Question: I just got my learner’s permit and I’m getting ready to do supervised driving with my parents. My instructor told me that I need to complete 10 hours of night driving, but didn’t mention any times. What counts as nighttime driving for new drivers?
Answer:
You might think nighttime driving has something to do with sunrise and sunset times but the truth is that this isn’t true across most states.
Many states have implemented graduated licensing where your learner’s permit tends to be highly restrictive in terms of when you can drive when it gets dark. However, most of these restrictions tend to apply to teenagers only.
Example permit restrictions
For example, North Carolina has a graduated licensing system, for teens aged 15 to 17, that allows you to drive within a specific time frame.
For North Carolinans with a Level 1 permit, the limited learner permit, you can only drive while supervised between 5 am to 9 pm for the first six months. Thereafter, you can drive free of time restrictions with a supervising driver.
If you have a Level 2, limited provisional license, you can drive unsupervised between 5 am to 9 pm, and to/from work or any volunteer fire, rescue, or emergency medical service. After 9 p.m. until 5 a.m., a supervising driver is required.
There are additional, non-time-based stipulations that you can refer to on the NCDOT website.
Can you drive at night with a permit? State-by-state comparison
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), here are the restricted times where permit holders cannot drive:
| State | Nighttime Restrictions |
|---|---|
| AL | Midnight – 6 a.m. |
| AK | Midnight – 5 a.m. |
| AZ | Midnight – 5 a.m. |
| AR | 11 p.m. – 4 a.m. |
| CA | 11 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| CO | Midnight – 5 a.m. |
| CT | 11 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| DE | 10 p.m. – 6 a.m. |
| DC | Sep-Jun: 11 p.m. – 6 a.m. (Sun-Thur), 12:01 a.m. – 6 a.m. (Fri-Sat); Jul-Aug: 12:01 a.m. – 6 a.m. |
| FL | 11 p.m. – 6 a.m. (16-year-olds); 1 a.m. – 5 a.m. (17-year-olds) |
| GA | Midnight – 5 a.m. |
| HI | 11 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| ID | 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| IL | 10 p.m. – 6 a.m. (Sun-Thur); 11 p.m. – 6 a.m. (Fri-Sat) |
| IN | 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. (first 6 months); 11 p.m. – 5 a.m. (Sun-Fri); 1 a.m. – 5 a.m. (Sat-Sun) |
| IA | 12:30 a.m. – 5 a.m. |
| KS | 9 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| KY | Midnight – 6 a.m. |
| LA | 11 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| ME | Midnight – 5 a.m. |
| MD | Midnight – 5 a.m. |
| MA | 12:30 a.m. – 5 a.m. |
| MI | 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| MN | Midnight – 5 a.m. |
| MS | 10 p.m. – 6 a.m. (Sun-Thur); 11:30 p.m. – 6 a.m. (Fri-Sat) |
| MO | 1 a.m. – 5 a.m. |
| MT | 11 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| NE | Midnight – 6 a.m. |
| NV | 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| NH | 1 a.m. – 4 a.m. |
| NJ | 11 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| NM | Midnight – 5 a.m. |
| NY | 9 p.m. – 5 a.m. (except NYC and Long Island) |
| NC | 9 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| ND | Later of sunset or 9 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| OH | Midnight – 6 a.m. (first 12 months); 1 a.m. – 5 a.m. (second 12 months) |
| OK | 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| OR | Midnight – 5 a.m. |
| PA | 11 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| RI | 1 a.m. – 5 a.m. |
| SC | 6 p.m. – 6 a.m. (EST); 8 p.m. – 6 a.m. (EDT) |
| SD | 10 p.m. – 6 a.m. |
| TN | 11 p.m. – 6 a.m. |
| TX | Midnight – 5 a.m. |
| UT | Midnight – 5 a.m. |
| VT | None |
| VA | Midnight – 4 a.m. |
| WA | 1 a.m. – 5 a.m. |
| WV | 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
| WI | Midnight – 5 a.m. |
| WY | 11 p.m. – 5 a.m. |
Xuyun Zeng is a content strategist with a wide-ranging content background including tech, journalism, cars and health care. After graduating with highest honors in journalism, Xuyun led a newspaper to win eight awards, helped start an award-winning film industry podcast and has written over a hundred articles about cars repair, state laws and insurance. Prior to joining Jerry, Xuyun worked as a freelance SEO consultant with a mission to create the best content that will help readers and grow organic traffic.
Kevin Berry is the Senior Director of Content at Jerry and has been working in the digital content space since 2011 across the car insurance/repair, personal finance, travel and sports industries. Prior to Jerry, Kevin was a content team lead at NerdWallet overseeing the Multimedia Production and Travel Rewards teams. Previously, he worked for NBC Sports, Comcast Cable and Nike. He has a Master`s Degree from Arkansas State and a Bachelor`s from Oregon State University.
