Supervising a New Driver in Pennsylvania: Parent's Guide
If your teen is going through Pennsylvania's graduated licensing system, your supervised-driving role is built into the law. Here's what your teen needs to log, what restrictions apply, and where parents most commonly slip up.
GDL stages and supervised-driving requirements
- Earliest permit age
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16
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 1: Applying for a Learner's Permit
- Permit holding period (months)
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6
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 1: Applying for a Learner's Permit
- Supervised driving hours required
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65
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 1: Applying for a Learner's Permit
- Of which, night hours
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10
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 1: Applying for a Learner's Permit
- Earliest intermediate license age
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16 years 6 months
- Intermediate curfew — start time
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11:00 p.m.
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 1: Junior Driver's License Information
- Intermediate curfew — end time
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5:00 a.m.
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 1: Junior Driver's License Information
- Intermediate passenger restriction
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For the first six months on a junior driver's license, a Pennsylvania junior driver may not carry more than one passenger under 18 who is not an immediate family member, unless a parent, guardian, person in loco parentis, or spouse 18 or older is also in the vehicle. After six months of clean junior-license driving, the limit increases to three passengers under 18 who are not immediate family members. The relaxed limit does not apply to a junior driver who has ever been at-fault (partially or fully responsible) in a crash or who has been convicted of any driving violation; those drivers remain capped at one underage non-family passenger. At all times, junior drivers (and learner permit holders under 18) may not carry more passengers than the vehicle has seat belts.
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 1: Junior Driver's License Information
- Earliest full license age
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17 (with conditions) or 18 (automatic)
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 1: Junior Driver's License Information
- Minimum age — learner permit
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16
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 1: Applying for a Learner's Permit
- Minimum age — driver license
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16
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 1: Classes of Driver's Licenses
Phone laws for new drivers
- Handheld phone — banned for all drivers?
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no
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 5: Anti-Texting Law
- Texting — banned for all drivers?
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yes
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 5: Anti-Texting Law
- Hands-free also banned for minors?
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no
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 5: Anti-Texting Law
- First-offense fine
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$50
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 5: Anti-Texting Law
Seatbelt and passenger rules
- Seats required to belt
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front (adults); all seats (under 18)
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 5: Seat Belt Law
- Child seat — age threshold
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Under 4 (safety seat); under 8 (booster)
Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 5: Child Restraint Law (Act 229)
The Pennsylvania Permit-Phase Coaching Plan, free.
The parent's-eye view of the permit phase: Pennsylvania's GDL numbers, the supervised-hours ladder, how to coach mistakes without breaking confidence, and a test-week plan.
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