Alabama Learners Permit Application
Should you choose to obtain a driver license in Alabama, you will need to start by applying for an Alabama learners permit. The Alabama drivers permit, also referred to as a learners license, was designed to give you a chance to practice driving in a relatively safe driving environment. The application process is age dependent and everyone who wishes to apply for the Alabama learners permit before their 18th birthday needs to follow the state's graduated license program.
Graduated Driver License
Most of the teenagers think that it is unfair that they have to go through so many additional procedures and meet countless requirements when they apply for an Alabama drivers license. However, we think that such measures are fully justified, especially if you take into account statistics that cover traffic accidents on Alabama roads. According to these stats, teen drivers are four times more likely to have a traffic accident than an average driver.
The graduated driver license program in Alabama was designed with a few goals in mind. First, it provides teenagers with a relatively low-risk environment to practice driving before they take the road test. Second, the program discourages teen drivers from engaging in behavior that may contribute to a traffic accident.
If you are applying for a learners license in Alabama before your 18th birthday, we advise that you familiarize yourself the graduated license rules before you visit the Department of Public Safety to file your application.
Applying for a Learners Permit - Under 18 Years of Age
As mentioned above, your first step should be reading the graduated license requirements and learning the state driving rules. A good way to learn the driving rules is to real the Alabama DPS drivers handbook that is available for download on the DPS website. The book contains virtually everything you need to know to be able to get behind the wheel and start driving in no time.
Once you are done with the book, you can visit the DPS to file your application. The minimum age when you can apply for a drivers permit in Alabama is 15 years. Applications from younger aspirants will not be accepted.
When you submit your application at the DPS, you are required to take a written knowledge test and submit to vision screening. Those who do not pass either of these tests are required to come and retake both tests another date.
Those who successfully pass the test are issued with an Alabama learners permit.
Although you are not required to take a drivers education course prior to applying for the Alabama driver permit, you may still wish to do so, and this is why. Taking a drivers education course is a great way to learn the rules and prepare for the learners permit test and most of the drivers ed classes are more fun than just reading the book at home. You should also be aware of the fact that the state requires you to either take an Alabama driver education course or complete at least 30 hours of driving with parents. Thus, completing the class early allows you to kill two birds with one stone.
Drivers Permit Application - 18 Years of Age and Older
Those who are at least 18 years of age when they decide to apply for a drivers permit need to follow the same application procedure, however they don't need to observe most of the Alabama permit restrictions when they are operating under a permit.
You must start by learning the driving rules and road signs. You can learn the rules from the learners permit handbook or by taking one of the special classes at a local driving school. Once you are ready, visit the DPS and take the learners permit exam and a vision test. Should you pass both tests, you are issued with an Alabama driver permit.
When you file your application for a permit at the DPS, you are required to present a number of documents that prove your identity, birth date and legal presence. All documents must be originals or notarized copies.
Required Testing
Driving is a serious matter and the DPS will not allow you behind the wheel until you prove that you know the state driving rules and won't cause any danger to other drivers on the road due to some health limitations. Every Alabama learners permit applicant is required to take a vision exam and a knowledge permit test.
Vision Requirements
The following minimum standards must be met by every Alabama permit applicant:
- visual acuity 20/40 with both eyes
- peripheral vision of 110 degrees
If you do not meet these minimum standards, you are referred to an eye specialist that will need to examine your vision and write a report to the DPS. If your do not have a visual acuity of at least 20/60 or better in at least one eye, you will be denied a learners permit.
If you are wearing glasses or contact lenses regularly, you must also wear them when you take the vision test. An appropriate restriction will be placed onto your learners permit and you will need to wear glasses or contact lenses every time you drive.
Learners Permit Test
For some reason, taking a learners permit test makes most of the permit applicants very anxious and it is hard to convince someone that the knowledge exam is not hard at all, but let us try one more time. Passing the learner's permit test in Alabama is easy. There, it was said.
All jokes aside, passing the driver permit test is truly not hard, you just need to study for it. Most of the people who failed the exam did not study at all, thinking that their general knowledge of driving rules will get them through the test. Well, it doesn't. So don't make the same mistake and read the book at least once before you visit the DPS to apply for a permit.
Those who already read the book but aren't sure whether it is time to take the test can try a free Alabama permit practice test that covers the same rules as the real exam. Keep in mind - there is no point in memorizing the answers, the real permit test questions will be different.
Operating Under a Permit
One thing people tend to forget as soon as they get their permit is that the permit does not grant full driving privileges and all permit restrictions must be observed until an actual Alabama drivers license is achieved. For those who are under 18 years of age, this period should be no shorter than six months. Adult drivers can go ahead and schedule their Alabama driver test whenever they feel confident enough behind the wheel.
