Learner Licenses and Teen Drivers
MCA 61-5-133 — six months on a learner license, 50 supervised hours, no driving 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. the first year
A learner license is valid for 1 year and lets the holder drive with a licensed driver seated beside. For a holder under 18, the supervising driver is a parent or guardian, or with their permission a licensed driver 18 or older, and every occupant wears a seatbelt.
Who handles this in Montana: State Bar of Montana, Licensed Lawyer Montana; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Montana directory.
- A driver's license goes to someone under 18 who has held a learner license or traffic education permit for at least 6 months.
- A parent or guardian certifies at least 50 hours of supervised driving, 10 of them at night, after a traditional traffic education course.
- A parent certifies no traffic, alcohol or drug conviction in the 6 months before the application.
- For 1 year, or until 18, every occupant wears a seatbelt, and no more occupants than seatbelts.
- No driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., except with a licensed driver 18 or older, for work, a school or religious event, an emergency, or farm or ranch hauling.
- For the first 6 months, no more than one passenger under 18 who is not family; for the second 6 months, no more than three.
A conviction for breaking a first year restriction brings 20 to 60 hours of community service, and a second suspends the license for 6 months.
Sources for this section (4)
- MCA 61-5-106 — Learner licenses -- traffic education permits -- temporary driver's permits
- MCA 61-5-132 — Prerequisites for issuance of driver's license to minor
- MCA 61-5-133 — First year restrictions on driver's license issued to minor
- MCA 61-5-134 — Operation of motor vehicle by minor in violation of restricted first-year license -- penalty
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Montana attorney.