I was shocked recently to find that my 14 year old son knows more about the current requirements for getting a driver’s license in Michigan than I did.  Shouldn’t have been surprised.  It’s important to him.  It’s just horrifying to me.  And besides, he knows more about everything than I do, just ask him.  But that’s another topic.

I was even more surprised to find how little information there is on the internet regarding licensing of a teenager, in any state much less being specific to Michigan.  Of course, the State of Michigan website is helpful, but makes you go to several different topic articles before you get the full scope of what is required for licensing of your teenaged driver.  So here is the compilation of everything you need to know, in chronological order, about what you’re in store for when you teen becomes old enough for driver’s training.

How Old ???

Again while the state government website is helpful, the info is scattered, and your most pressing initial question is “how old is my kid supposed to be to take driver’s training ?” 
The answer is 14 years and 8 months.  Oddly enough, if your teen is 18 years old or older, he is not required to take a driver’s training course to obtain his license. 
The Segment One course your teen will enroll for will include 24 hours of classroom instruction and 6 hours of on the road instruction.  The drivers training course fee can be paid using a check or credit card, and includes any fees payable to the state for licensing.  On the last day of the course, your teen will take a written test and upon passing, receive a green Segment One Certificate of Completion.  The teen, and his parent(s), must take this certificate, along with his birth certificate and social security card,  to the Secretary of State’s office to obtain a Level One Learner’s License.  A parent is required to sign the license, giving permission for the teen to drive.

The Level One license only permits the teen to drive with a licensed parent, legal guardian or designated adult 21 or older. 

Segment Two Driver’s Training Requirements

To enroll for the Level Two course, the teen must have his Level 1 license for at least 180 days, have completed at least 30 hours of driving with a parent, including 2 hours of night-time driving.

At the end of the Level Two course, the teen will be issued a white Certificate of Completion and will then have to take a road test with a state licensed road test agency.
Upon successful completion of the road test, the teen can obtain his Level 2 License.

Level Two License Requirements

To receive his Level 2 driver’s license, the teen and his parent(s) must go to the Secretary of State’s office.  The teen must bring proof that he is 16 years old, the road test passing certificate, the white Segment Two Certificate of Completion, and a signed log book verifying that the teen has completed a total of 50 hours of driving with a parent with 10 of these hours being night-time driving.

The Level Two license will allow the teen to drive unsupervised, except for between the hours of midnight and 5a.m. until age 18, at which time he will automatically advance to a Level 3 license.  A parent can sign to have the teen advanced to Level 3 at age 17, at the parent’s discretion.