This is not legal advice and we are not the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles or any state agency. Rules and fees change. Confirm anything that affects you on the Colorado DMV site before you go.
The path
Colorado's first card for a new driver is the instruction permit. You must be at least 15. A driver license comes after you practice and pass a drive test. This path is on the under-21 permit page.
You also start with a permit if your old license was expired or canceled for over 12 months. The adult permit page says the same rule at every age.
- Finish the driver course if your age and the date require it.
- Study the Colorado Driver Handbook and pre-register online.
- Pass the driving knowledge test at home, in an office, or at a driving school.
- Go to a driver license office with your papers.
- Pass a vision test, give fingerprints, and pay the fee.
- Practice with a driver age 21 or older in the front seat.
- At age 16 or older, pass a drive test at an approved driving school.
- Upgrade the permit to a Colorado driver license.
On or after January 1, 2027, applicants under 21 need a driver course before the permit. Until that date, a course is required only if you are under 16. Both rules are spelled out below, from the requirements page.
The REAL ID fee list shows an instruction permit at $20.00. That line includes a motorcycle instruction permit. A standard instruction permit is $23.00. Both amounts are on the state DMV fee list.
You must be 16 or older, and hold a valid driver license, to drive on a public road. That rule is in the Colorado Driver Handbook.
What to bring
- Who you are. A passport or a birth certificate can prove it. A school ID alone is not enough.
- Your Social Security number, when it applies. The DMV asks for it with your identity papers.
- Where you live. Bring two proofs of your Colorado address. They must be dated within the last year. A parent's proof can count for a minor if that parent is there.
- A name change. Bring the papers that connect each name.
- Under 21, with no government ID. A parent or legal guardian signs an Affidavit of Identity at the office. Do not sign it beforehand. Bring certified proof of guardianship. A power of attorney is not proof.
- Under 18. A parent, guardian, or responsible adult age 21 or older signs form DR 2460, the Affidavit of Liability. They show a Colorado driver license, or military ID and a valid out-of-state license. They sign at the office, or you bring the form notarized.
- Your course, if you needed one. Bring the completion page on paper or on your phone.
- A home-test pass. Bring the certificate on paper or on your phone.
- Glasses or contacts, if you wear them for the vision test.
The identity, address, and affidavit rules are on the under-21 page and the adult permit page.
At the appointment you give fingerprints and take a photo. For the photo, take off glasses, hats, and bulky clothing. You get a paper permit that day. The plastic card is mailed within 30 days. The under-21 page describes that visit.
U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and Freely Associated States residents get a REAL ID. Standard permits are for residents who are non-lawfully present or temporarily lawfully present. The Welcome to Colorado page explains which card you can hold.
The instruction permit
The DMV also calls this a learner's permit. It lets you practice with a licensed adult. It is not a license to drive alone. See the under-21 page.
- You must be at least 15.
- The permit is valid for three years, or until your 21st birthday, whichever comes first.
- A driver age 21 or older sits in the front passenger seat.
- That driver has a valid Colorado driver license, or military ID and a valid out-of-state license.
Those rules are on the under-21 permit page and the adult permit page.
How long you hold it
- Under 18, hold the permit for 12 months, or until you turn 18, whichever comes first.
- At 18 or older, there is no minimum hold.
- You may take the drive test any time after the permit is issued.
The hold times are on the under-21 page and the course requirements page.
Hours if you are under 18
- Log at least 50 hours of supervised driving.
- Make 10 of those hours at night.
- Use Drive Time Log Sheets, form DR 2324, or the RoadReady app.
- Print the log and have a parent, guardian, or responsible adult sign it.
- If you turn 18 before the year is up, you do not need the log.
The log rules are on the under-21 page.
Behind the wheel under 16 and a half
- Complete 6 hours in the car with an approved driving school.
- If you live more than 30 miles from a full-time approved school, you may add 12 supervised hours instead.
- Your log must show 62 hours total.
- Bring a printed map from your home to that school.
- You upgrade in person when you use this exemption.
The mile exemption is on the under-21 page. The handbook describes the same 6 hours.
The driver course
For a permit issued on or after January 1, 2027, the course comes first. Ages 15 through 17 take a 30-hour driver education course. That course may be online or in person. Ages 18 through 20 take the 30-hour course or a 4-hour driver awareness program. The 4-hour program must be in person. Those ages are on the requirements page. Online or in person for the 30-hour course is in the DMV news article.
A DMV news article extends the older teen group through age 21. The requirements page stops at ages 18 through 20. Follow the requirements page.
A course certificate is valid for 6 months after you finish. If you already hold a permit before January 1, 2027, the new course rules do not apply to you. Both points are on the requirements page.
