South Carolina requires 40 hours of supervised driving, including at least 10 hours at night, before a teen can move from a beginner's permit to a conditional or special restricted license. The beginner's permit has to be held for at least 180 days. Drivers under 17 also need to complete an approved driver education course — commonly 30 hours of classroom plus 8 hours behind the wheel — to qualify for a conditional license. A parent or guardian certifies the supervised hours.
South Carolina supervised driving requirements at a glance
| Requirement | South Carolina |
|---|---|
| Total supervised hours | 40 hours |
| Night hours | 10 hours at night (of the 40) |
| Professional / instructor hours | An approved driver education course (commonly 30 hours classroom plus 8 hours behind the wheel) is required for a conditional license before 17. Those instructor hours are separate from the 40. |
| Minimum permit age | 15 (beginner's permit) |
| Permit holding period | 180 days on the beginner's permit |
| Permit validity | Check the expiration on the beginner's permit — South Carolina permits are time-limited and renewable |
| Who may supervise | Licensed driver 21 or older with at least 1 year of driving experience, in the front passenger seat |
| Official log form | South Carolina requires certification of the 40 hours, including the 10 night hours, signed by a parent or guardian |
| Certification method | Parent or guardian signs the certification of supervised driving |
| State app or program | None. South Carolina does not publish an official hour-logging app. |
Who can supervise practice driving in South Carolina
South Carolina adds an experience requirement to the age floor, which rules out newly licensed young adults.
- At least 21 years old, licensed, with at least one year of driving experience.
- Seated in the front passenger seat for the entire drive.
- A driver education instructor qualifies during course sessions.
- Beginner's permit holders face a daylight restriction in some circumstances — check the current rules so night practice happens within them.
Night hours, and what "night" means here
Ten of the 40 hours have to be at night. The SCDMV does not publish a rigid clock definition, so treat night as actual darkness — after sunset, before sunrise. In Columbia and Charleston, December is dark by about 5:20 PM while June light lasts until nearly 8:30 PM, so winter evenings are the efficient window. South Carolina-specific night driving worth doing on purpose: two-lane roads through the Lowcountry with deer and standing water, I-26 and I-95 at night with heavy truck traffic, and the coastal fog that can drop visibility to almost nothing in spring.
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.
- Summer thunderstorm driving is worth catching. Not required, but a July downpour on a road with poor drainage is a condition every South Carolina driver meets, usually alone and usually too soon.
How to actually get to 40 hours
Forty hours over the 180-day permit period is about ninety minutes a week — a light schedule. As usual, the night share is where families come up short: 10 hours after dark is roughly twenty evening drives, and evenings get harder to protect once spring sports start. Put one evening drive a week on the calendar from the first month.
Official South Carolina resources
- SCDMV — Teen Drivers — beginner's permit, conditional, and special restricted license requirements
- South Carolina Driver's Manual — the handbook the knowledge test comes from
Tracking your hours
South Carolina asks a parent to certify both the total and the night share, so a record that keeps those separate is the one that makes the signature easy.
PermitReady is a free iPhone and iPad app that does two things: practice questions for the SCDMV 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 SCDMV'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 South Carolina require?
40 hours, including at least 10 at night, before a conditional or special restricted license. A parent or guardian certifies the total.
How long do you have to hold a South Carolina beginner's permit?
180 days. The permit period runs from the issue date regardless of how quickly the 40 hours are finished.
How many night hours does South Carolina require?
10 of the 40. Treat night as actual darkness between sunset and sunrise, and use winter evenings when it is dark before 5:30 PM.
Is driver education required in South Carolina?
An approved driver education course, commonly 30 hours of classroom instruction plus 8 hours behind the wheel, is required for a conditional license before age 17. Those hours are separate from the 40 supervised hours.
Who can supervise practice driving in South Carolina?
A licensed driver at least 21 years old with at least one year of driving experience, seated in the front passenger seat.
Also for South Carolina
South Carolina permit test practice · Supervised driving hours log · Printable log templates · Supervised driving hours by state
Verification and disclaimers
Requirements verified August 2026 against SCDMV, Teen Drivers. Requirements change, and the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles can revise them without much notice — always confirm the current rules with the South Carolina Department 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 South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles or any government agency.