Delaware (DE) — graduated driver licensing: night, passenger and solo-driving rules
For Delaware (DE), intermediate minimum age is 16, 6 months; nighttime restriction is 10 p.m.-6 a.m; passenger restriction is no more than 1 passenger; night restriction lifted is licensed for 6 months (min. age: 17); passenger restriction lifted is licensed for 6 months (min. age: 17), verified against its source on 2026-10-07.
- State
- DE verified
- State name
- Delaware our reading
- Learner minimum age
- 16 verified
- Mandatory holding period (IIHS table)
- 6 months verified
- Supervised driving hours
- 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night verified
- Intermediate minimum age
- 16, 6 months verified
- Nighttime restriction
- 10 p.m.-6 a.m. verified
- Passenger restriction
- no more than 1 passenger verified
- Night restriction lifted
- licensed for 6 months (min. age: 17) verified
- Passenger restriction lifted
- licensed for 6 months (min. age: 17) verified
- Exceptions and footnotes
- Footnote 8: In Delaware, a driver education student does not need a permit to drive with a driver education instructor. After completing the on-road requirements of driver education, a driver education student who is at least 15 years, 10 months may apply for a Driver Education Learner's Permit, which allows the student to drive while supervised by an experienced driver. Upon completion of driver education, and if the student passes both the road and written tests, the student receives a Level 1 permit that for the first six months allows driving only while supervised. There also is a passenger restriction during the first six months of the Level 1 permit. No more than one passenger (family members excepted) is permitted in addition to the supervising driver. The Level 1 permit for the second six months is the equivalent of an intermediate license. During that period, holders may drive unsupervised between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and may only carry one passenger. Applicants for a driver's license who are younger than 18 must have held a Driver Education Learner's Permit and/or a Level 1 permit for at least 12 months. Driver education is required for all license applicants younger than 18. our reading
Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.
What the source says
State, Learner minimum age, Mandatory holding period (IIHS table), Supervised driving hours, Intermediate minimum age, Nighttime restriction, Passenger restriction, Night restriction lifted and Passenger restriction lifted
The source prints these values inside the passage below but does not name them there. The passage shows where each one appears; what ties them to this record is the position on the page, not anything the passage says.
DE | 16Footnote 8 | 6 monthsFootnote 8 | 50 hours, 10 of which must be at nightFootnote 8 | 16, 6 monthsFootnote 8 | 10 p.m.-6 a.m.Footnote 8 | no more than 1 passengerFootnote 8 | licensed for 6 months (min. age: 17) | licensed for 6 months (min. age: 17)
— iihs.org, retrieved 2026-10-07
Source
- iihs.orghttps://www.iihs.org/topics/teenagers/graduated-licensing-laws-table