Ohio temps rules: what you can and cannot do on a TIPIC

What "temps" means

Ohio drivers say "temps" for the Temporary Instruction Permit Identification Card (TIPIC), the learner's permit issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). You get it after passing the vision screening and the 40-question knowledge test, and you must buy it at a deputy registrar license agency within 60 days of passing, or start the tests again (Ohio Driver Manual, Section 1). The operator temporary permit costs $26.50, deputy registrar fee included.

The knowledge test itself (format, languages, online testing, retakes) is covered on our Ohio permit practice test page. This guide is about what happens once the card is in your wallet: the rules you drive under, and what you need to move up to a license.

The rules by age

The supervising driver changes with the permit holder's age. From the Ohio Driver Manual, Section 1:

The midnight to 6 a.m. rule for 16- and 17-year-olds

Between midnight and 6 a.m., a 16- or 17-year-old on temps must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or custodian who holds a valid driver license (Section 1). The BMV's graduated licensing page adds one more option: a licensed driver 21 or older who is named on a notarized form BMV 2438. If a grandparent, aunt or older sibling over 21 will sometimes drive with you late at night, that form is the way to make it legal.

Note that "under 16" really means from 15 years and 6 months, the minimum age for the knowledge test (Section 1). In those first months, a friend who happens to be 21 does not qualify on their own: the supervisor must be a parent, guardian, custodian, driving instructor or an adult acting in loco parentis.

Rules for every permit holder

Whatever your age, the manual sets five rules that apply every time you drive on temps:

1. Carry the TIPIC at all times when driving.
2. The adult in the front passenger seat must not be intoxicated.
3. The driver and all passengers wear safety belts.
4. No mobile electronic device may be used while driving.
5. The number of people in the car cannot be more than the number of safety belts installed.

Two practical points follow. First, the supervisor has to be in the front passenger seat, not in the back. Second, the phone rule is broad: the manual's wording covers "any mobile electronic device" and lists no hands-free exception, so set the GPS before you pull away.

The BMV page for adults also notes that someone who holds a license from another country but has been issued a TIPIC may drive only with a licensed driver age 21 or older, like any other permit holder.

What you must do before the driving test

The TIPIC is a stage, not a destination. What you need to finish it depends on your age.

Under 18

According to the Ohio BMV and Section 1, you must:

• complete driver education at a licensed driver training school: 24 hours of classroom or online instruction and 8 hours of driving;
• log 50 hours of practice driving, at least 10 of them at night, on top of driver education;
• hold the TIPIC for at least six months;
• pass the maneuverability and on-road driving tests.

Ages 18 to 20

The BMV's page for ages 18 to 20 requires the same 24 + 8 hours of driver education and the same 50 logged hours with at least 10 at night. The six-month holding period is stated only for drivers under 18 (Section 1).

21 and older

Adults who are not temporary residents need no driver education before a first driving test. But after a failed first attempt at the maneuverability or road test, they must complete an abbreviated adult driver training course before trying again, unless they completed an approved driver education course within the year before the test (Section 11, Ohio BMV). Temporary residents age 21 or older follow the driver education and 50-hour rules and must hold the TIPIC for at least 14 days; holders of a current license from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea or Taiwan are exempt (Section 1).

Logging the 50 hours

The hours are recorded on form BMV 5791, Fifty-Hour Affidavit with Driving Log (BMV 5791). The manual says the form must be notarized and brought when you buy the license, for applicants under 18 and for those 18 to 20 (Section 12); the BMV also asks you to bring it to the driving test appointment (Ohio BMV).

The affidavit spells out details the manual leaves out. "Night" hours count from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, and the adult who swears to the log in front of the notary must be the applicant's parent, guardian or custodian, or a person over 21 acting in loco parentis. The form also warns that falsifying it is punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment (BMV 5791).

Two things make logging easier:

• The RoadReady Ohio phone app can log practice hours, and a notarized BMV 5791 with the app's driving log is accepted (Section 1, Section 12).
• Notaries are available at deputy registrar agencies (Section 12), so you do not need to find one separately.

Log each session as you go rather than reconstructing weeks of driving from memory the night before the test.

The parent's side: co-signing temps

If you are under 18, a parent or guardian must be present to co-sign the TIPIC application (Section 1). Signing has consequences. The manual explains that the co-signer is jointly and severally liable for damage the minor causes through negligence or willful misconduct until the minor turns 18, and that a co-signer can cancel the authorization at any time by mailing the TIPIC or license, or a notarized letter, to the BMV's License Control unit.

Driving test day

Bring your TIPIC and a vehicle in good condition. The examiner checks turn signals, brake lights, horn, wipers and headlights, the front doors must open from inside and outside, the registration must be current, and automated aids such as self-parking must be switched off (Section 11). After passing, you have 60 days to buy the license at a deputy registrar (Ohio BMV).

After temps: stricter than many expect

A new license under 18 is a probationary license with its own limits: no driving from midnight to 6 a.m. in the first 12 months unless an exception applies, no more than one non-family passenger without a parent or guardian, and no phone use (Section 12). The BMV automatically suspends an under-18 license for three months after two moving-violation convictions and for one year after three; getting it back includes obtaining a new TIPIC, a juvenile driver improvement program and passing the driving test again (Section 6). The habits you build on temps are the ones that keep you out of that loop.

Before you apply

Temps start with the knowledge test, and most questions turn on exact Ohio rules like the ones above. Our free Ohio practice questions are original questions written from the Ohio Driver Manual, with every answer explained; they are not the BMV's own questions, and the manual remains the reference.

Sources

• Ohio Driver Manual, Section 1 — How to Get Your Driver License — Ohio Department of Public Safety (checked September 30, 2026)
• Graduated Driver Licensing (temporary permit and probationary license) — Ohio BMV (checked September 30, 2026)
• Ohio Driver Manual, Section 6 — State Laws and Penalties — Ohio Department of Public Safety (checked September 30, 2026)
• Ohio Driver Manual, Section 11 — Taking the Driving Test — Ohio Department of Public Safety (checked September 30, 2026)
• Ohio Driver Manual, Section 12 — Purchase Your Driver License — Ohio Department of Public Safety (checked September 30, 2026)
• BMV 5791 Fifty-Hour Affidavit with Driving Log — Ohio BMV (checked September 30, 2026)
• Fees — Ohio BMV (checked September 30, 2026)

Ohio BMV is an agency of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. passmock is an independent practice service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Ohio BMV or the Ohio Department of Public Safety.