Missouri requires 40 hours of behind-the-wheel driving instruction, including at least 10 hours at night, before a teen can move from an instruction permit to an intermediate license. Missouri is unusually specific about who those hours are driven with: the law refers to a "qualified instructor," which means a parent, grandparent, legal guardian, a qualified driving instructor, or a licensed driver at least 25 years old with the parent's permission. The permit has to be held for at least 182 days.
Missouri supervised driving requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Missouri |
|---|---|
| Total supervised hours | 40 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction |
| Night hours | 10 hours at night (of the 40) |
| Professional / instructor hours | None required by the state — a qualified driving instructor is one of the people who can supervise, not an extra requirement |
| Minimum permit age | 15 (instruction permit) |
| Permit holding period | 182 days on the instruction permit before the intermediate license at 16 |
| Permit validity | Missouri instruction permits are commonly issued for a 12-month term — check the expiration on yours |
| Who may supervise | A "qualified instructor": a parent, grandparent, legal guardian, qualified driving instructor, or a licensed driver at least 25 years old with the parent's permission |
| Official log form | Missouri requires a signed driving log documenting the 40 hours, presented when applying for the intermediate license. The Department of Revenue publishes a log form. |
| Certification method | The qualified instructor signs the driving log |
| State app or program | None. Missouri does not publish an official hour-logging app. |
Who can supervise practice driving in Missouri
Missouri's "qualified instructor" definition is broader than most states in one direction and narrower in another: grandparents are named explicitly, but an unrelated adult has to be 25 and have the parent's permission.
- A parent, grandparent, or legal guardian who is licensed.
- A qualified driving instructor.
- A licensed driver at least 25 years old with the parent's or guardian's permission — note the age is 25, not 21.
- The supervisor rides in the front passenger seat and has to be able to take control.
Night hours, and what "night" means here
Ten of the 40 hours have to be at night. Missouri does not publish a rigid clock definition, so treat night as actual darkness — after sunset, before sunrise. In St. Louis and Kansas City, December gives you full dark by around 5:10 PM and June holds light past 8:40 PM, so the winter months are where these hours come easily. Missouri-specific night conditions worth practicing: rural two-lane highways in the Ozarks with sharp curves and no lighting, and the transition from a lit interstate to an unlit county road, where your eyes need thirty seconds they do not get.
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.
- Record who supervised. With the qualified-instructor rule, a log line that names the adult is easier to certify honestly than one that just shows a duration.
How to actually get to 40 hours
Forty hours over the 182-day permit period is about ninety minutes a week. That is a manageable pace and Missouri families rarely miss the total — they miss the night share, because 10 hours after dark takes about twenty evening drives and the evenings fill up fast in spring. Start the night hours in the first month.
Official Missouri resources
- Missouri DOR — Graduated Driver License — instruction permit, intermediate, and full license requirements plus the driving log
- Missouri Driver Guide — the handbook the written test is drawn from
Tracking your hours
Missouri collects a signed log at the license office, so the record needs to be transferable line by line: date, duration, night or day, and who supervised.
PermitReady is a free iPhone and iPad app that does two things: practice questions for the Missouri DOR 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 Missouri driving log. 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 Missouri require?
40 hours of behind-the-wheel driving instruction, including at least 10 at night, before an intermediate license. A qualified instructor signs the driving log.
Who counts as a qualified instructor in Missouri?
A parent, grandparent, or legal guardian who is licensed, a qualified driving instructor, or a licensed driver at least 25 years old with the parent's permission. The age-25 rule is stricter than the 21 most states use.
How many night hours does Missouri require?
10 of the 40. Treat night as actual darkness between sunset and sunrise. Winter evenings are the efficient way to collect them.
How long do you have to hold a Missouri instruction permit?
182 days before applying for an intermediate license at 16.
Does Missouri have an official driving log form?
Yes. Missouri requires a signed driving log documenting the 40 hours, and the Department of Revenue publishes a form for it. Bring it when you apply.
Also for Missouri
Missouri permit test practice · Supervised driving hours log · Printable log templates · Supervised driving hours by state
Verification and disclaimers
Requirements verified August 2026 against Missouri Department of Revenue, Graduated Driver License. Requirements change, and the Missouri Department of Revenue can revise them without much notice — always confirm the current rules with the Missouri Department of Revenue 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 Missouri Department of Revenue or any government agency.