Washington (WA) — graduated driver licensing: night, passenger and solo-driving rules
For Washington (WA), intermediate minimum age is 16; nighttime restriction is 1 a.m.-5 a.m. secondary enforcement; passenger restriction is first 6 months—no passengers younger than 20; second 6 months—no more than 3 passengers younger than 20 secondary enforcement; night restriction lifted is licensed for 12 months or age 18, whichever occurs first (min. age: 17); passenger restriction lifted is licensed for 12 months or age 18, whichever occurs first (min. age: 17), verified against its source on 2026-10-07.
- State
- WA verified
- State name
- Washington our reading
- Learner minimum age
- 15
- 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
- Nighttime restriction
- 1 a.m.-5 a.m. secondary enforcement verified
- Passenger restriction
- first 6 months—no passengers younger than 20; second 6 months—no more than 3 passengers younger than 20 secondary enforcement verified
- Night restriction lifted
- licensed for 12 months or age 18, whichever occurs first (min. age: 17) verified
- Passenger restriction lifted
- licensed for 12 months or age 18, whichever occurs first (min. age: 17) verified
- Exceptions and footnotes
- Footnote 76: In Washington, permit applicants must be enrolled in driver education; otherwise, the minimum permit age is 15, 6 months. | Footnote 77: In Washington, applicants younger than 18 are required to complete driver education. The state is phasing in a new requirement that will extend this age to applicants younger than 25. | Footnote 78: In Washington, intermediate license holders with a crash or violation history are ineligible for an unrestricted license until age 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.
WA | 15Footnote 76 | 6 months | 50 hours, 10 of which must be at night | 16Footnote 77 | 1 a.m.-5 a.m. secondary enforcement | first 6 months—no passengers younger than 20; second 6 months—no more than 3 passengers younger than 20 secondary enforcement | licensed for 12 months or age 18, whichever occurs first (min. age: 17) | licensed for 12 months or age 18, whichever occurs first (min. age: 17)Footnote 78
— iihs.org, retrieved 2026-10-07
Source
- iihs.orghttps://www.iihs.org/topics/teenagers/graduated-licensing-laws-table