Kansas builds its hour requirement in two steps. A teen who gets an instruction permit at 14 needs 25 hours of supervised driving, including at least 10 at night, before applying for a restricted license at 15. By the time they apply at 16, the total needs to reach 50 hours, still including at least 10 at night. A parent or guardian signs an affidavit of driving experience certifying the total. Kansas is also one of the few states with a farm permit, available at 14 for agricultural driving.
Kansas supervised driving requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Kansas |
|---|---|
| Total supervised hours | 25 hours by age 15; 50 hours total by age 16 |
| Night hours | 10 hours at night, included in the totals at both stages |
| Professional / instructor hours | Driver education is required for applicants under 16 |
| Minimum permit age | 14 (instruction permit) |
| Permit holding period | Instruction permit held until at least 15 for a restricted license; full privileges follow at 16 |
| Permit validity | Check the expiration on the permit — Kansas instruction permits are time-limited and renewable |
| Who may supervise | Licensed adult 21 or older (or the teen's parent or guardian), in the front passenger seat |
| Official log form | Yes — Kansas requires a signed affidavit of driving experience documenting the hours. Get the current form from the Division of Vehicles. |
| Certification method | Parent or guardian signs the affidavit of driving experience |
| State app or program | None. Kansas does not publish an official hour-logging app. |
Who can supervise practice driving in Kansas
Kansas's supervision rule is straightforward, and the farm permit is the thing that makes Kansas different from most states.
- A licensed adult 21 or older, or the teen's parent or guardian, in the front passenger seat.
- A driver education instructor qualifies during a lesson.
- Farm permit holders drive unsupervised under narrow conditions. That is a separate track with its own rules — farm driving does not substitute for the supervised hours needed for a restricted or full license.
Night hours, and what "night" means here
Kansas asks for 10 night hours, and it asks for them early — they are part of the 25-hour requirement at age 15, not something you can defer to the last stretch. The Division of Vehicles does not publish a clock definition, so treat night as actual darkness. In Wichita and Topeka, December gives you full dark by about 5:30 PM, which makes winter the efficient season. Kansas-specific conditions worth doing after dark: two-lane highways with grain trucks, unlit rural intersections where cross traffic does not stop, and the long unlit stretches where high beams are the only thing between you and a deer.
What counts as a loggable hour
- Public-road driving with a qualified supervisor counts. The trip to school, errands, highway miles, practice loops around the neighborhood — it all counts as long as the permit holder is at the wheel and the supervising driver is in the front passenger seat.
- Time parked, idling, or waiting in a drive-through does not count. Log driving time, not trip time.
- Empty parking lots and closed courses generally do not count. The point of the requirement is real traffic.
- Hours before the permit was issued do not count. The permit has to be in hand first.
- Do the night hours first, not last. Because Kansas front-loads the night requirement into the 25-hour stage, families who save night driving for the end find themselves blocked at 15 rather than at 16.
How to actually get to 50 hours
Kansas's staging means the pace is set for you: 25 hours before the restricted license at 15, then another 25 before 16. Roughly two hours a week over each stretch does it. The affidavit is signed by a parent, so the number needs to be real — and because the requirement spans two years, this is one of the states where a record kept from day one saves the most pain.
Official Kansas resources
- Kansas Department of Revenue — Teen Driving — instruction permit, restricted license, and farm permit requirements plus the affidavit
- Kansas Driving Handbook — the handbook the written test is drawn from
Tracking your hours
Kansas signs an affidavit rather than collecting page-by-page logs, but the affidavit spans two years of driving — which is exactly the situation where memory fails and a running record does not.
PermitReady is a free iPhone and iPad app that does two things: practice questions for the Kansas Division of Vehicles permit test, and a supervised driving hours log. Each drive is one entry — date, duration, and condition tags including night, highway, rain, and heavy traffic — with a running total at the top so you always know how far you have left to go. Entries can be backdated, so a log you started late can still be complete. It works offline, and there is no account to create: nothing is uploaded, and the log lives on the phone.
Honest limits: PermitReady does not detect drives automatically, does not use GPS, is iPhone and iPad only, and does not generate a signed state affidavit. It is a record you copy from when you fill in the Kansas affidavit of driving experience. If you would rather have automatic drive detection or an Android app, RoadReady has both — we compare them directly in PermitReady vs RoadReady. There is also a full write-up of the driving log and a set of printable paper templates if you would rather keep it on paper.
Frequently asked questions
How many supervised driving hours does Kansas require?
25 hours, including 10 at night, before a restricted license at 15, building to 50 hours total by the time a teen applies at 16. A parent or guardian signs an affidavit of driving experience.
How many night hours does Kansas require?
10 hours, and they are part of the first 25-hour stage rather than something you can leave to the end. Treat night as actual darkness between sunset and sunrise.
How old do you have to be to get a Kansas instruction permit?
14. Kansas also offers a farm permit at 14 for agricultural driving, which is a separate track with its own restrictions.
Does Kansas have an official driving log form?
Kansas requires a signed affidavit of driving experience documenting the hours. Get the current form from the Division of Vehicles, since form versions change.
Who can supervise practice driving in Kansas?
A licensed adult at least 21 years old, or the teen's parent or guardian, seated in the front passenger seat. A driver education instructor also qualifies.
Also for Kansas
Kansas permit test practice · Supervised driving hours log · Printable log templates · Supervised driving hours by state
Verification and disclaimers
Requirements verified August 2026 against Kansas Department of Revenue, Teen Driving. Requirements change, and the Kansas Division of Vehicles can revise them without much notice — always confirm the current rules with the Kansas Division of Vehicles before your road test.
PermitReady's driving hours log is a personal tracking tool. It is not a state form and has not been approved or endorsed by any state licensing agency. Check with your state's DMV, RMV, DPS, BMV, or equivalent agency for which log format they require, and use their official state form if one is mandated.
RoadReady® is a registered trademark of Safe Roads Alliance, Inc. PermitReady is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Safe Roads Alliance, Inc.
PermitReady is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the Kansas Division of Vehicles or any government agency.