                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSURE OF PERSONS UNDER 18 (§ 46.2-334)

A. Minors at least 16 years and three months old may be issued driver&#8217;s
licenses under the following conditions:

   1. The minor shall submit a proper application and satisfactory evidence that
   he (i) is a resident of the Commonwealth; (ii) has successfully completed a
   driver education course approved by either the State Department of Education
   or, in the case of a course offered by a driver training school licensed under
   Chapter 17 (&#xA7; 46.2-1700 et seq.) of this title, by the Department of
   Motor Vehicles; and (iii) is mentally, physically, and otherwise qualified to
   drive a motor vehicle safely.

   2. The minor&#8217;s application for a driver&#8217;s license must be signed
   by a parent of the applicant, otherwise by the guardian having custody of him.
   However, in the event a minor has no parent or guardian, then a driver&#8217;s
   license shall not be issued to him unless his application is signed by the
   judge of the juvenile and domestic relations district court of the city or
   county in which he resides. If the minor making the application is married or
   otherwise emancipated, in lieu of any parent&#8217;s, guardian&#8217;s or
   judge&#8217;s signature, the minor may present proper evidence of the
   solemnization of the marriage or the order of emancipation.

   3. The minor shall be required to state in his application whether or not he
   has been convicted of an offense triable by, or tried in, a juvenile and
   domestic relations district court or found by such court to be a child in need
   of supervision, as defined in &#xA7; 16.1-228. If it appears that the minor
   has been adjudged not innocent of the offense alleged or has been found to be
   a child in need of supervision, the Department shall not issue a license
   without the written approval of the judge of the juvenile and domestic
   relations district court making an adjudication as to the minor or the like
   approval of a similar court of the county or city in which the parent or
   guardian, respectively, of the minor resides.

   4. The application for a permanent driver&#8217;s license by a minor of the
   age of persons required to attend school pursuant to &#xA7; 22.1-254 shall be
   accompanied by evidence of compliance with the compulsory school attendance
   law set forth in Article 1 (&#xA7; 22.1-254 et seq.) of Chapter 14 of Title
   22.1. This evidence shall be provided in writing by the minor&#8217;s parent.
   If the minor is unable to provide such evidence, he shall not be granted a
   driver&#8217;s license until he reaches the age of 18 or presents proper
   evidence of the solemnization of his marriage or an order of emancipation, or
   the parent, as defined in &#xA7; 22.1-1, or other person standing in loco
   parentis has provided written authorization for the minor to obtain a
   driver&#8217;s license.
   				A minor may, however, present a high school diploma or its equivalent or a
   certificate indicating completion of a prescribed course of study as defined
   by the local school board pursuant to &#xA7; 22.1-253.13:4 as evidence of
   compulsory school attendance compliance.

   5. The minor applicant shall certify in writing, on a form prescribed by the
   Commissioner, that he is a resident of the Commonwealth. The applicant&#8217;s
   parent or guardian shall also certify that the applicant is a resident by
   signing the certification. Any minor providing proper evidence of the
   solemnization of his marriage or a certified copy of a court order of
   emancipation shall not be required to provide the parent&#8217;s certification
   of residence.

B. Any custodial parent or guardian of an unmarried or unemancipated minor may,
after the issuance of a permanent driver&#8217;s license to such minor, file
with the Department a written request that the license of the minor be canceled.
When such request is filed, the Department shall cancel the license of the minor
and the license shall not thereafter be reissued by the Department until a
period of six months has elapsed from the date of cancellation or the minor
reaches his eighteenth birthday, whichever shall occur sooner. Notwithstanding
the foregoing provisions of this subsection, in the case of a minor whose
parents have been awarded joint legal custody, a request that the license of the
minor be cancelled must be signed by both legal custodians. In the event one
parent is not reasonably available or the parents do not agree, one parent may
petition the juvenile and domestic relations district court to make a
determination that the license of the minor be cancelled.

C. The provisions of subsection A of this section requiring that an application
for a driver&#8217;s license be signed by the parent or guardian shall be waived
by the Commissioner if the application is accompanied by proper evidence of the
solemnization of the minor&#8217;s marriage or a certified copy of a court
order, issued under the provisions of Article 15 (&#xA7; 16.1-331 et seq.) of
Chapter 11 of Title 16.1, declaring the applicant to be an emancipated minor.

D. A learner&#8217;s permit accompanied by documentation verifying the
minor&#8217;s successful completion of an approved driver education course,
signed by the minor&#8217;s parent, guardian, legal custodian or other person
standing in loco parentis, shall constitute a temporary driver&#8217;s license
for purposes of driving unaccompanied by a licensed driver as required in &#xA7;
46.2-335, if all other requirements of this chapter have been met. The temporary
license shall only be valid until the permanent license is presented as provided
in &#xA7; 46.2-336.

E. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A requiring the successful
completion of a driver education course approved by the State Department of
Education, the Commissioner, on application therefor by a person at least 16
years and three months old but less than 18 years old, shall issue to the
applicant a temporary driver&#8217;s license valid for six months if he (i)
certifies by signing, together with his parent or guardian, if applicable, on a
form prescribed by the Commissioner that he is a resident of the Commonwealth;
(ii) is the holder of a valid driver&#8217;s license from another U.S. state,
U.S. territory, Canadian province, or Canadian territory; and (iii) has not been
found guilty of or otherwise responsible for an offense involving the operation
of a motor vehicle. No temporary license issued under this subsection shall be
renewed, nor shall any second or subsequent temporary license under this
subsection be issued to the same applicant. Any such minor providing proper
evidence of the solemnization of his marriage or a certified copy of a court
order of emancipation shall not be required to obtain the signature of his
parent or guardian for the temporary driver&#8217;s license.
			In order to obtain a permanent driver&#8217;s license, applicants who
transfer to Virginia from another U.S. state or any U.S. territory, Canadian
province, or Canadian territory must have documentation of at least 30 hours of
classroom instruction and six hours of in-car instruction from a
government-approved program in the other U.S. state, U.S. territory, or Canadian
province or Canadian territory. If a transfer applicant successfully completes a
government-approved classroom and in-car driver education program from another
state or any U.S. territory, Canadian province, or Canadian territory, the
applicant must present the certificate of completion, specifying the number of
instructional hours, to the Department.

F. For persons qualifying for a driver&#8217;s license through driver education
courses approved by the Department of Education or courses offered by driver
training schools licensed by the Department, the application for the
learner&#8217;s permit shall be used as the application for the driver&#8217;s
license pursuant to &#xA7; 46.2-335.

G. Driver&#8217;s licenses shall be issued by the Department to students
successfully completing driver education courses approved by the Department of
Education (i) when the Department receives from the school proper certification
that the student (a) has successfully completed such course, including a road
skills examination and (b) is regularly attending school and is in good academic
standing or, if not in such standing or submitting evidence thereof, whose
parent or guardian, having custody of such minor, provides written authorization
for the minor to obtain a driver&#8217;s license, which written authorization
shall be obtained on forms provided by the Department and indicating the
Commonwealth&#8217;s interest in the good academic standing and regular school
attendance of such minors; and (ii) upon payment of a fee of $2.40 per year,
based on the period of the license&#8217;s validity. For applicants attending
public schools, good academic standing may be certified by the public school
principal or any of his designees. For applicants attending nonpublic schools,
such certification shall be made by the private school principal or any of his
designees; for students receiving home schooling, such certification shall be
made by the home schooling parent or tutor. Any minor providing proper evidence
of the solemnization of his marriage or a certified copy of a court order of
emancipation shall not be required to provide the certification of good academic
standing or any written authorization from his parent or guardian to obtain a
driver&#8217;s license.

H. For those home schooled students completing driver education courses approved
by the Board of Education and instructed by his own parent or guardian, no
driver&#8217;s license shall be issued until the student has successfully
completed the driver&#8217;s license examination administered by the Department.
Furthermore, the Commissioner shall not issue a driver&#8217;s license for those
home schooled students completing driver education courses approved by the Board
of Education and instructed by his own parent or guardian if it is determined by
the Commissioner that, at the time of such instruction, such parent or guardian
had accumulated six or more driver demerit points in the most recently preceding
12 months, had been convicted within the most recent 11 preceding years of
driving while intoxicated in violation of &#xA7; 18.2-266 or a substantially
similar law in another state, or had ever been convicted of voluntary or
involuntary manslaughter in violation of &#xA7; 18.2-35 or 18.2-36 or a
substantially similar law in another state.

I. The Commissioner, on application therefor by a person from another U.S. state
or any U.S. territory, Canadian province, or Canadian territory who is at least
16 years and three months old but less than 18 years old, shall issue a Virginia
driver&#8217;s license to the applicant if the applicant (i) certifies by
signing, together with his parent or guardian, if applicable, on a form
prescribed by the Commissioner that he is now a resident of the Commonwealth;
(ii) has completed a government-approved classroom and in-car driver education
program from another U.S. state or any U.S. territory, Canadian province, or
Canadian territory, which shall not be required to meet the 30 hours of
classroom instruction and six hours of in-car instruction requirement in
subsection E; (iii) is the holder of a valid driver&#8217;s license from another
U.S. state or any U.S. territory, Canadian province, or Canadian territory; (iv)
has held the valid driver&#8217;s license for the 12 months immediately prior to
applying for a Virginia license; (v) has not been found guilty of or otherwise
responsible for an offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle; and (vi)
successfully completes behind-the-wheel and driver knowledge examinations
administered by the Department.
			The applicant must present the certificate of completion specifying the
number of classroom and in-car driver education program instructional hours for
the government-approved classroom and in-car driver education program from
another U.S. state or any U.S. territory, Canadian province, or Canadian
territory to the Department.

HISTORY: Code 1950, §§ 46-353, 46-361, 46-363, 46-364; 1950, p. 249; 1952, c.
396; 1954, c. 123; 1956, c. 665; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-357; 1960, cc. 110, 424;
1962, cc. 254, 482; 1964, c. 617; 1966, c. 36; 1968, c. 642; 1970, c. 41; 1972,
c. 823; 1973, c. 1; 1974, cc. 223, 542; 1976, c. 8; 1977, cc. 548, 552; 1980, c.
165; 1982, c. 287; 1984, c. 780; 1987, cc. 154, 632; 1989, cc. 392, 705, 727;
1991, c. 214; 1993, cc. 471, 501; 1995, c. 535; 1996, cc. 943, 994, 1011, 1022;
1997, c. 841; 1999, cc. 459, 462, 887; 2001, cc. 659, 665, 851; 2003, c. 951;
2014, cc. 286, 685; 2016, c. 488.