Tennessee requires 50 hours of supervised driving, including at least 10 hours at night, before a teen can move from a learner permit to an intermediate restricted license. The learner permit has to be held for at least 180 days, and the teen has to be 16. A parent or guardian signs a certification of the hours, which is presented when applying. Tennessee does not require driver education, which makes the parent-supervised hours the entire training program for most teens here.
Tennessee supervised driving requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Tennessee |
|---|---|
| Total supervised hours | 50 hours |
| Night hours | 10 hours at night (of the 50) |
| Professional / instructor hours | None required by the state — Tennessee does not mandate driver education for teen licensing |
| Minimum permit age | 15 (learner permit) |
| Permit holding period | 180 days on the learner permit before the intermediate restricted license at 16 |
| Permit validity | Tennessee learner permits are commonly issued for a 1-year term — check the expiration on yours |
| Who may supervise | Licensed driver 21 or older, in the front passenger seat |
| Official log form | Tennessee requires a certification of the 50 hours signed by a parent or guardian, presented with the license application |
| Certification method | Parent or guardian signs the certification of driving experience |
| State app or program | None. Tennessee does not publish an official hour-logging app. |
Who can supervise practice driving in Tennessee
Because Tennessee does not require driver education, the adult in the passenger seat is doing all of the teaching.
- A licensed driver at least 21 years old in the front passenger seat.
- A licensed driving instructor qualifies during a paid lesson, though the state does not require one.
- No driver education requirement means no professional backstop. If nobody teaches highway merging deliberately, it does not get taught. Plan the curriculum, not just the hours.
Night hours, and what "night" means here
Ten of the 50 hours have to be at night. The Department of Safety does not publish a rigid clock definition, so treat night as actual darkness — after sunset, before sunrise. Nashville and Memphis are dark by about 4:40 PM in December, so November through February is the efficient window. Tennessee night conditions worth practicing on purpose: mountain and ridge roads in East Tennessee with tight curves and no lighting, fog in the river valleys that appears at dusk, and interstate stretches where the lighting stops abruptly at the county line.
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.
- Build a curriculum, not just a total. With no required driver education in Tennessee, the 50 hours are the whole course — make sure they include highway merging, four-lane left turns, parallel parking, and rain.
How to actually get to 50 hours
Fifty hours over the 180-day permit period is about two hours a week. Since Tennessee does not require a driver education course, the smartest use of those hours is structured: pick a skill for each drive rather than just accumulating time. A teen who has done 50 unstructured hours around their own neighborhood has met the requirement and learned less than one who did 30 varied ones.
Official Tennessee resources
- Tennessee Department of Safety — Graduated Driver License — learner permit, intermediate restricted, and unrestricted license requirements
- Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual — the handbook the knowledge test comes from
Tracking your hours
Tennessee asks a parent to certify the 50 hours, and since there is no driver education course backing it up, the log doubles as the record of what was actually taught.
PermitReady is a free iPhone and iPad app that does two things: practice questions for the Tennessee Department of Safety 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 certification 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 Tennessee require?
50 hours, including at least 10 at night, before an intermediate restricted license. A parent or guardian signs the certification.
Is driver education required in Tennessee?
No. Tennessee does not mandate a driver education course for teen licensing, which means the 50 supervised hours are the entire training program for most teens.
How long do you have to hold a Tennessee learner permit?
180 days, and the teen must be at least 16 to move to an intermediate restricted license.
How many night hours does Tennessee require?
10 of the 50. Treat night as actual darkness between sunset and sunrise. Winter evenings are the efficient way to bank them.
Does Tennessee have an official driving log form?
Tennessee requires a certification of the 50 hours signed by a parent or guardian. Get the current form from the Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
Also for Tennessee
Tennessee permit test practice · Supervised driving hours log · Printable log templates · Supervised driving hours by state
Verification and disclaimers
Requirements verified August 2026 against Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Graduated Driver License. Requirements change, and the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security can revise them without much notice — always confirm the current rules with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security 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 Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security or any government agency.