Driver's license in Tennessee (apartment, to rent, house)

[KristaG]

I was wondering how old someone has be be to get their driver's permit? Regular license? And is there a specific amount of time that you have to have a permit before you can get your regular license?

Thanks!

[alleycat]

As best I can recall, it's 15 for a permit. It's 16 for a license.

You don't have to even have a permit before you get your regular license, unless they've changed it since I got mine (which, admittedly, was a few years ago). I never had a permit. I went straight from driving a tractor to driving a car! ;-)

You could easily Google the state website (Department of Safety) for the exact requirements.

[KristaG]

Excellent - thank you! Here, you have to have it for 1 year and 364 days won't cut it, I swear!

[Pimpy]

It's 15 for a permit and 16 for a license. When I was in high school in the late 1990s, you had to have a permit for three months to be eligible to get your license.

Tennessee has also adopted this new "graduated license" bullcrap that makes me feel awful for today's crop of teenagers. For 16 and 17 year olds, it regulates what hours they can drive and how many people they can have in the car.

What makes this age discrimination rather than a reasonable safety law for inexperienced drivers is that if someone waits until age 18 or older to apply for a license, the graduated period doesn't apply.

I remember when I turned 16 (in 1998), we packed 14 in the back of a Ford Ranger and went muddin' at 3am down Rapist Road (a dirt road in my hometown that's notorious for unscrupulous activity). Luckily, my childhood and teenage years occurred just before the government inexplicably decided that everything under the sun is "unsafe" for children.

From plastic playgrounds to the outlawing of games like "tag" to graduated drivers licenses, I feel bad for anyone who was born after 1990.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by Pimpy

It's 15 for a permit and 16 for a license. When I was in high school in the late 1990s, you had to have a permit for three months to be eligible to get your license.

Tennessee has also adopted this new "graduated license" bullcrap that makes me feel awful for today's crop of teenagers. For 16 and 17 year olds, it regulates what hours they can drive and how many people they can have in the car.

What makes this age discrimination rather than a reasonable safety law for inexperienced drivers is that if someone waits until age 18 or older to apply for a license, the graduated period doesn't apply.

I remember when I turned 16 (in 1998), we packed 14 in the back of a Ford Ranger and went muddin' at 3am down Rapist Road (a dirt road in my hometown that's notorious for unscrupulous activity). Luckily, my childhood and teenage years occurred just before the government inexplicably decided that everything under the sun is "unsafe" for children.

From plastic playgrounds to the outlawing of games like "tag" to graduated drivers licenses, I feel bad for anyone who was born after 1990.

Face it, we're all lucky we didn't get killed as teenagers. I used to race my father's car (before I got my own!). When I was younger I jumped off a barn roof with my homemade parachute. Uh, for anyone wanting to try this, bedsheets DO NOT make good parachutes.

[TNNative]

Originally Posted by KristaG

I was wondering how old someone has be be to get their driver's permit? Regular license? And is there a specific amount of time that you have to have a permit before you can get your regular license?

Thanks!

Tennessee Department of Safety Online Applications.

This question is "up my alley"...drivers must be 15 to get a permit. Tennessee is a graduated license state which means the young driver must be a certain age with x amount of driving time to move to the next stage, ie, a new LICENSED driver can only have one other person in the car with them if it is not a sibling, etc. Check out our online drivers' manual for Tennessee at the link. There's also a practice test there. Your child also must have documentation like birth certificate, SSN, and a compulsary form from the school they have attended showing they have regular attendance. Most people in TN may not know it but if the student drops out, the state can take their license until they are 18. Hope the link helps.

[Bones]

Originally Posted by alleycat

Face it, we're all lucky we didn't get killed as teenagers. I used to race my father's car (before I got my own!). When I was younger I jumped off a barn roof with my homemade parachute. Uh, for anyone wanting to try this, bedsheets DO NOT make good parachutes.

Never tried the bedsheet parachute jump....

[tn06]

Originally Posted by KristaG

I was wondering how old someone has be be to get their driver's permit? Regular license? And is there a specific amount of time that you have to have a permit before you can get your regular license?

Thanks!

Heres the breakdown:
-15 yrs old to get permit
-Must hold permit for at least 6 months
-At least 50 hours of practicing
-16 for license

[KristaG]

Wow - you have all been a huge help - thank you! Especially the advice about a parachute! I'll have to remind my son not to try that one! I really like the part about dropping out & having to prove regular attendance.

We are coming up there in about a week to check it out and solidify an apartment or house to rent. Also, I think my brother may want to move up there as well...Florida has just gotten to where it sucks!

[Beretta]

The state has a wonderful website with answers to DL and other questions. It is Tennessee.gov

Best of luck to you.