Your License, Applying, the Graduated License and the Examinations: License Classes, Who Needs a Tennessee License, Learner Permits and Hardship Licenses, ID Licenses and Temporary Licenses, Penalties for Driving Without a License, REAL ID, Donation and Voting, Required Documents, Fees, New Residents, Renewals and Address Changes, the Three GDL Levels and Their Restrictions and Penalties, the Teen Cell Phone Ban, the Vision, Knowledge and Road Tests, and the Hands-Free Law
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Tennessee driver license knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual (Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, information current as of July 1, 2022; March 2025 printing), front matter (REAL ID, Distracted Driving) and Section A, chapters 1–4 (pages 1–24).
Classes of license
A Class D license covers passenger vehicles, pickups and vans up to 26,000 pounds; vehicles under that weight still need a Class C commercial license if they carry placarded hazardous materials, seat 16 or more people including the driver, or serve as a school bus. Class D requires age 16, a vision screening, a knowledge test and a road test, plus the graduated-license steps under 18. A For-Hire (F) endorsement is added when your main job is transporting people or property in a Class D vehicle (taxi, shuttle, ambulance, courier or delivery drivers); plumbers or meter readers who merely drive for work do not need it. It costs $4.50 and requires age 18 (or 16 in a family delivery business), two years of unrestricted driving, a vision screening and its own knowledge test. Class M covers motorcycles, motor-driven cycles and motorized bicycles or scooters over 125 cc; a limited Class M covers under 125 cc, and a driver who wants both gets a Class DM. Class A, B and C commercial licenses cover vehicles of 26,001 pounds or more and the smaller hazmat, passenger and school-bus vehicles; a CDL is also valid for Class D vehicles. The Class PD learner permit is issued at 15 after the knowledge test and vision screening, and the holder may drive only with a licensed driver 21 or older in the seat beside them; exchanging it for a Class D requires the road test, and under 18 the permit must have been held 180 days. A Class H hardship license may be issued at 14 for genuine family hardship, is valid only in daylight to the places named in the approval letter, covers fewer than one percent of minor licenses, and expires at 16. Off-road vehicles and ATVs may not be driven on any highway and may cross roads only at a 90-degree angle.
Who needs a license
Anyone living in Tennessee who wants to drive needs a Tennessee license or Temporary Driver License. A new arrival with a valid license from another state or country must apply if they live here more than 30 days, work here, or would qualify as a registered voter. Exempt: armed forces members driving military vehicles, operators of farm equipment temporarily on a highway, nonresidents with a valid home license, foreign managerial or technical employees on their home license for six months, and students in an approved driver training course with a certified instructor. Not eligible: anyone suspended or revoked in any state, anyone the Commissioner finds unable to drive safely, anyone who has not shown required proof of insurance, anyone under 18 who dropped out of school or is not making satisfactory progress, and anyone who cannot prove citizenship, permanent residency or temporary legal presence. Driving without your license in your possession is a Class D misdemeanor with a fine of $2 to $50; driving while revoked, canceled or suspended is a Class B misdemeanor with up to $1,000 and six months in jail. A Temporary Driver License (classes prefixed X) or Temporary Identification License serves residents with temporary legal presence, expires with their authorization, costs a flat $28, and can run at most five years for the TID. Identification licenses carry no driving privilege; an expiring ID does not expire after 65, and a permanent ID for people medically unable to drive is free.
REAL ID and other topics
Since May 7, 2025, boarding a domestic flight or entering certain federal facilities requires a REAL ID credential, a valid passport or other TSA-acceptable identification. A REAL ID is optional in Tennessee, costs the same as a standard credential, is not needed to drive, vote, enter federal courts or post offices, receive benefits or buy alcohol, and is available under 18. Circle YES on the application to join the Donate Life Tennessee registry (minors 13 to 17 may register); a red heart prints on the license, and removing it requires a duplicate. An honorably discharged veteran can have Veteran printed by presenting a DD-214 or equivalent. You may register to vote at the service center, which forwards the form to the county election commission; if no voter card arrives within 30 days, contact the commission. An International Driving Permit is only a translation of a valid home license, must be obtained in the home country, is not valid by itself, never allows driving while suspended, and is not issued by Tennessee centers. Registered sexual offenders must tell the examiner and complete a declaration.
Applying
All documents must be originals or certified copies; no photocopies or faxes. You need proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency (or temporary legal presence for a TDL), a primary and a secondary proof of identity, proof of any name change, two proofs of Tennessee residency with your name and street address dated within the last four months (no P.O. boxes), and your Social Security number or a sworn affidavit that none was issued. Under 18 you also need the Teenage Affidavit of financial responsibility, proof of school attendance (Form SF1010 signed within 30 days, or a private or out-of-state school's letterhead statement), and after six months on the permit the certification of 50 hours behind the wheel (SF-1256). Tennessee links to Social Security records and will not print the number on the license. Licenses for people over 21 last eight years. Standard fees: Class D $28, D with For-Hire $30.50, learner permit $5.50 over 18 and $10.50 under 18, hardship $5.50, photo ID $4.50 under 18 and $12 over, Class M $29, DM $55, first duplicate $8 and later duplicates $12, Intermediate Restricted $23.25, Intermediate Unrestricted $2. Pay by cash, check, money order or major credit card. New or returning residents must get a Tennessee license within 30 days of establishing residency, surrender the old license, and take the vision screening; if the old license has been expired more than six months, or it comes from another country, all three tests apply. Active-duty military based outside Tennessee keep a valid license regardless of expiration (a "Code 30" marks it non-expiring) and must renew within 60 days of discharge or reassignment to Tennessee.
