Permit rules and dates
Permit and license fees in every state
Pick a state: the tool adds the learner permit fee and the first license fee. The table below ranks every state that publishes both, from the lowest total to the highest.
What the state charges for the permit and license
Permit + first license
$46
| Learner permit | $46 |
| License | Included |
One application fee covers the permit and the first license, and three knowledge test attempts within 12 months.
What a state charges to get a new driver from permit to license varies widely. Among the 37 jurisdictions in our data that publish both the learner permit fee and the first license fee, the combined public cost goes from $10 in Montana to $146 in Washington, with a median of $45. The permit alone costs between $2.50 and $80. In 10 states the two fees are equal, and in some a single application fee covers the permit, the tests and the first license. These are the agency charges only: they leave out driver education, a driving school, insurance and the cost of a car for the road test. Some states add separate charges for each knowledge test attempt, a photo or a county fee, which the agency notes below the table spell out.
Questions and state rules by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the questions are written
Fees state by state, lowest total first
The permit fee is what the agency charges to issue the learner permit; the license fee is the charge for the first driver license, usually the provisional one for a teen. The total adds the two. When only one of the two is published, the total is marked as partial and should be read as a floor, not a full cost.
| State | Learner permit | First license | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | not stated | $5 | $5 (partial) |
| Iowa | $6 | not stated | $6 (partial) |
| Montana | $5 | $5 | $10 |
| New Hampshire | not stated | $10 | $10 (partial) |
| West Virginia | $7.50 | $5 | $12.50 |
| Georgia | $10 | $10 | $20 |
| Illinois | $20 | $0 | $20 |
| Hawaii | $5 | $20 | $25 |
| Minnesota | $11.25 | $14.25 | $25.50 |
| Indiana | $9 | $17.50 | $26.50 |
| South Carolina | $2.50 | $25 | $27.50 |
| New Mexico | $10 | $18 | $28 |
| North Dakota | $15 | $15 | $30 |
| Mississippi | $7 | $24 | $31 |
| Arizona | $7 | $25 | $32 |
| Texas | $16 | $16 | $32 |
| New Jersey | $10 | $24 | $34 |
| Alaska | $15 | $20 | $35 |
| Virginia | $3 | $32 | $35 |
| Kentucky | $15 | $21.50 | $36.50 |
| Arkansas | not stated | $40 | $40 (partial) |
| Nebraska | $13 | $29 | $42 |
| Nevada | $22.50 | $22.50 | $45 |
| Pennsylvania | $45.50 | $0 | $45.50 |
| California | $46 | $0 | $46 |
| Florida | not stated | $48 | $48 (partial) |
| Delaware | $50 | $0 | $50 |
| North Carolina | $25.50 | $25.50 | $51 |
| Idaho | $21.50 | $30 | $51.50 |
| Utah | $19 | $39 | $58 |
| Vermont | $24 | $39 | $63 |
| Wisconsin | $35 | $28 | $63 |
| Louisiana | $32.25 | $32.25 | $64.50 |
| Maine | $35 | $30 | $65 |
| District of Columbia | $20 | $47 | $67 |
| Wyoming | $40 | $30 | $70 |
| Alabama | $36.25 | $36.25 | $72.50 |
| South Dakota | $38 | $38 | $76 |
| New York | $80 | $0 | $80 |
| Oklahoma | $42.50 | $42.50 | $85 |
| Connecticut | $19 | $84 | $103 |
| Washington | $35 | $111 | $146 |
Neither fee appears on the pages we read for Colorado, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee.
What the agencies add
Base fees rarely tell the whole story. Here are the extra charges and conditions that agencies publish next to their fees, quoted from their pages:
- Alabama. Plus $5 for each knowledge test attempt. The Stage II license also costs $36.25.
- Alaska. Standard cards; a REAL ID card costs $35 for the permit and $40 for the license.
- Arkansas. The learner license fee is prorated; each written exam costs $5.
- California. One application fee covers the permit and the first license, and three knowledge test attempts within 12 months.
- Connecticut. Plus a $40 testing fee covering the vision, knowledge and road tests.
- Delaware. The $50 Class D license fee is paid when applying for the permit and includes it.
- District of Columbia. Plus $10 for the knowledge test at a service center. The provisional license costs $20 and the full license $47.
- Florida. Original Class E license fee set by statute; county tax collector offices may add a service fee.
- Georgia. The permit fee is paid again for each testing attempt. The Class D license for teens costs $10.
- Hawaii. Fees of the City and County of Honolulu, where licensing is run by the county: $5 permit plus $2 test.
- Idaho. Plus $5 for the knowledge test. The teen license, valid 3 years, costs $30.
- Illinois. The $20 instruction permit fee covers the first license when it is issued before the permit expires.
- Indiana. Fee chart revised on 1 January 2026.
- Iowa. Class C licenses cost $4 per year of validity.
- Montana. Plus a 3 % administrative fee; the license fee is per year of validity.
- Nebraska. Permit: $8 plus a $5 security fee. Provisional operator's permit: $20.
- Nevada. Plus $25 for the first knowledge and skills test and $10 for each retest. Converting the permit costs $22.50.
- New Hampshire. New Hampshire issues no learner's permit. The license costs $10 per year until age 21.
- New Jersey. Plus $4 for the two red GDL decals. The basic license costs $24, or $35 with REAL ID.
- New Mexico. The first teen license is the provisional license, $18.
- New York. One fee covers the permit and the first license; it depends on age at application and is higher in the New York City metropolitan area.
- North Carolina. Level 1 permit $25.50, Level 2 provisional license $25.50.
- North Dakota. Plus $5 for each knowledge test attempt and $5 for the road test.
- Oklahoma. Each fee is $4 for the application plus $38.50 for the card.
- Pennsylvania. One fee covers the learner's permit and the first 4-year license.
- South Carolina. Fees set by the South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 56.
- South Dakota. The permit costs the same as an original license, set by SDCL 32-12-16.
- Texas. Texas DPS fee chart: $16 for the learner license and $16 for the provisional license, each a $15 state fee plus a $1 administrative fee.
- Utah. Fees set by Utah Code 53-3-105.
- Vermont. Plus $39 for each knowledge test attempt and $23 for the road test.
- Virginia. The license costs $4 per year; $32 for 8 years.
- Washington. The knowledge test fee is extra and varies by testing location.
- West Virginia. The handbook's fee table charges it as a $7.50 knowledge test fee per attempt.
- Wisconsin. Skills test $15.
- Wyoming. Plus a $5 technology fee on every license.
Reading the gap between states
The most expensive state in our data costs 14.6 times the cheapest for the same two documents. The gap does not reflect the quality of the service; it reflects how each state funds its agency. Some keep fees low and pay for licensing from the general budget, others charge close to cost. A long license term also raises the fee: a state that issues licenses for eight years will charge more at once than one that issues them for four, while costing less per year.
Costs that are not fees
The table covers public charges only. Families also budget for driver education in states that require it (see the driver education guide), for the time of a supervising adult during the practice hours, and for adding a teen to car insurance, often the largest cost of all. A failed knowledge test can also cost a retest fee; the retake guide gives the wait in each state. We do not list or recommend any school or insurer.
Where the figures come from
Each fee was read on the agency fee page or in the driver handbook, and the link is stored with it. Fees change with state budgets, often on July 1 or January 1, so confirm the amount on the official page shortly before your visit. This site is independent and does not collect any fee.