How many practice hours does Maryland actually require?

The short answer is 60 hours if the learner is under 25, and 14 hours if they are 25 or over. What trips families up is not the number, it is who is allowed to supervise and how the hours get counted.

Who can supervise

The supervising driver must be at least 21 and have held a licence for a minimum of three years. That rules out an older sibling who passed last year, however confident they are.

Before the first lesson

We ask for around 20 hours of practice before the first behind the wheel lesson, and the learner must have held the permit for at least four months. Students are assessed on that first lesson, so arriving cold makes it harder than it needs to be.

• Vary the conditions, not just the daylight runs
• Keep sessions short and frequent rather than long
• Log as you go, not from memory at the end