Indiana DMV / BMV Exam FAQ 2026
Is it called the "DMV" in Indiana?
Not officially. In Indiana, driver's license and knowledge-test services are handled by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). "DMV" is used as a general term across the site because it's the phrase most people search for, but your paperwork, appointments, and office signage in Indiana will say BMV.
How do I get my first driver's license in Indiana?
In Indiana you apply through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), the agency most people call the Indiana DMV. You start with a learner's permit: pass a vision screening and the BMV knowledge exam, and show proof of identity, lawful status, your Social Security number and Indiana residency. You must hold that permit for at least 180 days and complete at least 50 hours of supervised driving practice, including 10 hours at night. After that you take the driving skills exam. Teens who finish a BMV-licensed driver education program can be licensed at 16; without driver education you must wait until 16 years and 270 days.
What is the minimum age to get a learner's permit in Indiana?
You can apply for an Indiana learner's permit at 15 years old if you show proof of enrollment in a BMV-licensed driver education program with behind-the-wheel training. The Certificate of Driver Education Enrollment must be dated no earlier than three weeks before your class starts. If you are not taking driver education, you must wait until you are 16 to apply. Every permit applicant, at any age, must pass a vision screening and the BMV knowledge exam and bring the required identity, lawful status, Social Security and Indiana residency documents. Applicants under 18 must also list an emergency contact who is 18 or older.
What documents do I need to apply for an Indiana driver's license or permit?
The Indiana BMV requires four categories of documents: proof of identity, proof of lawful status in the United States, proof of your Social Security number, and proof of Indiana residency. Common examples are a certified birth certificate or passport, your Social Security card, and mail or statements showing your Indiana address. Applicants under 18 need a parent or guardian involved in the application and must provide an emergency contact who is at least 18. Because acceptable documents change from time to time, check the current document list on the BMV website before your branch visit so you are not turned away.
Do I need a REAL ID driver's license in Indiana?
Indiana issues both REAL ID-compliant credentials, which carry a star marking, and standard credentials that are not federally accepted. A REAL ID is what you need to board a domestic commercial flight or enter certain federal facilities using your driver's license alone; without one you would need a passport or another federally accepted document. The documents you gather for a REAL ID are the same four categories the BMV already requires for any license: identity, lawful status, Social Security number, and Indiana residency. Confirm the exact accepted documents on the Indiana BMV website before you go to a branch.
How many questions are on the Indiana knowledge exam?
Neither the Indiana Driver's Manual nor the BMV's knowledge exam page states a fixed number of questions for the driver's knowledge exam, so treat any specific count you see elsewhere with caution. What the BMV does publish is the structure: it is a multiple-choice, computer-based exam with two separately scored components. The first covers traffic signs, drawn from Chapter 6 of the Indiana Driver's Manual. The second covers traffic rules and laws, drawn from Chapters 6, 7 and 8. Practice tests are usually built around 50 questions to mirror the real experience, but the number that actually matters is your percentage: you must reach 80% or higher on each of the two components.
What score do I need to pass the Indiana permit test?
You must score 80% or higher on each of the two components of the Indiana knowledge exam. The traffic signs component and the traffic rules and laws component are graded separately, so a strong overall score does not save you if you fall below 80% on one section. That means you cannot skip studying road signs and rely on the rules questions, or the reverse. Every question comes from the official Indiana Driver's Manual published by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, so studying that manual chapter by chapter is the most reliable way to clear 80% on both parts.
What happens if I fail the Indiana knowledge exam, and when can I retake it?
If you fail either component of the Indiana knowledge exam, you cannot try again the same day. The BMV requires you to wait until the next business day to retake the exam. When you do go back, plan your timing carefully: you must arrive at the branch at least 30 minutes before it closes in order to take the computer-based exam that day. Before you retest, review the sections you missed in the Indiana Driver's Manual, especially the road sign chapter, and run through practice tests until you are consistently scoring well above 80% on both parts.
How long do I have to hold my Indiana learner's permit?
You must hold a valid Indiana learner's permit for at least 180 days before you can be issued a driver's license, and the permit must not be expired, suspended or revoked during that period. Indiana learner's permits are valid for two years from the date they are issued, which gives most new drivers plenty of time to finish the 180-day holding period and their supervised practice hours. If your permit has been expired for more than 180 days, you have to retest before it can be reissued, so it is worth renewing on time rather than letting it lapse.
How many supervised driving hours does Indiana require?
Indiana requires at least 50 hours of supervised driving practice, and at least 10 of those hours must be at night. This applies to teens under 18 and to adult applicants alike. If you are 18 or older, your supervising driver must be a licensed driver who is at least 25 years old, or your spouse if he or she is at least 21. Log your hours as you go rather than trying to reconstruct them later, and make sure the night hours are genuinely after dark, since night driving is where new drivers are most at risk.
How old do I have to be to get a driver's license in Indiana?
You can apply for an Indiana driver's license at 16 years old if you have completed a BMV-licensed driver education program. Without driver education, you must be at least 16 years and 270 days old. Either way, you must have held a learner's permit for at least 180 days, completed 50 hours of supervised driving with 10 at night, and passed the driving skills exam. An Indiana driver education course consists of 30 hours of classroom instruction plus six hours of behind-the-wheel training, which is why it shortens the wait by roughly nine months.
