Kansas Restricted License at 15: Driver's Ed, 25 Hours and Driving Limits

What counts as a school trip

The school rule is for attendance. The Kansas Driving Handbook says that school driving at 15 does not cover school activities. A drive home from a game or a club meeting is not a school trip at 15. Use the adult rule for those drives, as in the practice question on a direct trip between home and school.
Work trips are wider. The law covers driving to or from, or in connection with, a job, employment or farm-related work.

What you need before you apply at 15

• Age. You are at least 15 and under 16.
• Approved driver's education. You finish an approved driver training course.
• A Kansas instruction permit held for one year. It must come from a driver's license office. A Kansas farm permit held for one year also counts. Kansas law also accepts a permit from another state or D.C. with equal or stricter requirements, but the Division of Vehicles teen FAQ says it does not. If you moved to Kansas with a permit, ask the Division of Vehicles first.
• 25 hours of adult supervised driving. A licensed adult 21 or older supervises these hours.
• A written application from your parent or guardian. It goes to the Division of Vehicles.
• An affidavit for the first 25 hours. Your parent or guardian signs it.
• A vision test. The Division of Vehicles lists a vision test as the testing required at 15.

Driver's ed and the one-year permit rule

Driver's education is required for the restricted license at 15. A school district program counts. So does a state-approved private school, which teaches 8 hours of classroom and 6 hours behind the wheel. Online-only courses do not count, and a completed course expires after 2 years.
During the course, you drive on a blue DE-99 permit. It is valid only during the course, and its time does not count toward the one year. When you finish, the office takes your DE-99 completion certificate in place of the permit written test and notes the course on your record. The practice question on the path to a restricted license lists the pieces.

How the 25 supervised hours work

The licensed adult must be 21 or older and hold a valid commercial, class A, B or C license. Time behind the wheel with a driver's education instructor counts if the instructor is 21 or older. Time spent observing, or on a driving range without an adult 21 or older, does not count.
Night hours are not required for the first 25. But 10 of the 50 hours that you need before 16 must be at night, and night drives in the first 25 count toward them.

1. 1
   Get a Kansas instruction permit at 14

   Permits start at age 14, and your parent or guardian applies in writing. You pass a vision test and a written test, or show a driver's ed completion certificate in place of the written test. The one-year clock starts on the day the permit is issued.

2. 2
   Finish approved driver's education

   Take a school district course or a state-approved private school course. Keep the DE-99 completion certificate.

3. 3
   Drive 25 hours with a licensed adult 21 or older

   The office does not ask for a log. Keep one anyway, because your parent or guardian signs an affidavit for these hours.

4. 4
   Apply at 15, after one year on the permit

   Your parent or guardian submits the written application and the affidavit for the 25 hours. You pass a vision test, which the office gives each time your license type changes.

Passengers and phones with a restricted license

• Passengers. Under 16, you may not drive with nonsibling minor passengers. Your brothers and sisters may ride with you. Friends and other minors may not.
• Phones. You may not use a wireless communication device while you drive. The only exceptions are to report illegal activity or to call for medical or other emergency help.
• Penalty. A conviction for a passenger violation counts as a moving traffic violation.

The 50-hour affidavit before you turn 16

Before you turn 16, a parent or guardian signs an affidavit that you finished the first 25 hours and 25 more hours of adult supervised driving. That is 50 hours in all, and at least 10 of them must be at night.
With the affidavit and a satisfactory driving record, you move to less restricted privileges at 16. The next stage has its own rules, covered in the guide to the Kansas driver's license at 16. Without the affidavit, you stay restricted until you give it or reach 17, whichever comes first.

What happens if you break the rules

Convictions for two or more moving violations on separate occasions keep you restricted longer. Before 16, you keep the age-15 limits until 17. At 16 (under 17), you keep the age-16 limits until 18. A violation of the restrictions also leads to a court suspension of your driving privilege: 30 days for a first conviction. The Kansas teen driver penalties guide has the full list.

Frequently Asked Questions