                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

REQUIREMENTS FOR INITIAL LICENSURE OF CERTAIN APPLICANTS (§ 46.2-324.1)

A. No driver&#8217;s license shall be issued to any applicant unless he either
(i) provides written evidence of having satisfactorily completed a course of
driver instruction at a driver training school licensed under Chapter 17 (&#xA7;
46.2-1700 et seq.) or a comparable course approved by the Department or the
Department of Education or (ii) has held a learner&#8217;s permit issued by the
Department for at least 60 days prior to his first behind-the-wheel examination
by the Department when applying for a noncommercial driver&#8217;s license.
			The provisions of this section shall only apply to persons who are at least
18 years old and who either (a) have never held a driver&#8217;s license issued
by Virginia or any other state or territory of the United States or foreign
country or (b) have never been licensed or held the license endorsement or
classification required to operate the type of vehicle which they now propose to
operate. Completion of a course of driver instruction approved by the Department
or the Department of Education at a driver training school may include the final
behind-the-wheel examination for a driver&#8217;s license; however, a driver
training school shall not administer the behind-the-wheel examination to any
applicant who is under medical control pursuant to &#xA7; 46.2-322. Applicants
completing a course of driver instruction approved by the Department or the
Department of Education at a driver training school retain the option of having
the behind-the-wheel examination administered by the Department.

B. No commercial driver&#8217;s license shall be issued to any applicant unless
he (i) is 18 years old or older, (ii) has complied with the requirements of
subsection A of &#xA7; 46.2-341.9, (iii) has completed both the theory and the
behind-the-wheel portions of the training course within one year from the date
instruction was first commenced, and (iv) has completed both the range and the
public road portions of the behind-the-wheel curriculum with the same training
provider. Applicants for a commercial driver&#8217;s license who have never
before held a commercial driver&#8217;s license shall apply for a commercial
learner&#8217;s permit and hold the commercial learner&#8217;s permit for a
minimum of 14 days prior to taking the behind-the-wheel examination for the
commercial driver&#8217;s license.
			Holders of a commercial driver&#8217;s license who have never held the
license endorsement or classification required to operate the type of commercial
motor vehicle which they now propose to operate must (a) complete an entry-level
driver training course applicable to the license, classification, or endorsement
for the type of commercial motor vehicle they propose to operate and (b) apply
for a commercial learner&#8217;s permit if the upgrade requires a skills test
and hold the permit for a minimum of 14 days prior to taking the
behind-the-wheel examination for the commercial driver&#8217;s license.

C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Department from
requiring any person to complete the skills examination as prescribed in &#xA7;
46.2-325 and the written or automated examinations as prescribed in &#xA7;
46.2-335.

D. Applicants for a commercial driver&#8217;s license who have never before held
a commercial driver&#8217;s license who are members of the active duty military,
military reserves, National Guard, active duty United States Coast Guard, or
Coast Guard Auxiliary and provide written evidence of having satisfactorily
completed a military commercial driver training program shall hold the
commercial learner&#8217;s permit for a minimum of 14 days prior to taking the
behind-the-wheel examination for the commercial driver&#8217;s license, provided
that the program complies with the requirements provided in Article 2 (&#xA7;
46.2-1708 et seq.) of Chapter 17, unless such entity is otherwise exempted from
such requirements under federal law or regulation.

HISTORY: 2000, c. 685; 2005, cc. 245, 513; 2012, cc. 215, 222; 2013, cc. 165,
582; 2014, c. 685; 2015, c. 258; 2016, c. 488; 2019, c. 750.