; driving left of the center of the street; straddling marked lanes; driving too close to pedestrians or bicycles; failure to pull over and stop for emergency vehicles or school buses; causing an accident during the exam; failure to yield the right of way; and failure to obey required laws concerning railroad crossings. Whether the drive continues after a failure is left to the examiner's discretion. Failing costs a week rather than a day — the manual and the knowledge-exam page both say you wait seven days before retaking the driving skills exam, and that a third failure while holding a learner's permit means waiting two months from the date of the last failed exam.

Credential prices on the chart revised January 1, 2026

The BMV publishes one fee chart, and its Credentials block is where a first-time applicant's money goes. Revised January 1, 2026, that block prices a learner's permit, driver's or motorcycle, at $9.00, and prices a driver's license by the holder's age: $17.50 under 75, $11.00 at least 75 but less than 85, and $7.00 at 85 and over. Amending or replacing a credential is $9.00, adding an endorsement to a base credential is $19.00, and the Express Credential Service is $25.00. The administrative penalty for a late license renewal is $6.00. Fee charts are revised, and this one carries its revision date on the page — check the current version of that chart before you budget from these figures.

What the chart does not carry is as useful as what it does. Its Credentials block prices credentials, not exams, and the manual states separately that there is no charge for the driving skills exam administered by the BMV. Records are priced elsewhere on the same chart: a record request is $4.00, which matches the $4 the manual quotes for an Official Driver Record, while the Viewable Driver Record on myBMV.com is listed as free. Both amounts sit on the chart revised January 1, 2026 and in Chapter 5 of the manual respectively, so confirm them there rather than here.

Sixty days to trade in a credential issued somewhere else

The manual gives new residents 60 days to obtain a new Indiana driver's license, and rules out holding two at once: Indiana residents cannot hold more than one credential at the same time, even if one was issued by another state, so the other one is surrendered. If you have never held a valid driver's license from another state, the transfer rules do not apply to you at all — you hold an Indiana learner's permit for 180 days like any other first-time applicant. An adult arriving with a valid out-of-state license brings one of three things to the branch, according to the manual: the current out-of-state license, a copy of the official driving record, or a verification letter. Identity, lawful status, Social Security number and Indiana residency documents come too, and a standard vision screening is required.

Here two BMV documents disagree, and the disagreement is worth knowing before you plan the trip. The driver's-license page says that as of July 1, 2019, if you are moving to Indiana from another state and hold a valid driver's license in that state, you are no longer required to complete a knowledge exam, and notes that some knowledge exams are still required for transferring a CDL, motorcycle or for-hire endorsement. The manual's new-resident section still lists a knowledge exam for two cases: an out-of-state license expired for less than five years, or an unrevoked out-of-state license held for less than one year. The expired-license half of that lines up with everything else the manual says, and an out-of-state license expired more than five years adds a driving skills test on top of the knowledge exam. The clause about holding a license less than one year is the one the web page appears to have superseded. Where two BMV documents split on your case, ask the branch before you drive there.

Movers under eighteen are handled separately and are not covered by the page's transfer exemption. The manual says that if you are under eighteen but more than sixteen years and 180 days old, and have held a valid out-of-state driver's license for at least 180 days in your previous state or states of residency, you visit a branch with that license or a copy of your official driving record, plus the identity, lawful status, Social Security number and Indiana residency documents — and applicants under eighteen are required to pass a knowledge exam and a vision screening in addition to presenting the paperwork. The manual's driving-skills list adds one more case in this group: a new resident under eighteen who has held an unrevoked out-of-state license for at least 180 days but less than one year also takes a driving skills exam with a BMV examiner.

Six active points can put a renewal back in the exam chair

Renewal windows depend on your status rather than your age. The manual says a driver's license or identification card may be renewed by U.S. citizens or individuals with permanent lawful status up to 24 months before expiration, that individuals with lawful temporary status can only renew up to 30 days before, and that a learner's permit may be renewed up to 30 days before it expires. The driver's-license page draws that line elsewhere: it gives the 24 months to U.S. citizens and puts anyone with lawful permanent or temporary status at 30 days. If you hold permanent lawful status, the two BMV documents disagree about how early you may renew — ask the branch rather than banking on the longer window. How long the new card lasts does depend on age: six years if you are younger than 75, three years from 75 through 84, and two years at 85 or older. Credentials expire at midnight on your birthday, and the manual adds a small mercy — if your birthday falls on a day when BMV branches are closed, the credential expires at midnight on the next business day.

Points are what turn a renewal back into an exam. The manual states that if you are at least 21 years of age and have six or more active points on your driving record, you must take the knowledge exam to renew your driver's license, and the knowledge-exam page carries the same trigger from the other side. Points stay active on your record for two years from the conviction date. Indiana's Point Study Committee sets the values, and the manual's examples run from 2 points for 1 to 15 miles per hour over the limit, through 4 points for a hand-held device violation or disregarding a stop or yield sign, to 6 points for following another vehicle too closely and 8 for driving while suspended. One route back down exists: any Indiana driver may complete a course from a BMV-approved Driver Safety Program provider and receive a four-point credit, and each driver is allowed one four-point credit during a three-year period. Below 21, the probationary-license page's note bites earlier — a knowledge test is required at application if you have any points at all.

Letting a license lapse gets expensive in stages. The manual says that renewing a driver's license expired at least 180 days but not more than five years costs an administrative penalty plus a knowledge exam plus a standard vision screening, and that renewing one expired five years or more adds a driving skills exam to that list. Whichever route you take, the card is not handed over the counter: the manual says your permanent credential is mailed from a secure central location within 14 calendar days, that it goes only to the mailing address on file with the BMV, and that it will not be forwarded — so a change of address filed with the Postal Service alone is enough to lose it.

Indiana licensing — frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Indiana BMV — knowledge exam: two components, scoring, retakes and testing languages
• Indiana BMV — learner's permit: age routes, documents and practice-driving rules
• Indiana BMV — driver's license: the 50-hour log, financial liability and driving-test logistics
• Indiana BMV — probationary driver's license: age rules and the four restriction categories
• Indiana BMV — vision screening: acuity bands and the B, F and G restriction letters
• Indiana BMV — driver education: the 30-and-6 program and the parent and student FAQs
• Indiana BMV fee chart, credential prices revised January 1, 2026
• Indiana Driver's Manual, published by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles

Checked against official state sources on August 20, 2026.