No, you cannot drive alone with a permit in Maryland. Every time you get behind the wheel on a learner’s instructional permit, a qualified supervising driver has to be sitting next to you in the front seat. That rule applies on every road, at every hour, and at every age.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 16-105 – Learner’s Instructional Permit
Who Counts as a Qualified Supervisor
Maryland law sets three conditions for the person supervising you. They must be at least 21 years old, hold a valid driver’s license, and have been licensed for at least three years. They also have to sit in the front passenger seat beside you, and no one else is permitted in the front seat while you drive.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 16-105 – Learner’s Instructional Permit
The back seat is a different matter. The statute restricts the front seat to your supervisor, but it does not limit who can ride behind you. Friends, relatives, coworkers — anyone can sit in back, as long as the qualified adult is up front with you.
What Happens if You Drive Alone Anyway
Driving unsupervised means you’re operating a vehicle outside the scope of your permit. If you pick up a moving violation while on a permit, you cannot take the driving skills test for at least nine months from the date of that conviction. That waiting period stacks on top of whatever holding period you were already serving, which effectively resets your timeline toward a license.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 16-105 – Learner’s Instructional Permit
Points can also land on your driving record. Enough of them, and the MVA can suspend or revoke your driving privileges before you ever advance to a provisional license. Driving solo to save an afternoon can cost you months of the independence you’re working toward.
Rules That Sound Like They Apply, But Don’t
A lot of the restrictions people associate with new Maryland drivers actually belong to the provisional license, not the permit. Two come up constantly.
The Midnight to 5 AM Curfew
You may have heard that young drivers in Maryland cannot drive between midnight and 5 AM. That curfew is a provisional license restriction for drivers under 18. It does not apply to permit holders, because a permit holder can never drive alone in the first place. A time-of-day curfew would be redundant when a licensed adult already has to be beside you around the clock.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 16-113 – Provisional License
The Family-Only Passenger Rule
You may also have heard that only immediate family members can ride with a new driver. That’s a provisional license rule too, and it applies during the first 151 days after a driver under 18 gets their provisional. It is not a permit rule.4New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Code Transportation 21-1123 – Passenger Restrictions for Provisional Drivers’ Licensees On a permit, the only front-seat restriction is who your supervisor is, and the back seat is open.
How Long You’ll Be Driving Supervised
Since solo driving isn’t an option, the practical question is how long you’ll need someone beside you before you can test for a provisional license. Maryland sets the minimum holding period by age.
- Under 19: at least 9 months from the date you first got the permit.
- 18 with a high school diploma or equivalent, or ages 19 through 24: at least 3 months.
- 25 and older: at least 45 days.
A moving violation at any age extends the waiting period to 9 months from the date of that conviction, even if your original timeline was shorter.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 16-105 – Learner’s Instructional Permit
You also have to complete an MVA-approved driver education course and log supervised practice hours (60 hours if you’re under 18, 14 hours otherwise) before you can schedule the driving skills test. Your supervisor signs the certification page in the MVA practice skills log.5Maryland MVA. Learner’s Permit
One useful wrinkle: if you got your permit before turning 25 and then turn 25 while still holding it, Maryland lets you test after the permit has been held for a total of 45 days, provided the 14 hours of supervised driving and the driver education course are done.5Maryland MVA. Learner’s Permit
When You Can Finally Drive Alone
Solo driving in Maryland begins with the provisional license, not the permit. To get one, you must be at least 16 years and 6 months old, have met your holding period, finished the required practice hours and driver education, and kept a clean record. Then you pass the driving skills test at the MVA.6Maryland MVA. Provisional License Until that day, the supervisor stays in the seat next to you.