Renewals and address changes
A courtesy notice arrives eight to ten weeks before expiration, but it is not needed to renew; a photo license may be renewable by mail or online, and drivers 60 and older may choose a non-photo license. There is no grace period. More than 30 days late costs a $5 fee, after six months it doubles to $10, and after five years you must also pass the vision, knowledge and skills tests. Report any address change within ten days, even one imposed by the postal service or a 911 district; the license must show a street address, and the change need only be on file, not printed. The federal Driver Privacy Protection Act keeps your record private without your express consent.
The graduated driver license
Drivers under 18 pass through a learner permit, an Intermediate Restricted license, an Intermediate Unrestricted license and a regular license; the first three print GDL on the card, and since 2018 all under-21 licenses are vertical. Crashes are the leading cause of death at ages 15 to 20. Learner permit (PD): age 15, knowledge test and vision screening; drive only with a licensed driver 21 or older in the front seat, never between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., everyone belted, no hand-held device. Intermediate Restricted: age 16, permit held 180 days, 50 hours of certified practice including 10 at night, and the road test. Only one passenger unless the extra passengers are 21 or older with a valid license, or are siblings, step-siblings or foster siblings living with the driver traveling to and from school with a parent's letter. No driving between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless with a parent or guardian, with a licensed driver 21 or older designated in writing, to or from work with written permission naming the employer, to or from a named school activity with written permission, or to or from hunting or fishing between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. with a valid license. Intermediate Unrestricted: age 17, Restricted license held one year, no crash at fault, no second seat-belt conviction, and fewer than six points; the word Intermediate stays on the card. Regular license: at 18, or on high school graduation or a GED, whichever is sooner; an $8 duplicate removes the word Intermediate. The GDL rules do not apply at 18 or to graduates, and a 16-year-old emancipated by military service, marriage or court order may get a regular license.
GDL penalties and teen rules
Six or more points on the permit means holding it until the record shows fewer than six points for 180 consecutive days. On the Restricted license, six or more points, contributing to a crash, or a second seat-belt conviction each add 90 days to the required year; a second moving violation requires a certified driver education course; a forged parental letter or contributing to a fatal crash revokes the license and leaves only a permit until 18. Penalties reported after the Unrestricted license was issued still apply, dropping the teen back for 90 days. New residents at 15 get only a permit and need 180 days total on a permit (previous-state time counts with a certified record) and age 16 for the Restricted license; a 16-year-old with an out-of-state license held at least 90 days gets the Restricted license. Permit and Intermediate holders may not use a cell phone of any kind while driving: a Class C misdemeanor, $50 fine, 6 points and a 90-day delay in eligibility. Texting while driving is prohibited for every driver (fine up to $50 and court costs up to $10). A student 15 or older who drops out loses driving privileges; the first time, returning to school restores them with a $20 reinstatement fee, but a second dropout means waiting until 18. An adult must sign the Minor/Teenage Affidavit accepting responsibility, including financial responsibility, for the minor's driving.
The examinations
The examination is a vision screening, a knowledge test and a road test. The vision standard is 20/40 in each eye and both together, with or without lenses. The knowledge test is multiple choice on Sections B and C, about 25 percent each on signs and signals, safe driving principles, rules of the road, and drugs and alcohol; it is computerized, offered also in Spanish, Korean and Japanese, allows a clean translation dictionary but no electronic devices or interpreters, and oral tests are available for learning disabilities. Fail it and you wait at least one day; no test may be repeated the same day, and each failure costs the $2 application fee. Cheating means automatic failure and no retest for 30 days. Applicants 15 to 17 may take the test online under a parent's supervision through the Proctor Identification app. Road tests are by appointment, bookable 45 days ahead; arrive 15 minutes early, and being 5 minutes late cancels it. They are not given in heavy rain, thick fog, flooding, snow and ice, severe weather warnings or in the dark. You must understand enough English to follow the examiner, bring your own registered vehicle, and be ready to demonstrate eight items: belts (required on vehicles from 1969 on), foot and parking brakes, high and low beams (at least two and no more than four white headlights), tail and brake lights, two wipers, defroster, mirrors and horn. Windshields may not be tinted, other windows must pass at least 35 percent of light, mufflers and both doors must work, bumpers sit 14 to 22 inches from the ground, and only you and the examiner ride. You fail immediately for any traffic violation, refusing directions, any dangerous action or contributing to a crash. Scoring 1 to 6 errors passes; 7 to 9 means retesting the next day, 10 to 12 after 7 days, 13 to 15 after 14 days, and 16 or more or an automatic failure after 30 days.
