RALEIGH — North Carolina teenagers will no longer need a school-issued driving eligibility certificate to obtain or keep a learner’s permit or provisional license beginning Thursday.
The change takes effect Oct. 1 under Section 9 of Session Law 2026-46, a broad transportation measure enacted in July. It applies statewide to drivers subject to North Carolina’s graduated licensing system.
The certificate linked driving privileges for people under 18 to school enrollment, academic progress and certain disciplinary actions. Public, private and home-school officials issued the documents and notified the Division of Motor Vehicles when a student became ineligible.
The new law repeals those certificate requirements and the related provisions directing DMV to revoke a permit or license after receiving an ineligibility notice. It also directs DMV to restore permits or licenses revoked solely because a student was ineligible for the certificate, provided the person otherwise meets licensing requirements.
The change does not eliminate graduated licensing for drivers ages 15 to 17. Teen applicants must still follow the state’s staged licensing process and meet the requirements that apply to each level.
For a Level 1 limited learner permit, those requirements continue to include an approved driver-education course and the associated driver-education certificate, as well as age, identity, residency and testing requirements. The driving education certificate is separate from the school-issued driving eligibility certificate that is ending.
To advance to a Level 2 limited provisional license, a driver must generally be at least 16, hold the Level 1 permit for nine months, complete and log at least 60 hours of driving, avoid specified recent traffic violations and pass a road test. Insurance and supervision requirements also continue to apply.
The Department of Administration has posted notice of the Oct. 1 change for nonpublic and home-school families. Some state webpages and downloadable checklists still described the outgoing certificate requirement during the early-morning review Wednesday, so families should confirm the current document list before visiting a DMV office.
The law changes the connection between school performance and driving eligibility; it does not waive driver education, testing, experience, insurance or safety rules.
Editor’s note:
This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.