Wisconsin · Handbook chapter 1 · 7 min read

Chapter 1: Getting your permit and license

How to get a Wisconsin instruction permit and probationary license: the vision screening, the 15-question highway signs test and the 50-question knowledge test, sponsors, supervised driving, the 50-hour practice rule, GDL limits, fees and what to bring.

Why this chapter matters

Wisconsin gives new drivers two written tests, not one, and both must be passed before an instruction permit is issued. The rules about who may sit beside you, how many hours you must practice and when a teen may drive alone after midnight are classic test questions, so learn the numbers here first.

The tests you take

To get a Class D (car or light truck) license you pass four checks: a vision screening, a highway signs test, a knowledge test and, later, a skills (road) test.

• The signs test checks that you understand signs that regulate, warn and direct traffic.
• The knowledge test covers Wisconsin traffic laws and takes about 45 minutes. Arrive with enough time to finish before the service center closes.
• Neither written test needs an appointment: they are walk-in, and taking them at a DMV customer service center is free.
• Most centers use touch-screen computers; paper tests are also available. Audio assist is available on request.
• The Class D tests are offered in English, American Sign Language, Burmese, Chinese, Croatian, Hmong, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Somali and Spanish.
• If you fail, you may retake a test no sooner than the next day, and you may take the same test five times in one year. After five failures you need special permission from DMV staff.

Vision screening

You need visual acuity of at least 20/40 in one eye, with or without glasses, and a 70-degree field of vision from the center of each eye. If you do not pass, DMV staff will send you to a vision specialist with the Certificate of Vision Examination (MV3030V).

Taking the knowledge test at home

Applicants aged 15 to 17 may take the knowledge test online through the DMV's provider, KnowTo Drive, for $10 per attempt, pass or fail. A parent or guardian must watch the whole test, and you need a laptop or desktop with a webcam (tablets and phones are not allowed). You get two online attempts; after two failures you test at a service center. The online version allows 30 minutes for the signs test and 90 minutes for the knowledge test. A pass earns an emailed certificate that you bring to a service center to buy the permit.

The skills test

The road test needs an appointment. The examiner first checks your vehicle (horn, lights, signals, plates, doors, mirrors) and then directs you through turns, stops, lane changes, a Y-turn, a roadside stop and start, parking and backing.

What to bring

• Proof of your full name and date of birth, such as a U.S. birth certificate or passport.
• Proof of U.S. citizenship or legal status.
• Proof of identity, such as a signed Social Security card.
• Two documents proving you live in Wisconsin, such as a utility bill (required if you are 18 or older).
• Your Social Security number.
• A completed Wisconsin Driver License Application (MV3001) and the fee.

Documents must be originals and not expired: photocopies are not accepted.

Sponsors for drivers under 18

An applicant under 18 needs an adult sponsor to sign the MV3001. The sponsor accepts legal and financial responsibility for crashes the minor causes, confirms the teen is in school and not habitually truant, and later certifies practice hours. A sponsor may withdraw sponsorship at any time, and you need one until you turn 18.

• Usually a parent, step-parent or legal guardian signs.
• If the teen does not live with a parent or guardian, a grandparent, aunt or uncle, sibling or spouse aged 18 or older, or a foster parent may sign.
• Some teens file proof of insurance instead, for example a teen with no living parent, or one who does not live with a parent and is a full-time student or earning a living.

The instruction permit

• Age 15 or older. Under 18 you must also be enrolled in a driver education program, including behind-the-wheel training, and the school gives you a signed MV3001.
• At 18 or older you only need to pass the signs, knowledge and vision tests.
• A Class D permit is valid for 18 months and costs $35.
• Permit holders must keep absolute sobriety (no alcohol at all) and may use a cell phone only to report an emergency.

Who must sit beside you

Your supervising driver sits in the front passenger seat, holds a valid regular license (not probationary or occupational) and has at least two years of licensed driving experience. They must be one of these:

• a qualified instructor aged 19 or older;
• your parent, guardian or spouse aged 19 or older (immediate family may ride in the back seat); or
• any person aged 21 or older. If you are under 18, that person needs written permission from your parent or guardian.

From age 16, one more licensed person aged 25 or older with two years' experience may sit in a seat other than the front.

In darkness, the person beside you must be a qualified instructor or a licensed person aged 25 or older with at least two years of experience.

The probationary license

Your first license after the road test is a probationary license, issued from age 16. If you are under 18 you must:

• hold the permit for at least six months without a violation;
• complete 50 hours of supervised driving, including 10 hours in darkness, certified by your sponsor; and
• show that you completed driver education (at least 30 hours of classroom time, 6 hours of behind-the-wheel training and 6 hours of observation).

Drivers 18 or older need to hold the permit only seven days before getting a probationary license. The original probationary license costs $28.

Graduated driver license (GDL) limits

Teens under 18 have extra limits for the first nine months:

• 5 a.m. to midnight: you may drive alone, carry any number of immediate family members, and carry one other passenger. A qualifying adult (an instructor or spouse aged 19 or older, or a person 21 or older, with a regular license and two years' experience) may also ride with you.
• Midnight to 5 a.m.: you may drive alone only between home, school and work. Any other trip needs a qualifying adult with you.
• The limits are extended six months if you are convicted of a moving violation, break a restriction, or your license is suspended or revoked.
• Demerit points are doubled on your second and later convictions.
• The limits end at age 18.

Regular license, renewals and new residents

• A regular license is the last step; renewal opens 90 days before the probationary license expires.
• A regular license is renewed every eight years, up to a year early. A reminder arrives 45 to 60 days before your birthday in the year it expires.
• New residents should apply for a Wisconsin license within 60 days of moving (within 30 days for a commercial license).
• A REAL ID is marked with a star. A REAL ID or another accepted document, such as a passport, is needed to fly within the U.S. and enter some federal buildings.