Georgia Code
Article 2 - Issuance, Expiration, and Renewal of Licenses
§ 40-5-24. Instruction Permits; Graduated Licensing and Related Restrictions; Temporary Licenses

provided, however, that a Class D license holder shall not be charged with a violation of this paragraph alone but may be charged with violating this paragraph in addition to any other traffic offense.
History. Ga. L. 1937, p. 322, art. 4, § 3; Ga. L. 1943, p. 196, § 5; Ga. L. 1951, p. 598, § 2; Ga. L. 1957, p. 103, § 3; Ga. L. 1958, p. 268, § 1; Ga. L. 1959, p. 318, § 1; Code 1933, § 68B-205, enacted by Ga. L. 1975, p. 1008, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 40; Ga. L. 1989, p. 519, § 8; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1241, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 4; Ga. L. 1994, p. 514, § 2; Ga. L. 1997, p. 760, § 12; Ga. L. 1998, p. 3, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 184, § 1-2; Ga. L. 2005, p. 1461, § 4/SB 226; Ga. L. 2006, p. 343, § 3/SB 637; Ga. L. 2010, p. 199, § 2/HB 258; Ga. L. 2010, p. 932, § 6/HB 396; Ga. L. 2011, p. 355, § 3/HB 269; Ga. L. 2014, p. 409, § 5/SB 392; Ga. L. 2017, p. 774, § 40/HB 323; Ga. L. 2021, p. 403, § 4/HB 466.
The 2017 amendment, effective May 9, 2017, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “instruction permit” for “instructional permit” in subparagraph (a)(1)(B).
The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, deleted former paragraph (a)(2), which read: “A person who has been issued an instruction permit under this subsection and has never been issued a Class D driver’s license under subsection (b) of this Code section will become eligible for a Class D driver’s license under subsection (b) of this Code section only if such person is at least 17 years of age, has a valid instruction permit which is not under suspension, and, for a period of not less than 12 consecutive months prior to making application for a Class D driver’s license, has not been convicted of a violation of Code Section 40-6-391, hit and run or leaving the scene of an accident in violation of Code Section 40-6-270, racing on highways or streets, using a motor vehicle in fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, reckless driving, or convicted of any offense for which four or more points are assessable under subsection (c) of Code Section 40-5-57; provided, however, that a person who is at least 16 years of age and meets all of the other qualifications of this paragraph except for age who has completed an approved driver education training course as provided in subsection (a.2) of Code Section 40-5-22 will be eligible for a Class D driver’s license.”; redesignated former paragraph (a)(3) as present paragraph (a)(2); rewrote paragraph (b)(1), which read: “Any resident of this state who is at least 17 years of age and who, for a period of at least 12 months, had a valid instruction permit issued under subsection (a) of this Code section may apply to the department for a Class D driver’s license to operate a noncommercial Class C vehicle if such resident has otherwise complied with all prerequisites for the issuance of such Class D driver’s license as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, provided that a resident at least 17 years of age who has at any age surrendered to the department a valid instruction permit or driver’s license issued by another state or the District of Columbia or who has submitted to the department proof, to the satisfaction of the department, of a valid instruction permit or driver’s license issued by another state or the District of Columbia may apply his or her driving record under such previously issued permit or driver’s license toward meeting the eligibility requirements for a Class D driver’s license the same as if such previously issued permit or driver’s license were an instruction permit issued under subsection (a) of this Code section; provided, however, that a person who is at least 16 years of age and meets all of the other qualifications of this paragraph except for age who has completed an approved driver education training course as provided in subsection (a.2) of Code Section 40-5-22 may apply for a Class D driver’s license.”; substituted “parents and stepparents, grandparents, siblings and stepsiblings” for “parents and step-parents, grandparents, siblings and step-siblings” in subparagraph (b)(2)(C); and, in paragraph (b)(3), in the middle, inserted “in violation of Code Section 40-6-186”, “in violation of Code Section 40-6-395”, and “in violation of Code Section 40-6-390”, and added the proviso at the end; substituted “completed a driver education training course may apply” for “completed an approved driver education training course as provided in subsection (a.2) of Code Section 40-5-22 may apply” near the end of the second sentence of subsection (c); and deleted former subsection (f), which read: “For the purposes of this Code section, the term ‘approved driver education training course’ shall include those driver education training courses approved by the Department of Driver Services.”
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2001, “; and” was substituted for a period at the end of subparagraph (b)(2)(A) and a period was substituted for “; and” in division (b)(2)(B)(i).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 1997, p. 760, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Teen-age and Adult Driver Responsibility Act’. ”
Ga. L. 1997, p. 760, § 27, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment made by the Act to this Code section shall apply to offenses committed on or after July 1, 1997, and shall not apply to offenses committed prior to that date.
Ga. L. 2005, p. 1461, § 6/SB 226, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The provisions of this Act shall not apply to or otherwise affect any valid license or instructional permit which has been issued to any person by this state and which is in effect on the effective date of this Act. On and after the effective date of this Act, no new license or instructional permit shall be issued except in compliance with the provisions of this Act.”
Ga. L. 2005, p. 1461, § 7/SB 226, provides that the 2005 amendment, as amended by Ga. L. 2006, p. 343, § 3/SB 637, becomes effective on January 1, 2007, subject to available funds. Funds were appropriated at the 2006 session of the General Assembly.
For application of this statute in 2020, see Executive Orders 04.23.20.02 and 05.12.20.01.
A listing of Executive Orders issued in 2020 can be found at https://gov.georgia.gov/executive-action/executive-orders/2020-executive-orders.
Administrative rules and regulations.
Drivers licenses, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Board of Corrections, Departmental Operations, Offender Administration, § 125-2-4-.13.
Law reviews.
For article commenting on the 1997 amendment of this Code section, see 14 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 203 (1997).
For note on the 2001 amendment to this Code section, see 18 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 205 (2001).