{"id":2775,"date":"2026-05-20T20:32:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T20:32:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:32:27","slug":"can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Can teens drive in California with underage passengers? Drive at night? What to know"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>California teens can begin driving with a learner\u2019s permit at age 15-and-a-half.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Rules and restrictions on how and when minors can get behind the wheel<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Drivers under the age of 18 in California have a provisional driver\u2019s license, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Minors with provisional licenses cannot:<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/newsoms-office-asked-oakland-to-clear-encampment-near-marshawn-lynchs-home-2\/\">Newsom\u2019s office asked Oakland to clear encampment near Marshawn Lynch\u2019s home<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Drive between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. in the first 12 months of having a license<\/li>\n<li>Drive with passengers under the age of 20, unless accompanied by a parent, guardian or other California-licensed driver over the age of 25<\/li>\n<li>Drive for money<\/li>\n<li>Drive vehicles that require a commercial Class A, B, or C license<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Exceptions to these rules<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If a minor has a medical need and cannot reasonably find another way to travel. Drivers in this situation must carry a note signed by their physician with their medical condition and expected recovery date.<\/li>\n<li>If a minor must drive to get to school or a school activity. Drivers in this situation must carry a note signed by their school principal.<\/li>\n<li>If a minor must drive for work reasons. Drivers in this situation must carry a note signed by their employer.<\/li>\n<li>If a minor must drive an immediate family member. Drivers in this situation must carry a note signed by their parent or legal guardian stating the reason they need to drive, the family member and the date when the need will end.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The first step for minors looking to get a driver\u2019s license is applying for a learner\u2019s permit, according to the DMV.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In California, you can obtain a learner\u2019s permit at  the age of 15-and-a-half. You must have completed a driver\u2019s education course and a parent or guardian must sign the application. Minors must also pass a written test on traffic laws and safety issued by the DMV. A passing score is 80%, and three attempts are allowed before a reapplication is required.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/newsoms-office-asked-oakland-to-clear-encampment-near-marshawn-lynchs-home\/\">Newsom\u2019s office asked Oakland to clear encampment near Marshawn Lynch\u2019s home<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>While a minor has their learner\u2019s permit, they must complete 50 hours of behind-the-wheel training, including at least 10 hours at night, supervised by  a licensed adult who is at least 25 years old. Minors must also must complete six hours of instruction from a licensed driving school.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>After six months, minors can take a behind-the-wheel driving test to obtain their provisional driver\u2019s license. Three attempts are allowed before a reapplication is required.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/after-trade-from-cowboys-49ers-dt-osa-odighizuwa-ready-for-his-best-nfl-season-2\/\">After trade from Cowboys, 49ers DT Osa Odighizuwa ready for his best NFL season<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Get the facts on California learner&#39;s permits and provisional licenses: age limits, supervision from adults and what times of day minors may legally drive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california","category-local"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Can teens drive in California with underage passengers? Drive at night? What to know - San Diego Relocation News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can teens drive in California with underage passengers? Drive at night? What to know - San Diego Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Get the facts on California learner&#039;s permits and provisional licenses: age limits, supervision from adults and what times of day minors may legally drive.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"San Diego Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-20T20:32:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c\"},\"headline\":\"Can teens drive in California with underage passengers? Drive at night? What to know\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T20:32:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":450,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/d1f6557be9292424eada8dec43ea9959.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"California\",\"Local\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/\",\"name\":\"Can teens drive in California with underage passengers? Drive at night? What to know - San Diego Relocation News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/d1f6557be9292424eada8dec43ea9959.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T20:32:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/d1f6557be9292424eada8dec43ea9959.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/d1f6557be9292424eada8dec43ea9959.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20\\\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can teens drive in California with underage passengers? Drive at night? What to know\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"San Diego Relocation News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can teens drive in California with underage passengers? Drive at night? What to know - San Diego Relocation News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can teens drive in California with underage passengers? Drive at night? What to know - San Diego Relocation News","og_description":"Get the facts on California learner&#39;s permits and provisional licenses: age limits, supervision from adults and what times of day minors may legally drive.","og_url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/","og_site_name":"San Diego Relocation News","article_published_time":"2026-05-20T20:32:27+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c"},"headline":"Can teens drive in California with underage passengers? Drive at night? What to know","datePublished":"2026-05-20T20:32:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/"},"wordCount":450,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d1f6557be9292424eada8dec43ea9959.jpg","articleSection":["California","Local"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/","url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/","name":"Can teens drive in California with underage passengers? Drive at night? What to know - San Diego Relocation News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d1f6557be9292424eada8dec43ea9959.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-20T20:32:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d1f6557be9292424eada8dec43ea9959.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d1f6557be9292424eada8dec43ea9959.jpg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/can-teens-drive-in-california-with-underage-passengers-drive-at-night-what-to-know\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can teens drive in California with underage passengers? Drive at night? What to know"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/","name":"San Diego Relocation News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}