Distracted driving and the hands-free law
Reading or sending a text takes the eyes off the road at least 5 seconds, a football field at 55 mph. Under the 2019 hands-free law (Public Chapter 412) a driver may not hold a phone or mobile device with any part of the body, write, send or read any text-based communication, reach for a device in a way that leaves the seated, belted driving position, watch a video, or record or broadcast video. You may not touch the phone to use GPS; pull over and stop first. Since 2018, adults may not use a hand-held phone in a marked school zone while its flashers operate unless hands-free, and under 18 the exception does not apply.
Practise this with Tennessee Driver License questions
More of this guide
The 10-to-12-inch seating distance, mirror settings, head restraints, starting, 9 and 3 hand position, push-pull and hand-over-hand steering, backing at 12 o'clock, stopping within 18 inches of the curb, carbon monoxide, video screens, front-seat and back-seat belt rules, under-17 and 4-through-8 passengers, the $50 fine and Class C misdemeanor, rear-facing under one year or 20 pounds, forward-facing to age 3, boosters to 4 feet 9 inches, belts to bones, why belts work, air bags and children 12 and under, pickup beds and the law on children left unattended.
The nine sign colors plus fluorescent yellow-green and pink, octagon, triangle, round, crossbuck, diamond and rectangle shapes, gates and flashing lights, keep right, no passing pennants, school zone flashers, red circle and slash, hitchhiking, turn and curve advisory speeds, reverse turns under 600 feet, work area signs, flaggers and channeling devices, the slow-moving vehicle emblem, exit-only panels, service and handicap signs, emergency reference markers every 1,000 feet, every signal color and arrow, the three-second yellow, right on red, flashing yellow arrows, dead signals as all-way stops, pedestrian and lane control signals, and yellow and white line rules, with pictures of the signs.
Headlights 30 minutes after sunset, at 200 feet and whenever wipers run, dimming at 500 feet, parking and fog light rules, coasting, littering fines, slow-moving vehicles and the five-car rule, funeral processions, the Basic Speed Rule, the 55 and 70 mph limits, the 55 mph left-lane and 45 mph right-lane interstate minimums, school zone reckless driving, the $250 to $500 work zone fine, ABS, the two- and four-second rules, perception and reaction time, the 418-foot stop at 70 mph, complete stops and rolling stops, railroad crossings at 15 to 50 feet, vehicles that must stop at every crossing, the school bus stop law and its $250 to $1,000 fine, police stops, left-right-left, and every right-of-way rule including the Move Over law.
Signaling 50 feet ahead and hand signals, turning do's and don'ts, left turns between one-way and two-way streets, the only left turn on red, multiple turn lanes, right turns and truck squeezes, roundabouts at 15 to 25 mph, where U-turns are illegal including 500-foot sight lines, white on your right and yellow on your left, divided highway crossovers, the 300-foot center turn lane rule, reversible, reserved and HOV lanes, changing lanes, passing on the left within 100 feet of a no-passing zone, when passing on the right is legal, passing bicycles at 3 feet and trucks, backing, the full no-parking list, hill and parallel parking, entering and exiting interstates, lane added versus merge, HOV hours and the $50 fine, diamond and cloverleaf interchanges, interstate hypnosis and breakdowns.
Headlights that show 200 feet, never outrunning your lights, glare recovery, parking lights at night, rain and the first minutes of slick pavement, ice on bridges, hydroplaning and tripled stopping distance, skids and off-pavement recovery, fog and smoke on low beams, flood depths that float a car, wind, getting unstuck, tornadoes, the three winter errors, ABS, how the liver clears one drink an hour, BAC and the .08 limit, crash risk at .10, .15 and .17, judgment, vision, reaction and alertness, everyday drugs, implied consent and the 12-month refusal, the No Refusal law, DUI penalties for first through fourth offenses, interlocks, vehicle seizure, the drunk-driver litter vest, child endangerment, under-21 and juvenile alcohol laws and the .02 rule.
The Problem Driver Pointer System, every reason a license is revoked or suspended, teen dropout and school progress rules, surrendering a license within 20 days, hearings and the Non-Resident Violator Compact, the 12-point and 6-point thresholds and advisory letters, point values by offense, the once-in-five-years defensive driving option, SR-22, restricted licenses, medical reports, financial responsibility, crash notification over $50 and the 20-day report over $400, what to do at a crash, scanning 10 to 15 seconds ahead, space cushions and four-second gaps, road rage, stop-turn-speed up, ABS do's and don'ts, deer, fitness to drive, maintenance, pedestrians, bicycles and the 3-foot law, motorcycles, trucks and the No-Zone, school bus danger zones, slow vehicles and horses, work zones, trains and the Emergency Notification System, 15-passenger vans and RVs.