What is the minimum age to apply for an Oregon driver license (not a permit)?
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A.
15.
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B.
16. Correct
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C.
18.
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D.
16 and a half.
The answer is "16."
You must be at least 16 to apply for an Oregon driver license. The manual sets two age floors in the same list: 15 to apply for an instruction permit, 16 to apply for a license. If you are under 18, extra application requirements apply (a parent or guardian signature, proof of school enrollment, an instruction permit held for at least 6 months, and supervised driving hours), but none of them raises the minimum application age. The 6-month permit hold is the common trap: a permit picked up at 15 satisfies it well before your 16th birthday, so you can apply for the license at exactly 16.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. 15.
15 is the minimum age to apply for an instruction permit, not a license. Misreading: Confuses the permit minimum age (15, "Be at least 15 years of age to apply for an instruction permit") with the license minimum age (16).
C. 18.
18 is the age at which the under-18 application requirements (parent or guardian signature, school-enrollment certification, permit-hold and supervised-hours rules) no longer apply; it is not the minimum age to apply for a license. Misreading: Confuses the age at which the manual's under-18 application requirements stop applying (18) with the minimum age to apply for a license (16).
D. 16 and a half.
The 6-month permit-holding requirement is a prerequisite, not an addition to the age floor. A permit held from age 15 satisfies it before you turn 16, so the minimum application age stays 16. Misreading: Misapplies the p.90 rule that under-18 applicants "must have had an instruction permit for at least 6 months" as raising the minimum license-application age from 16 to 16 and a half.
This question tests your knowledge of Graduated Licensing in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual 2026-2027, How to Apply, p.89..
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