Louisiana requires 50 hours of supervised driving, including at least 15 hours at night, before a teen can move from a learner's permit to an intermediate license. Fifteen night hours is among the highest in the country — most states settle at 10. Drivers under 18 must also complete an approved driver education course (commonly 30 hours of classroom plus 8 hours behind the wheel), and the learner's permit has to be held for at least 180 days. A parent or guardian certifies the hours.
Louisiana supervised driving requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Total supervised hours | 50 hours |
| Night hours | 15 hours at night (of the 50) — well above the national norm of 10 |
| Professional / instructor hours | Driver education is required for drivers under 18: commonly 30 hours classroom plus 8 hours behind the wheel. Those instructor hours are separate from the 50. |
| Minimum permit age | 15 (learner's permit, with driver education) |
| Permit holding period | 180 days on the learner's permit before the intermediate license at 16 |
| Permit validity | Check the expiration printed on the permit — Louisiana permits are time-limited and renewable |
| Who may supervise | A licensed parent or guardian, or a licensed adult at least 21 years old, in the front passenger seat |
| Official log form | Louisiana requires certification that the 50 hours (with 15 at night) were completed. Get the current certification form from the OMV or your driver education provider. |
| Certification method | Parent or guardian signs the certification of supervised driving |
| State app or program | None. Louisiana does not publish an official hour-logging app. |
Who can supervise practice driving in Louisiana
The rule is standard, but Louisiana's high night share means who is available in the evening matters as much as who qualifies on paper.
- A licensed parent or guardian, or a licensed adult at least 21 years old, in the front passenger seat.
- A licensed driving instructor qualifies during a lesson.
- Fifteen night hours is a scheduling problem, not a legal one. If only one parent is comfortable in the car after dark, start the night hours in the first month rather than the last.
Night hours, and what "night" means here
Fifteen of the 50 hours have to be at night — 30 percent of the total, and one of the highest night shares in the country. The OMV does not publish a rigid clock definition, so treat night as actual darkness: after sunset and before sunrise. In Baton Rouge and New Orleans, that is roughly after 5:15 PM in December and after 8 PM in June, so the winter half of the year is dramatically more efficient. Louisiana-specific things worth doing in the dark: elevated interstate with poor lane markings, rain at night (headlight glare off wet asphalt is its own skill), and unlit two-lane parish roads where the shoulder disappears into a ditch.
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.
- Rain counts and Louisiana has plenty. The state does not require weather hours, but a driver who has never handled a summer downpour on I-10 has a gap the road test will not catch and the first solo month will.
How to actually get to 50 hours
Fifty hours over 180 days is about two hours a week. The night share is what needs planning: 15 hours is roughly thirty half-hour evening drives, which means an evening drive most weeks for the entire permit period. Families who treat night hours as something to catch up on at the end almost always come up short, because by then it is June and the sun does not set until 8.
Official Louisiana resources
- Louisiana OMV — Teen Drivers — learner's permit and intermediate license requirements, ages, and driver education rules
- Louisiana Driver's Guide — the handbook the written test is drawn from
Tracking your hours
With 15 night hours to account for, a running total that separates night from day is not a nicety in Louisiana — it is the only way to know where you stand.
PermitReady is a free iPhone and iPad app that does two things: practice questions for the Louisiana OMV 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 OMV's certification of supervised driving. 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 Louisiana require?
50 hours, including at least 15 at night, before an intermediate license. The 15-hour night requirement is one of the highest in the country.
How many night hours does Louisiana require?
15 of the 50 — about 30 percent of the total. Treat night as actual darkness between sunset and sunrise, and start banking those hours early rather than saving them for the end.
How long do you have to hold a Louisiana learner's permit?
180 days before applying for an intermediate license at 16.
Is driver education required in Louisiana?
Yes, for drivers under 18 — commonly 30 hours of classroom instruction plus 8 hours behind the wheel with an instructor. Those instructor hours are separate from the 50 supervised hours.
Does Louisiana have an official driving log form?
Louisiana requires certification that the 50 hours including 15 at night were completed. Get the current form from the OMV or your driver education provider, since versions change.
Also for Louisiana
Louisiana permit test practice · Supervised driving hours log · Printable log templates · Supervised driving hours by state
Verification and disclaimers
Requirements verified August 2026 against Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, Teen Drivers. Requirements change, and the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles can revise them without much notice — always confirm the current rules with the Louisiana Office of Motor 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 Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles or any government agency.