The Top 5 Steps to Getting a Nevada Drivers License
The following points are the top 5 steps, in recommended order for obtaining your full Nevada drivers license.
1. Take a 30-Hour Nevada Driver’s Ed Course:
If you are a teen, under the age of 18 years old, Nevada law requires you to take a 30-hour Nevada driver’s ed course before you can get your Nevada driver’s license. This drivers ed course can be taken in a classroom or online, as long as the course is licensed by the Nevada DMV. Although this step is not required to get a Nevada instruction permit, it makes more sense to do so before taking the written permit test for two reasons.
(1) Taking this course first, since it is required anyway, will vastly help you achieve a passing score on your Nevada permit test on your very first try. Remember that a large percentage of first time permit test takers do not pass the written test on their first try. Taking this course before your test significantly increases your chances of passing the written test on your first try.
(2) Students can take a Nevada driver’s ed course when they are 15 years old, but they cannot take the Nevada instruction permit written test until they are 15 1/2. This gives the student 6 months to prepare for the written test while also completing a course that is required of them to take.
2. Get Your Nevada Instruction Permit:
The two portions of testing required by the Nevada DMV in obtaining a full, Nevada drivers license are the written test, also known as the “knowledge test” and the driving test, also known as the “skills test.” Both must be passed with an 80% or better to pass.
The Nevada DMV does not take appointments for the knowledge test. You simply need to show up, provide proof of age (birth certificate) and have a parent with you to sign the necessary paperwork. There is also a fee required each time you take the test.
While an appointment for the knowledge test is not needed, you will need an appointment for the behind the wheel skills test. Remember, a skills test cannot be taken until you have had your Nevada Instruction Permit for at least 6-months.
3. Take Driving Lessons with a Licensed Nevada Driving School:
In many states, taking driving lessons with a licensed driving instructor is a requirement. This, however, is not the case in Nevada at of yet. Although it is not required in Nevada, we strongly encourage new drivers to take a few behind the wheel driving lessons with a licensed Nevada driving school. In our experience, these lessons with a licensed instructor not only will help you to more easily pass your skills test, it will also make parent practice sessions much less stressful. When a student learns the basics of driving with a professional instructor, the skills learned during those sessions go a long way in their confidence and abilities when they take the road with their parents.
4. Practice, Practice, Practice
As you may know, a teen driver must log 50 hours of behind the wheel experience before they can apply for a full Nevada drivers license. 10 of these experience hours must be conducted at night. This means during hours of darkness – not just time of day. In other words, if you are taking your night time driving hours at 6-8pm in July, the DMV will not count this as night time because in southern Nevada, the sun doesn’t set until late during the summer months. Many students make this mistake and are turned away by the DMV for not having enough night time driving experience.
A good thing to follow in getting your 50 hours of driving experience is to keep a notebook in the vehicles you will be driving. Then, every time you get behind the wheel, ensure that you log your time. Those quick 10-minute trips to the grocery store or drives home from school can really add up.
Also, don’t forget to log your behind the wheel hours that you spend with your professional driving instructor!
5. Take Nevada DMV Road Test
The final necessary to obtain a Nevada drivers license is the skills test. This is where the rubber meets the road and you get to demonstrate everything you’ve learned along the way between your 30 hour teen drivers ed course and your 50 hours of driving experience.
Yes, you will be nervous. Everyone who takes the test feels the same way (even adults!). The key is to relax and focus on your driving — not what the evaluator is writing, thinking or doing. The evaluator will guide you along a testing route, but they will not help you. They are they only to ensure that you possess the skills to drive safely on Nevada roadways.
Take each direction by the evaluator as a test. When they tell you to change lanes, remember that they are evaluating your lane change. When they tell you to make a right or left turn, remember that they are grading each one of those turns. Make everything count!
Conclusion:
We hope this article has been informative. Our 30-hour teen drivers ed course is available throughout the state. If you are seeking Las Vegas driving lessons, please call us at 702-907-9992.