Until January 1, 2027, a course is required only if you are under 16. From age 15 to 15 and a half, take the 30-hour course. From 15 and a half until 16, take the 30-hour course or a 4-hour driver awareness program. That is the current under-21 page. The handbook is older than this split, so use the DMV pages.
On or after January 1, 2027, you may skip pre-registration if you already had an ID, a permit, or a driver license. Book a course with a school the DMV approves. The DMV does not book the course. See the requirements page and the driver education page.
The driving knowledge test
The test covers the Colorado Driver Handbook. Questions include road signs, driving under the influence, driving rules, safety rules, and legal items. The under-21 page says this test is required at every age. Read the handbook and the under-21 page.
The DMV does not print how many questions are on the test. The current written-exam rule requires a correct score of 80% or higher to pass. An older wording of that rule allowed 0 to 5 wrong at the same 80%. Read that way, 0 to 5 wrong is a 25-question test. No later DMV page states a different size. The current rule is 1 CCR 204-30. The older wording is in the earlier driving-school rule.
The handbook describes one test on those topics. It does not print a separate pass mark for any part. That reading is from the handbook.
Where you can take it
- At home. Any Colorado resident can use @Home Driving Knowledge Tests. You need a desktop or laptop with a webcam. You have 60 minutes. The office and school pages do not print a time limit.
- In an office. Book an appointment. A written test will not start in the last 30 minutes before closing.
- At a driving school. You can also test with a third party. That business may charge its own fee.
Home testing is described on the @Home testing page. The 30-minute cutoff is in the handbook.
You may take the written test twice in one day. You may try again on a later day as many times as you need. The under-21 page states that limit.
The test is offered in English and Spanish, at home and in the office. The DMV does not offer other languages. At home, the app can read it aloud in English or Spanish if you have speakers. In the office, you can bring plug-in headphones so it is read to you. You may bring a translator for another spoken language. The DMV can provide a sign-language interpreter. Language help is on the @Home page and the under-21 page.
If you are younger than 19 and test at home, an adult older than 19 must be your proxy. The result is emailed to that adult. The home test takes photos, including at random times, to show who is testing. Those checks are on the @Home testing page.
The first home try is free, plus a $5 testing fee and a $1.50 card fee. That total is $6.50. A later try is a $5 fee plus a $1.50 card fee, so $6.50 again. A state DMV fee of $11.50 is charged as well. The home-test page says you can pay the $11.50 in the office or online, as of April 1, 2026. Each written retake also has a state fee of $11.50. The adult permit page says that written retest fee cannot be paid online. Ask the office which payment rule applies to you. Fees are on the @Home page, the under-21 page, and the adult permit page.
After you pass at home, book a driver license office to get the permit. You may book any time after you pass. Bring the pass confirmation on paper or on your phone. Practice quizzes are online and in the myColorado app. Details are on the @Home testing page and in the handbook.
Our practice test is shaped like the real one: 25 questions, with 5 misses allowed. That size is the older rule's 0 to 5 wrong at 80%, not a count the DMV prints. Practice that test here, free.
A right answer passes without comment. A miss is explained where it happens, because that is the moment it teaches.
Moving here with a license
This part is for people who already drive. Start with Welcome to Colorado.
- When you become a resident. You own or run a business here, you work here, or you live here for 90 days in a row.
- 30 days for your license. Transfer it within 30 days of becoming a resident.
- 90 days for your vehicle. Title and register it within 90 days. You need proof of active Colorado auto insurance.
- You apply in person. An appointment is required.
- Bring the old license. It should be valid, or expired less than one year. A motor vehicle report dated within 30 days can replace it.
- Under 18. A parent or guardian signs the DR 2460 affidavit.
- Tests. You may be asked to take the tests that apply to you.
- Your old card. The office voids it by punching a hole.
Residency, the 30 days, and the 90 days are on Welcome to Colorado.
Students and military
- Students can keep a valid home-state license.
- You must be here for school, and your school must count you as a non-resident for tuition.
- In that case, you do not register your vehicle in Colorado.
- Active duty members and their spouses may keep a valid out-of-state license.
- Their dependents follow the regular Colorado steps.
Student and military rules are on Welcome to Colorado.
If you are under 21 and hold a permit from elsewhere
- Apply for a Colorado permit or license within 30 days of moving.
- A valid out-of-state permit counts toward the 12-month hold.
- You still meet Colorado's course and testing rules for your age.
- You still visit an office for a Colorado card.
- At 15, a valid out-of-state permit means you do not retake the written test.
- At 16 or 17, you may take the drive test once without first getting a Colorado permit.
- You must already meet the hold, the hour log, and any behind-the-wheel rule.
- If you fail that drive test, get a Colorado permit before you test again.
- From ages 18 to 21, get a Colorado permit before the license.
- You do not retake the written test or take a driver course under today's rules.
