Steps to Get Your Driver's License

Step 1 - Obtaining Driver Education Certificate of Completion

Take a driving education course that will earn you a DMV-approved Certificate of Completion. This Certificate is required in order for you to obtain a DMV Learner's Permit. Driver Education and Driver Training courses must be conducted as prescribed by the Department of Education. Driver Education must consist of at least 30 hours or 2 1/2 semester periods of professional classroom instruction. 

Classroom driver education, will be offered on Saturdays at both the MiraCosta College Oceanside Campus, and San Elijo Cardiff Campus.   We’ll also be offering Tuesday/Thursday afternoon classes at El Camino High School.  Upon completion of classroom driver education you will receive a “pink” completion slip (DL387).  This is one of the forms you will need to get your learner’s permit when you turn 15 ½.

Step 2 - Sign up for Behind-the-Wheel Training

This part of the training is for those students who are under 18 years of age, and have taken classroom driver education.  Once you have completed the classroom or on-line driver education course you can call us or come to our office to sign up for behind-the-wheel training.  We will issue you an certificate of enrollment (DL 392) that you will take along with your certificate of completion in classroom driver education (DL 387) to the DMV to get your learner's permit.  You need to get your learner’s permit before you begin your behind-the-wheel training with us. 

The cost of the program is $285, and consists of three days of driving, two hours per day for a total of six hours of one-on-one training.  We do this training at Carlsbad, El Camino, and Rancho Buena Vista High School’s, here at MiraCosta College in Oceanside and at our San Elijo campus.  The hours are after school and evenings, and could include weekend days. 

After completing the driver-training program you will receive a “blue” completion slip (DL388A).  You will be handed this after your last Behind-the-Wheel lesson. This is the other form you will use to get your license when you are eligible to take your driving test.

Step 3 - Practice for the written DMV test (optional)

Step 4 - Scheduling the DMV appointment (Optional)

In order to save time, call a Driver's License field office near you and make an appointment to take the written test. DMV offices have varying business hours and days of service. Many offices are open for full service from 8:00 am to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (except holidays). Some DMV offices are now open the third Saturday of each month, unless adjusted for a holiday, though closed the following Monday. You may check the DMV schedule and also schedule an appointment online.

Step 5 - What to bring and what to expect at the DMV office (Must be 15 1/2 to apply for permit)

Be prepared and bring identification documents, as well as:

• Application Form DL 44 - you can get this at the DMV field office. Students who take MiraCosta's classroom instruction will be given this in class.  Obtain your parents' or guardians' signatures on the application form DL 44. (When parents or guardians sign for a minor to get a driver's license, they are stating that they will accept financial responsibility for the minor.) Parents will also need to call their auto insurance agent to check what adjustments need to be made to include a teen driver into their policy.
• your social security number.
• Verify your birth date and legal presence.
• Be ready to have your picture taken for your driver's license. This photo will be your primary identification for four years.
• Bring certificates of completion DL 387 Driver Education (pink) and DL 392 Certificate of Enrollment in Driver Training (white).
• Give a thumb print.
• Pay the $12 application fee. This fee entitles you to three exams of any type within the 12-month period and pays for both the instruction permit and the driver's license. If all requirements are not met within the 12-month period, the application becomes void and all steps must be completed again.
• Pass a vision exam.
• Pass a traffic laws and signs test. There are 46 questions on the test. A passing score is at least 39 correct answers. You have three chances to pass the test. If you fail, you must wait seven days before taking it again. This gives you time to study. It would be a good idea to take the DriversEd.com practice tests online.

Step 6 - Upon completion of the DMV test

After you pass the written test:

• Begin your behind-the-wheel instrction.  Your permit will not be vaild until you take your first behind-the-wheel class with a professional driving instructor. This lesson validates your permit.
• Begin your on-road driving lessons with your parent/guardian or other licensed driver who is 25 years old or older.
• 50 hours of practice with a parent/guardian or any other adult who is 25 years or older. The adult must have a valid California driver's license and certify to the 50 hours of practice. At least 10 of the 50 hours must be done at night.

Step 7 - Taking the Driving Test

To be eligible to take your driving test you must:

• Be 16 years old
  AND
• Have possessed your permit for a minimum of six months
  AND
• Have completed driver's education course
  AND
• Have completed six hours of professional driver training
  AND
• Have completed 50 hours of practice with an adult who is 25 years or older. The adult must have a valid California driver's license and certify to the 50 hours of practice. At least 10 of the 50 hours must have been done at night.
• You will also need to show proof of insurance for the vehicle you will be taking your drive test in.

After you pass your drive test, you will be issued an interim license valid for 60 days until you receive your new photo license in the mail. Double check your address before you leave the DMV and tell the DMV representative if you have moved or if your address is incorrect. If you have not received your license after 60 days, call (916) 657-7790 and they can check on the status for you. Have your interim license with you to provide information when requested.

If you fail your drive test, you will have to wait for two weeks before you can take the test again. You have three chances to pass.

Step 8 - After the Driving Test

Provisional Driving Restrictions—You must be accompanied and supervised by a licensed parent, guardian or other licensed driver 25 years of age or older or a licensed or certified driving instructor when you:

• Transport passengers under 20 years of age at any time, for the first twelve months.
• Drive between 11 pm and 5 am for the first twelve months.

To determine if these restrictions apply to you, look at the date on your driver license.  The date printed just to the left of your photograph is the date these restrictions begin.  The new restrictions apply for 12 months following this date.  For example:  If the date on your license is May 7, 2005, you will have the above restrictions through May 7, 2006.  Violation of either restriction can result in a fine and/or community service.

Persons under 18 may not be employed to drive a motor vehicle. When you turn 18 years of age, the provisional part of your license ends. You may continue to drive as an adult using your photo license, which will expire on your 5th birthday after the date you applied.

Exceptions to Restrictions

When reasonable transportation is not available and it is necessary for you to drive, the law grants the following exceptions for minors to drive between 11 pm and 5 am or to transport an immediate family member unaccompanied and unsupervised.

The law requires that you must carry a note explaining why you must drive and when the necessity will end.

• Medical Necessity
  The note must be signed by your physician and contain a diagnosis and probable date when recovery will end your need to drive.
• School or School–Authorized Activities
  The note must be signed by your school principal, dean, or his or her designee and include a reason for the school or school–authorized activity and the date when the activity will end.
• Employment Necessity
  The note must be signed by your employer and verify employment and the date your employment will end.
• Immediate Need of Family Member
  The note must be signed by your parent or legal guardian and include the reason and date the necessity will end.
• Emancipated Minor
  No documentation is needed for this exemption, however you must have already declared yourself emancipated by completing a DMV form and by providing Proof of Financial Responsibility (SR 1P) in lieu of your guarantors’ signatures when you applied for your instruction permit.