Indiana Permit Practice: 50 Hours Required, 10 Must Be at Night

All new drivers in Indiana must complete 50 hours of supervised driving practice, including at least 10 hours at night. The Indiana supervised driving log, State Form 54706, is required at the road test and must be signed by the supervising driver. You log these hours on the official Log of Supervised Driving Practice (State Form 54706). This applies whether you're 16 or 36. No changes to the 50-hour requirement or State Form 54706 for 2026 per current BMV pages.

How Many of Indiana's Required 50 Hours Must Be on the Highway?

Indiana requires 50 total supervised driving hours, including at least 10 at night, recorded on State Form 54706. If you are under 21 and moving from a learner's permit to a probationary license, the standard permit holding period is 180 days.

Indiana does not specify a minimum number of highway hours sng, with 10 of those at night. This requirement is part of Indiana's Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program.

• Under 18: Complete 50 hours, including 10 at night. A parent or guardian signs the completed log, and the supervising-driver relationship rules for minors still apply.
• 18 and older: Complete the same 50 hours, including 10 at night. You may sign your own log. If you are still under 21, the standard 180-day permit holding period applies before a probationary license.
• Submit the completed State Form 54706 when applying for your license.

Digital apps can track practice, but you must transfer that data onto the official paper form.

If you're under 18, a parent or guardian must sign the Agreement of Financial Liability (State Form 41089) at the BMV branch.

What Counts as Night Driving for Indiana's Required 10 Hours?

Indiana requires at least 10 of the 50 supervised hours to be nighttime driving. The BMV guidance does not publish a separate clock-hour definition on the log page, so record actual driving completed at night and follow any restriction printed on the permit.

Driving That Counts, and Doesn't Count, Toward Indiana's 50 Hours

Only supervised driving time counts. For applicants under 18, a supervising driver age 25 or older generally must be related by blood, marriage, or legal status; a licensed spouse age 21 or older also qualifies. Applicants age 18 or older may practice with a licensed driver age 25 or older without the family-relationship requirement. Licensed instructors and approved rehabilitation specialists are separate qualifying supervisors.

For the full supervisor rules and exceptions, use the dedicated Indiana permit supervisor requirements page.

• Driver's ed hours count: Behind-the-wheel instruction from a BMV-approved driver education program applies toward your 50 hours.
• Driving alone, driving with an unqualified supervisor, or parking lot practice without supervision doesn't count.

Do Parking-Lot or Private-Property Practice Hours Count Toward Indiana's 50 Hours?

Indiana requires supervised driving practice but does not publish a separate minimum for highway, city, or parking-lot hours. Use safe, lawful locations and record only real supervised driving time.

Completing Indiana Form 54706 Practice Hour Logs

BMV clerks review dates, times, and totals against your age and schedule. Patterns like 15-hour Friday sessions, weekday entries during school hours, or totals that exceed physically possible driving windows trigger immediate scrutiny, and delay your license application.

• The clerk compares entries to your age and likely schedule. Inconsistent entries can delay your license.
• The affirming signature certifies the log is true under penalty of perjury: a felony in Indiana if falsified.
• You cannot estimate hours retroactively. Backdating a log with guesses is risky and could be considered fraud.

At the Evansville BMV, a clerk flagged a parent's log that showed 10 consecutive night hours recorded on a single date, physically impossible. The inconsistency raised immediate red flags and the teen's license application was delayed for weeks. Complete the log honestly after each session; back-filled entries are obvious to clerks reviewing hundreds of forms.

Indiana's wrong-supervisor rule wiped out one Fort Wayne teen's entire log. A 17-year-old had logged hours with a 24-year-old cousin, a relative, but under 25. Every hour was declared invalid at the BMV. The family had to restart all 50 hours with a qualifying supervisor. Indiana enforces the 25-year minimum strictly; don't assume close family overrides the age cutoff.

One Carmel applicant transferred data from a phone app to State Form 54706 the night before the test, rushed the addition, and came up 2 hours short of 50. The Carmel BMV turned them away, next test opening was 3 weeks out. Run the total twice before your appointment.

Is There a Maximum Number of Indiana Practice Hours You Can Log in One Day?

The BMV does not publish a daily maximum in its supervised-driving guidance. Log the time actually driven; unrealistic or inflated entries can create problems when the form is reviewed.

Practice-Log Problems That Delay Acceptance

Log after every drive, not the night before your skills test. Keep the form in the glovebox. Verify your supervisor's license is valid before each session; hours driven under a suspended supervisor's watch won't count and must be redone. Waiting to record drives can lead to forgotten dates and math errors.

• Verify your supervisor's license is valid before each practice session. If the BMV discovers your supervisor had a suspended license, those hours don't count: you'll redo them.
• Once your practice hours and applicable holding period are complete, review the dedicated waiting-period and road-test pages before scheduling.
• Review all rules in the Indiana BMV Driver's Manual before your test.

The whole logging system is tedious, but it exists for good reason. Drivers with more practice have fewer accidents. Just log as you go and you'll avoid the headaches.

What Happens If You Lose Indiana State Form 54706?

Download a fresh State Form 54706 and rebuild only entries you can document accurately. Indiana permits multiple logs when needed. If you cannot reliably reconstruct the missing entries, ask the BMV what documentation it will accept before test day.

Do Indiana Supervised Driving Hours Expire?

The BMV does not publish a separate expiration date for completed supervised-driving hours. You still must meet the current permit, age, holding-period, and licensing requirements when you apply for the license.