Driving Tests

Mississippi Driving Curfew for Drivers Under 18: Hours and Exceptions

informational·how to guide·Published August 19, 2026

What time can a 16-year-old drive alone in Mississippi?

A Mississippi license holder under 18 may drive alone from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. A trip directly to or from work or an educational or extracurricular activity is allowed alone at any hour. At other times, in the first six months as a license holder, a parent, guardian or licensed person 21 or older must sit beside the driver.

Where the Mississippi driving hours come from

Mississippi sets these hours in Section 63-1-21(3) of the Mississippi Code. This guide uses the text of the 2021 act H.B. 550, and the later 2021 act S.B. 2598 shows the same words. The Driver Service Bureau Class R page gives the license age, the permit period and the hardship license rules. The 2014 act S.B. 2794, the 2024 act S.B. 2695 and the 2026 act S.B. 2314 supply the history and the other details. This guide is current as of 2026. Confirm the rules with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Driver Service Bureau (driverservicebureau.dps.ms.gov) before you drive.

Mississippi unsupervised driving hours for a license holder under 18

Mississippi unsupervised driving hours for a license holder under 18
When you drive	You may drive alone	Outside those hours
Sunday through Thursday	6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.	A supervisor must sit beside you (first six months)
Friday and Saturday	6:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.	A supervisor must sit beside you (first six months)
Any day, on a trip directly to or from work or an educational or extracurricular activity	Yes, at any hour	No supervisor needed for that trip

Who must follow the Mississippi hour limits?

The limits cover every regular license holder under 18. The minimum age for a Mississippi driver's license is 16, and a 16-year-old must first hold the learner's permit for twelve months or until the 17th birthday, whichever comes first. The Driver Service Bureau says that an applicant who is 17 or older does not need the 12-month permit period and may get the permit and the license on the same day. The steps and documents for each age are in the guide to getting a Class R license at 16 or 17.

What do the hours mean on a real drive?

You drive to a friend's house at 9:30 p.m. on a Wednesday

You are inside the limit. Sunday through Thursday, you may drive alone until 10:00 p.m.

You drive home from a movie at 11:00 p.m. on a Friday

You are inside the limit. On Friday and Saturday, you may drive alone until 11:30 p.m.

You go out at 10:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, and you have held your license for two months

You are outside the limit and inside your first six months as a regular license holder. A parent, guardian or licensed person 21 or older must sit beside you.

You drive to an early shift at work at 5:30 a.m.

You may drive alone. A trip directly to or from work is allowed at any hour, also before 6:00 a.m.

Who can ride with you, and where must they sit?

Outside the allowed hours, in your first six months as a regular license holder, a parent, guardian or other person aged 21 or older must supervise you. That person must hold a valid driver's license and must actually occupy the seat beside you. A learner's permit is stricter: the permit holder may drive only with a licensed driver who is at least 21 in the seat beside the driver, at every hour. The question page on who sits beside a permit holder lets you practice that rule.

Quick checklist before a night drive

Check the day and the clock: alone from 6:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Check the purpose: a trip directly to or from work or an educational or extracurricular activity has no hour limit.
Check how long you have held your license: outside the allowed hours, the supervisor rule covers your first six months as a regular license holder.
Check your supervisor: a parent, guardian or licensed person 21 or older, in the seat beside you.
Carry your license. Since July 1, 2026, the law also says that you show it by handing it to a law enforcement officer for inspection when asked.

Why people still say "intermediate license"

Mississippi no longer has an intermediate license. The 2021 act H.B. 550 deleted all references to it and gave the hour limits to regular license holders under 18. The 2014 text gave the same hours to the intermediate license, but it allowed driving at any time only when traveling directly to or from work, and it required a supervisor at all other times. The 2021 text added educational and extracurricular activity, and it added the words "for the first six months as a regular license holder" to the supervisor rule. H.B. 550 took effect on passage, and the Governor approved it on April 5, 2021.

Can the state add more rules for new drivers under 18?

Yes. The 2024 text of Section 63-1-9(2)(e), in S.B. 2695, lets the commissioner set added rules, regulations and restrictions for the first twelve months that a person under 18 holds a license. Those come on top of the hour limits in Section 63-1-21(3). S.B. 2695 took effect on July 1, 2024.

Key takeaways

A Mississippi license holder under 18 may drive alone from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
A trip directly to or from work or an educational or extracurricular activity is allowed alone at any hour.
Outside those hours, in the first six months as a license holder, a parent, guardian or licensed person 21 or older must sit beside the driver.
Mississippi has no intermediate license now: the 2021 act removed it.
Next step: practice the rules of the road on the free Mississippi Class R practice test.

Mississippi driving curfew: common questions

Can I drive home alone from a school event after 10:00 p.m.?

Yes, when the event is an educational or extracurricular activity and you drive directly home. Since 2021, a Mississippi license holder under 18 may drive alone at any hour on a trip directly to or from work or such an activity. Plan a direct trip from the event to your home.

Can my 19-year-old brother or sister supervise me after curfew?

Not under this rule, unless that sibling is your legal guardian. Outside the allowed hours, in your first six months as a license holder, the supervisor must be a parent, a guardian or another person who is 21 or older. That person must also hold a valid driver's license and sit in the seat beside you.

Do the curfew hours apply if I get my license at 17?

Yes. The rule covers every regular license holder under the age of 18, so a driver who gets a license at 17 follows the same hours. Outside those hours, the supervisor rule covers the first six months as a license holder.

Does a Mississippi hardship license have the same hours?

No. A hardship license has a trip list, not clock hours. The holder may drive alone only to school or a school related function, to help take siblings to school or a school related function, to work and for medical needs. At all other times, a parent, guardian or licensed person 21 or older must sit beside the driver. The guide to hardship license reasons explains who qualifies.