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Does my teen need drivers ed to get a license in Iowa?

Iowa requires satisfactory completion of driver education before it issues an intermediate license. An approved course has at least thirty classroom hours and six or more laboratory hours. Every public school district must offer or make available an approved course.

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The rule, fact by fact

Who needs it
An intermediate license applicant needs satisfactory completion of driver educationThe required license fee must also be paid before the intermediate license is issued.
Verified. www.legis.iowa.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Course hours
At least thirty classroom hours and six or more laboratory hoursAt least three of the laboratory hours must be street or highway driving.
Verified. www.legis.iowa.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Valid for
Permit valid up to four years from the birthday anniversary in the year of issuanceYour teen can get the permit between the ages of fourteen and eighteen.
Same source and date as above

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Check the rule. An applicant for an intermediate license must show satisfactory completion of driver education.

  2. Step 2. Choose where to take it. Among the options, every public school district must offer or make available an approved course, and a course at a private or commercial school licensed by the department also makes a student eligible for a driver's license.

  3. Step 3. Get the instruction permit. The department may issue one between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. A permit needs the consent of a parent, guardian or custodian.

Before you pay

Ask the school whether its course is approved in Iowa before you pay.

Ask what the price covers. We haven't confirmed whether Iowa accepts an online course, or what a course costs.

Ask for the certification once the course is done.

Questions

Who can ride along with a permit holder?

A permit holder under eighteen needs a licensed person in the seat beside them. It can be a parent, guardian or custodian, a member of your teen's immediate family twenty-one or older, a driver ed instructor, someone training to teach driver ed in an approved program, or anyone twenty-five or older with written permission from a parent, guardian or custodian.

Does a finished course replace the driving test?

It can. A student with certification in an approved course may be excused from a field test, unless a parent, guardian or instructor asks for one.

Who counts as a student for a school course?

A student is a person between fourteen and twenty-one who satisfies the preliminary licensing requirements of the department.

What else does the intermediate license ask for?

Among other things, your teen must be sixteen or seventeen and hold the permit for at least twelve months. A parent, guardian or custodian signs a form for twenty hours of street or highway driving, two of them after sunset. After a moving violation or an accident, your teen must complete the remedial driver improvement action and drive six months without either before applying.

What to do next

Start with the Iowa Code section on driver education, then choose how your teen will take the course.

www.legis.iowa.gov

Sources we read