by Jim Thompson | Last Updated: September 6, 2023

Louisiana teens looking to get a learners permit are required by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety to complete a state-approved driver education course. A driver education course will go a long way to prepare a driver not only to pass their written and road tests, but to become safer and more skilled drivers once they get behind the wheel.

Qualifying for Drivers Ed Louisiana

The drivers ed requirements for Louisiana teens differ depending on age.

Teens 15 to 17 years old – Teens in this age bracket must complete a driver’s education course that includes 30 hours of classroom instruction and eight hours of behind the wheel instruction.

Teens 18 years old and older – License candidates in this age bracket are required to complete a drivers ed course consisting of a six-hour pre-licensing course and eight hours of behind the wheel instruction.

What You’ll Learn from Your Louisiana Drivers Ed Course

Your Louisiana drivers ed course will have both a classroom and a behind the wheel portion. The classroom part will give you helpful driving information as well as tips to pass your permit test while the behind the wheel portion will give you real life experience that will make you a safer driver.

In your driver education class, you will receive instruction on topics like:

• Safe driving fundamentals
• Louisiana traffic law
• Proper stopping distance
• The principle of right of way
• How to drive in hazardous conditions

Where to Take Drivers Ed Louisiana

In Louisiana, both driver education and pre-licensing courses are offered at secondary schools or from a licensed third-party provider. As of now, the state of Louisiana does not recognize online driving courses as a step to licensing.

Louisiana Drivers Ed behind You, Where to Next?

Once you have successfully finished your course, you will receive a certificate of completion. You will need to submit this certificate when you go to apply for your learners permit.

Among other things, getting your permit will require you to pass a written test. There are several ways you can prepare to do well on this exam:

• Review all that you learned in your drivers ed class
• Study the Louisiana driver manual
• Take advantage of a permit practice test

A permit practice test is built with questions taken from actual Louisiana permit tests. There is really no better way to know exactly what you will be facing when you go in for your test than to have studied using one of these permit practice tests.