The Easy Steps to Getting Your Driver’s License
We know navigating the rules and regulations of getting your drivers license can be daunting but Joyce’s Driving School is here to help you easily and safely get your drivers education completed
Illinois Guide
What a teen needs to do to get a license before the age of 18
THE BROAD LOOK for Illinois Driver’s license requirements are as follows:
- Teens must be 16 years old to get a license
- Teens must complete a Driver's Ed Program - which includes classroom and Behind-the-Wheel instruction.
- Teens must have a permit for a minimum of nine months
- Teens must complete and log a minimum of 50 hours of driving with parents or guardians.
A MORE DETAILED LOOK: 7 Steps to get your Illinois Driver’s License
Enroll in a driver's ed program.
- We have multiple convenient options for completing your driver’s ed requirement
- We have classroom and behind the wheel driving packages for Illinois students.
- Students can enroll in any class in which they are 15 years old by the final day of class. Program choices include:
- Thirty (30) hours of in-person classroom instruction scheduled in 15 2-hour class segments.
- BTW Choices from below:
- a. Six (6) hours of behind the wheel (BTW) instruction and six (6) hours of observation (OBS) with our instructors who are fully insured, licensed, certified, and endorsed by the Office of the Secretary of State. OR
- b. Eight (8) hours of behind-the-wheel (BTW) instruction with our instructors who are fully insured, licensed, certified, and endorsed by the Office of the Secretary of State.
- When registration is complete, you will receive two separate emails.
- One is an automatic registration confirmation email from our web site with the student’s info to review.
- The second one is generated when our staff ACTIVATES your student (typically within 1 business day of registration). This second email will contain your students’ credentials to be used to sign into our website. Please check your spam and junk for this email and make sure you are receiving emails from us as this is our primary method of communication.
Gather Your Required Documents
- Illinois driver’s education requires two (2) forms for all students. Both must be completed and submitted for the student to receive their permit application from us.
- The Parent/Student Contract, which is your 8 month contract with Joyce’s Driving School. A virtual version will be signed when registering. Please feel free to print a copy as we will not provide you with a paper version.
- One of the following is also required: (student can bring this in on the first day of class)
- A Driver’s Education Approval Form signed by the high school serves as proof for eight (8) passing grades in the last two semesters (Most Common)
- A Home School Drivers Education Form
- A Driver Education Waiver Form signed by the School District Superintendent (Very Uncommon)
Get a Learner’s Permit
- Students will need a permit application form signed by our instructor. We sign these on the second day of class if the following requirements are met:
- Student is paid in full for the program
- The Drivers Ed Approval form (see step 2 above) that has been signed by the student's high school and turned in to the classroom instructor
- Your student will need to be 15 years old to get a learners permit
- To obtain a learners permit, your teen must pass a Rules of the Road test and a vision test at the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office. To prepare for this, they must read the Rules of the Road book (available online here) We cover this information during the first 4 classes.
- When they have an application, they MUST make an appointment at the DMV to take the required exams. Please go to www.ilsos.gov to schedule an appointment for your student to take the written test to receive a permit.
- Take a look at our RESOURCES tab for the Illinois Secretary of State links and a list of required documents. The permit is a legal document that requires a student to prove who they are, similar to when anyone receives a license from the state. This permit needs to be with them at all times when they are driving.
- When a student gets their permit, remove the top part from the paper, fold it in half, put it in the envelope the state provides and tuck it between their cell phone and their phone case. This way, the permit is with the student at all times.
Schedule the Behind-the-Wheel (BTW) portion of the Teen program
- Once your teen has obtained his/her permit, paid all class fees, and completed at least 2 classes at Joyce’s Driving School, they can start to schedule the behind-the-wheel (BTW) portion of the Teen Program.
- Teens DO NOT have to complete the classroom portion of our program before driving with us!
- We encourage teens to start scheduling the first BTW session when they get their permit. Then, schedule one each month, or after 3-4 hours of practice with parents or guardians, to complete the program in a timely manner.
- Teens will book all BTW appointments in the student portal. Login to your Student Portal to view our BTW calendars to familiarize yourself with our instructors’ schedules.
- During your BTW sessions your teen will learn, among many other things, the following:
Rules of the road
Left and right turns
Decision making
Emergency situations
Defensive driving
Reversing and backing up around a corner
Basic driving skills
Parking on hills
Right of way
Merging and lane changing
Driving defensively and most important – Driving with Confidence and a Positive Attitude!
Complete all State Requirements
- Your teen will be required to meet ALL these standards to take their final Illinois driver’s license road test:
- Successfully complete 15 classroom sessions.
- Successfully complete a BTW package of choice
- 50 hours of documented driving outside of Joyce’s program (10 of which must be a night)
- Be a minimum age of 16
- Have had their drivers permit for a minimum of 9 months
Get Your Illinois Driver’s License
- Now that your teen has completed all of the State of Illinois’ drivers license requirements, what does your teen need to do to get their license? Once your teen has completed the requirements and all fees due to Joyce’s Driving School have been paid, we will send notification to the Secretary of State. We will also send you a completion email with a link to the Secretary of State website. You can check here to confirm that the Secretary of State has processed the student’s paperwork in their system and that the student is eligible to take the road test. Students who have a valid permit will not need to take the written test again, only the road test.
- Once the student is eligible to take a road test they have two choices:
- Register for a road test with Joyce's Driving School see our Road Test web page here.
- Register for a road test appointment at the Illinois DMV
Get High School Credit for this Course
- You will receive a certificate of completion from the Secretary of State for their Illinois license. Make a copy of this certificate for your teens high school and file it in a safe place for a few years. Some insurance companies are starting to ask for a copy, so do not throw it away until your teen is 18 years old. We cannot get you a replacement if you happen to lose this certificate!
Questions? See our FAQ page or call 847-977-7193
Utah Guide
Sign up and complete an online classroom course in driver’s education.
- We have convenient option for completing your driver’s ed requirement .
- TEEN Online course options for Utah students.
- ADULT option for JDS Fast Track online course.
Sign up and complete 6 hours of in-car driving sessions
- Our in-car driving sessions will help you become a safe and experienced driver
- You must have your learners permit before you do your driving sessions. See here for more information
Take and pass the mandatory proctored exam + Utah DMV requirements
- ALL students who take our online course must take an in-person proctored exam with us.
- All students must take the Traffic Safety and Trends Exam on the DMV website.
Take and pass a mandatory road test
- Take the road test with a 3rd party tester or at the DMV (we are not allowed to test our own students per Utah Law).
Schedule an appointment for your visit at the DMV
That's it! You now have your Utah Drivers License!
About Joyce's Driving School
Teenage driving classes are an important step to becoming a safe and responsible driver. Joyce’s Driving School, both an Illinois and Utah state certified driving school, offers teen driver education courses with online scheduling for classroom and behind the wheel training. Our flexible courses are taught by state certified driving instructors.
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