by Jim Thompson | Last Updated: September 6, 2023

To get a drivers license, teens in North Carolina must go through the steps of the graduated licensing process. According to the rules established by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, the first phase for those under 18 years of age is the completion of a drivers education program. Drivers ed will prepare a teen to take to the road safely as well as provide a real advantage for passing the learner permit written test.

Qualifying for Drivers Ed NC

Before earning a learner permit, North Carolina teens must enroll in a drivers ed course. To do so requires the meeting of the following qualifications:

• You must be at least 14 ½ years old
• You must have your first certificate or a valid passport
• You must be currently enrolled in high school or on the way to receiving a diploma or its equivalent

What to Expect from North Carolina Drivers Ed

Carolina teens have the opportunity to take a driver education course through their high school. Check with your school before classes start because there are several forms and documents you will need to fill out.

Drivers ed in North Carolina is broken into both a classroom instruction part as well as a behind the wheel component.

The classroom portion of North Carolina drivers ed is 30 hours long. In the classroom, you will learn much information about driving law, violations and theory.

In most cases, drivers ed will be offered after school. You will usually complete the course by attending two hours for 15 days or three hours for 10. Be sure to bring supplies for notes and written work, your birth certificate or passport and drinks and snacks for longer classes.

Getting Behind the Wheel in Your Drivers Ed North Carolina Class

After you have passed a vision test, it is time for the driving practice portion of your course. It is in this portion that you will learn and practice important driving skills under the supervision of a certified driving instructor. After the driving portion you’ll be finished with your course and will receive a driver education certificate of completion.

Getting Your Permit after Drivers Ed NC

After completing drivers ed, you will be ready to apply for a learner permit that will allow you to accumulate practice driving hours on the way to getting your license. To qualify for learner permit you must:

• Be between 15 and 18 years of age
• Pass both the DMV written and sign tests
• Have your diploma or a Driver Eligibility Certificate

With a Level 1 learner permit, you will be able to practice supervised driving during certain times of the day.

To get yourself ready for the DMV written tests you could do the following:

• Study the information you learned in drivers ed
• Study the North Carolina driver handbook
• Study with a permit practice test

Perhaps the way to give you the most confidence is to use a permit practice test. Permit practice tests feature questions taken from actual past DMV tests. What better way to prepare than to know going in what information is going to be on the test and exactly how it will be asked?