- On or after January 1, 2027, the new course rule applies to a permit from another state.
Permit transfers are on the under-21 page. The 2027 course rule for those permits is on the requirements page.
A license from another country
Colorado can waive the written test and the drive test for a valid license from some countries. A permit does not qualify. The countries are Canada, France, Germany, the Republic of South Korea, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Japan. The list is on Welcome to Colorado.
If it has been more than a year since you held a U.S. driver license, plan on the full permit path. That means a written test, a permit, a drive test, and a new license. The same Welcome to Colorado page says so.
Other new residents who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents need a standard credential and the full permit path. See Welcome to Colorado.
As of May 7, 2025, TSA will not accept a non-REAL ID card for a flight inside the United States. A valid passport or a military ID can still be used. That note is on Welcome to Colorado.
From permit to driver license
A minor license is the card for drivers under 21. You must be at least 16 to get it. The under-21 page sets that age.
If you are under 18
- Hold the permit for the time required above.
- Bring the signed log of 50 hours, with 10 at night.
- Under 16 and a half, finish the 6 school hours, unless the 30-mile exemption applies.
- Pass the drive test at an approved school.
- You can upgrade online if your name is the same and you are not using the mile exemption.
- Upload the signed log when you upgrade online.
If you are 18 or older
- There is no 12-month hold, no drive log, and no behind-the-wheel class.
- Pass the drive test at an approved school.
- Adults can upgrade online when the name, address, and other information are unchanged.
Upgrade choices are on the under-21 page and the adult permit page.
If you fail the drive test, you may retry once per day, starting the next day. The state fee is $15.40 each time. The under-21 page says you can pay that fee online or in person. The adult permit page says this fee cannot be paid online right now. Compare the under-21 page, the adult permit page, and the fee list.
Your minor license expires 20 days after your 21st birthday. You cannot renew it before your 21st birthday. Renewal makes it an adult license. If only the address changed, you can renew online. A name change needs an office visit. Those dates are on the under-21 page.
In the office you receive a paper temporary license. Online, the receipt and your old permit together are the temporary license. The card is mailed within 30 days. Carry the temporary paper until that card arrives. See the under-21 page and the adult permit page.
If you are under 18
For the first year of a minor license, passenger limits and a night curfew apply. The chart is on the under-21 page.
- First six months. The DMV page allows only passengers age 21 or older. Siblings may ride. A medical emergency is an exception. The handbook also allows younger passengers if a parent, or another licensed adult, is in the car. Treat the DMV page as the current rule.
- Next six months. You may have one passenger under 21.
- After one year, or after you turn 18. The age limit on passengers ends.
- Curfew. For that first year, do not drive from midnight to 5 a.m.
- Curfew exceptions. A parent or legal guardian is with you. You are driving to or from school, or a school activity, with a signed school statement. You are driving to or from work with a signed statement from your employer. It is a medical emergency. You are an emancipated minor. The handbook also names a driving instructor.
- Phone. Texting or talking on a cell phone is against the law under 18. The exception is an emergency call to the police.
- Seat belts. You and every passenger wear one.
The passenger chart and the phone rule are on the under-21 page. The parent-in-the-car line and the instructor line are in the handbook.
The person who signed your DR 2460 can withdraw that signature on form DR 2464. Your permit or license is then canceled. Withdrawal is on the under-21 page. Cancellation is also in the handbook.
The handbook says a person younger than 21 can lose the license for buying or possessing alcohol, even if driving was not a factor. That warning is in the handbook.
Drive-test day
State driver license offices are not giving drive tests. Book an approved driving school. The DMV does not book that appointment. Some county offices may still offer the test. Check with that county. You must be at least 16. Office testing is on the driver education page. The age 16 rule is on the under-21 page.
The school may provide the car, or you may bring one. Your car needs current insurance and current registration. The examiner checks brake lights, turn signals, seat belts, the windshield, and the tires. Doors and windows must open from inside the car. The handbook lists those checks.
Only you and the examiner ride in the car. Interpreters, family, friends, and pets stay out. Remove weapons before the test. Turn off the radio and your phone. Clear the dashboard and the rearview mirror. Those limits are in the handbook.
You may ask questions before the test starts. After that, extra talk gets in the way. You are scored the whole time. The handbook says how the score works.
What the score covers
- Left and right turns
- Stopping at intersections
- Through intersections
- Lane changes in traffic
- Merging into and leaving traffic
- General driving behavior
That maneuver list is in the handbook.
If you fail, wait until the next business day. The DMV pages also say you may retest once per day, starting the next day. The state fee is $15.40 each time you retest. The wait is in the handbook. The fee is on the under-21 page and the fee list.
Practice the written test here
Free practice is real practice. Answers show where they come from. The test-like mode stays quiet on a right answer and explains every miss.