Hawaii Drivers Education
Teens who are interested in driving in the State of Hawaii are allowed to obtain an Instruction Permit at age 15 ½, a Provisional License at age 16 and a Drivers License at age 17 provided that they have possessed a valid Hawaii Instruction Permit for a period of not less than 180 days, and will have a person who is at least 21 and licensed to drive with them at all times. If the teen plans to drive between the hours of 11pm and 5am, only a supervising parent or guardian may be in the car.
Learner’s Permits in Hawaii are valid for one year from the day they are issued and may be renewed for a period of up to one year providing that the renewal is requested not more than thirty days prior to expiration and not more than ninety days after expiration of the permit. If permits are allowed to lapse for more than thirty days however you must wait for a minimum of one hundred and eighty days for a road test.
You may be granted a provisional license at the age of sixteen (if you are under eighteen) provided you have held your permit for one hundred and eighty days, you have not had any violations during the time you have held your permit, you have completed an approved certified drivers education course as well as actual driving certifications and successfully pass a road test. Once you have received a provisional license you must agree that you must have it in your possession any time you are driving, you must ensure that all passengers in the vehicle you are operating who are over the age of four are wearing proper seatbelts and children under four must be restrained in a child safety seat, and unless you are accompanied by a household member you must only have one person under the age of eighteen in the car with you. There are also night time driving restrictions which apply to you – between the hours of 11pm to 5am you may not drive unless you have written proof (that must be carried with you) unless it is necessary to get back and forth to work or if your parent or guardian (who is properly licensed) is in the car with you, or if it is for the purposes of a school authorized activity. You must make sure that you have the proper authorizations in order to use this however, so you will want to carefully review the requirements.
Your provisional driver’s license will expire on your 19th birthday and you may then be issued a full driver’s license provided you have held your provisional license for not less than six months, you do not have any pending violations or you are at least seventeen years old and have met all of the requirements of Chapter 286 Hawaii Revised Statutes.
Penalties for violations of any regulations are severe and will impact your ability to get a full driver’s license. First violations will result in suspension for three months, 2nd violations shall result in revocation for six months and if you are convicted of any offenses, 1st convictions will be punishable by suspension or revocation for six months and subsequent convictions will result in revocation for at least one year.
There are general documentation requirements for obtaining your Instruction Permit or your Driver’s License which must be followed – you must provide the following:
- Proof of name and date of birth which may be accomplished with birth certificate, marriage certificate, name change decree, state or military identification, alien/refugee registration identification. All of these documents must be certified and be original as no copies are accepted.
- You must provide and prove your social security number by use of a social security card.
- you must have the proper fees available to the state
- if you have any drivers licenses in our possession from other states they must be surrendered
- you must pass a written as well as a vision test .
- minors must provide a Juvenile Provision Status Letter
- minors must also provide a properly executed parental consent form
Other important information can be obtained from the Hawaii County Police Department’s Technical Services Section website. They are approved to administer the Driver Licensing section of the State of Hawaii.