What is an Indiana probationary driver's license?
Any Indiana driver's license issued before age 21 is a probationary license, and it comes with restrictions. For your first 180 days you may not carry any passengers unless a licensed driver at least 25 years old, a spouse at least 21, or a licensed driver training instructor is in the front passenger seat. You may, however, carry your own child, stepchild, sibling, step- or half-sibling, or spouse without a supervising adult. Probationary drivers are also barred from using any telecommunications device except to call 911. A probationary license is valid until age 21 years and 30 days.
What are the night driving restrictions for teen drivers in Indiana?
For the first 180 days after you receive an Indiana probationary license, you may not drive between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. After those 180 days, drivers under 18 still may not drive Sunday through Thursday after 11 p.m., Monday through Friday before 5 a.m., or Saturday and Sunday between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. There are exceptions for lawful employment, a school-sanctioned activity, or a religious event, and you may also drive during restricted hours when accompanied by a licensed driver at least 25 years old or a spouse at least 21.
What happens on the Indiana driving skills test?
The driving skills exam is the behind-the-wheel road test you take after your permit period and practice hours are complete. An examiner rides with you and evaluates real driving: starting and stopping smoothly, staying in your lane, turning from the correct lane, obeying signs and signals, yielding right of way, backing, and parking, including parallel parking. Indiana's parallel parking procedure starts with your vehicle parallel to and at least two feet from the car ahead of the space, rear bumpers aligned. Note that hand signals are not permitted during the skills exam, so your vehicle's turn signals and brake lights must be working.
How much does an Indiana driver's license cost?
Indiana BMV fees for learner's permits, driver's licenses, identification cards and renewals are set by the state and change from time to time, and the Indiana Driver's Manual itself directs applicants to the BMV for current amounts rather than printing them. Check the fee schedule on the official BMV website before your visit so you know exactly what you will pay and which payment methods your branch accepts. Also budget for extras that may apply to you, such as a driver education program, an administrative penalty for renewing a long-expired license, or a Driver Safety Program course.
I just moved to Indiana — how do I transfer my out-of-state driver's license?
New Indiana residents apply for an Indiana driver's license in person at a BMV branch and surrender their out-of-state license. Bring the same four document categories every applicant needs: proof of identity, proof of lawful status, proof of your Social Security number, and proof of Indiana residency. You will take a vision screening as part of the application. Whether you also have to pass the knowledge exam or a driving skills exam depends on the status of your current license, so confirm the requirements for your situation with the Indiana BMV before you visit, and study the Indiana Driver's Manual in case testing is required.
How long is an Indiana driver's license valid and how do I renew it?
An Indiana driver's license is valid for six years if you are under 75 years old, three years if you are 75 through 84, and two years if you are 85 or older. A commercial driver's license is valid for four years and an identification card for six years. Renewals are handled by the BMV online, at a self-service kiosk, or at a branch, depending on your circumstances. One Indiana rule catches drivers out: if you are at least 21 and have six or more active points on your driving record, you must take the knowledge exam in order to renew.
Do senior drivers renew their license more often in Indiana?
Yes. Indiana shortens the renewal cycle as drivers get older. A license is valid for six years while you are under 75, then for three years once you turn 75, and for two years from age 85 onward. Because a vision screening is part of every renewal that is not done online, a shorter cycle also means being screened more often. The BMV's published renewal requirements do not describe a road test triggered by age alone, but the BMV can require a driving skills exam in individual cases — for example where a medical condition, a restriction, or a medical board recommendation is on file — so check in.gov/bmv for your own situation. Separately, any driver 21 or older with six or more active points on their record must pass the knowledge exam again to renew, regardless of age.
What happens if my Indiana driver's license has been expired for a long time?
It depends on how long it has been expired. If your Indiana license has been expired at least 180 days but not more than five years, you must pay an administrative penalty and pass both a knowledge exam and a vision screening to get it back. If it has been expired for five years or more, you must do all of that and also pass a driving skills exam. The same 180-day rule applies to learner's permits: a permit expired more than 180 days requires retesting. Renewing on time is far cheaper and faster than retesting.
What are Indiana's OWI and BAC laws?
In Indiana the offense is called OWI, operating a vehicle while intoxicated. It is a criminal offense to operate a vehicle while intoxicated or with a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit of .08. Drivers under 21 face a zero-tolerance rule: operating with an alcohol concentration of at least .02 but less than .08 is a Class C infraction. Indiana's implied consent law means chemical testing is not optional. Failing a chemical test brings a 180-day suspension, refusing one brings a one-year suspension, and refusing with a prior OWI conviction brings a two-year suspension. Courts may also require an ignition interlock device.
How can practice tests help me pass the Indiana BMV exam?
Practice tests mirror the format and content of the real Indiana knowledge exam, which is drawn entirely from the official Indiana Driver's Manual. Because Indiana scores road signs and traffic rules as two separate components and requires 80% on each, practice tests are especially useful for showing you which of the two is your weak side before it costs you a trip to the BMV. Working through questions repeatedly builds recognition of Indiana's specific rules, such as the Move Over law, probationary restrictions and point values, and it means your first attempt is not your first exposure to the material.
