The PA 65-hour driving log and Form DL-180C, explained

65-Hour Log & DL-180C

65-Hour Log & DL-180C: the essentials

Sixty-five hours sounds like a lot until you spread it over the six months a teen has to hold a permit anyway: about two and a half hours a week.

The hours are also the best road-test preparation there is, so it pays to plan them rather than just count them.

The rule

• Drivers under 18 must complete at least 65 hours of supervised driving before the road test.
• At least 10 of those hours at night, and at least 5 in bad weather.
• At least six months from the date the permit was issued before booking the road test.
• Drivers 18 and older have neither requirement: PennDOT's rules for the hours and the wait apply to applicants under 18.

Who can supervise

The person beside a permit holder must be a licensed driver 21 or older, or a licensed parent, guardian or spouse who is 18 or older, in the front passenger seat.

Keeping the log

PennDOT's parent guide, PUB 385A, includes a printable Graduated Driver's License log and points families to the free RoadReady app. Whichever you use, record the date, how long you drove, whether it was day or night, the weather and what you practiced. The notes are what make the hours useful: they show which skills still need work.

Form DL-180C, the parent or guardian certification

DL-180C is where a parent, guardian, person in loco parentis or spouse 18 or older certifies that the 65 hours, including the 10 night and 5 bad-weather hours, were completed. The current version (June 2025) adds a second certification: that the teen has printed or viewed PennDOT's educational materials on the dangers of distracted driving, so do that before signing.

It is signed in front of a notary, a Driver License examiner, the teacher at the end of a driver education course, a certified third-party examiner or a motorcycle instructor. A notary is needed only if the parent or guardian won't be coming to the road test. The signed form is required before the test is booked, and it goes with you on the day.

Do professional lessons count?

Form DL-180C certifies hours driven with licensed drivers 21 or older, and PennDOT confirms that the six behind-the-wheel hours of a driver education course can be credited toward the 65. The bigger value of lessons is what they do to the rest of the hours: an instructor fixes the habits early, so the family hours are practice rather than repetition of mistakes. Our teen lessons are two hours each with free pickup from home or school.

A six-month plan

• Months 1–2: empty lots and quiet streets: steering, braking, mirrors, full stops.
• Months 3–4: busier roads, left turns, lane changes, the first night drives.
• Months 5–6: highways, rain, parallel parking and the streets around the test center you'll use.

Sources

• PA Driver's Manual: applying for a learner's permit (PennDOT)
• Form DL-180C: parent or guardian certification of practice hours (PennDOT, PDF)
• PUB 385A: the parent's supervised driving program, with the practice log (PennDOT, PDF)
• PA Driver's Manual: testing (PennDOT)
• Driver's test scheduling FAQs (PennDOT)
• PUB 178: A guide to obtaining a Pennsylvania junior driver's license (PennDOT, PDF)

Checked against these official pages on September 29, 2026. Fees and forms change, so the linked pages are the final word.