GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 584
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Short Title: Permit/Provisional License Modifications. |
(Public) |
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Sponsors: |
Representatives Willis, Johnson, McNeely, and Gable (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site. |
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Referred to: |
Transportation, if favorable, Judiciary 1, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House |
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April 1, 2025
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT eliminating DRIVING ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATE AND WAITING PERIOD REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ISSUANCE OF LEARNER'S PERMITS AND PROVISIONAL DRIVERS LICENSES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
PART I. eliminate driving ELIGIBILITY certificate and waiting period requirements for the issuance of learner's permits and provisional drivers licenses
SECTION 1. G.S. 20‑11 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑11. Issuance of limited learner's permit and provisional drivers license to person who is less than 18 years old.
(b) Level 1. A person who is at least 15 years old but less than 18 years old may obtain a limited learner's permit if the person meets all of the following requirements:
(3) Has a driving eligibility certificate or a high
school diploma or its equivalent.
(d) Level 2. A person who is at least 16 years old but less than 18 years old may obtain a limited provisional license if the person meets all of the following requirements:
(1) Has held a limited learner's permit issued by
the Division for at least nine months.
(4) Has a driving eligibility certificate or a high
school diploma or its equivalent.
(f) Level 3. A person who is at least 16 years old but less than 18 years old may obtain a full provisional license if the person meets all of the following requirements:
(3) Has a driving eligibility certificate or a high
school diploma or its equivalent.
(h) Exception for Persons 16
to 18 Who Have an Unrestricted Out‑of‑State License. A person who
is at least 16 years old but less than 18 years old, who was a resident of
another state and has an unrestricted drivers license issued by that state, and
who becomes a resident of this State may obtain one of the following upon
the submission of a driving eligibility certificate or a high school diploma or
its equivalent:following:
(n) Driving Eligibility Certificate. A person who
desires to obtain a permit or license issued under this section must have a
high school diploma or its equivalent or must have a driving eligibility
certificate. A driving eligibility certificate must meet the following
conditions:
(1) The person who is required to sign the
certificate under subdivision (4) of this subsection must show that he or she
has determined that one of the following requirements is met:
a. The person is currently enrolled in school and
is making progress toward obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent.
b. A substantial hardship would be placed on the
person or the person's family if the person does not receive a certificate.
c. The person cannot make progress toward
obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent.
(1a) The person who is required to sign the certificate
under subdivision (4) of this subsection also must show that one of the
following requirements is met:
a. The person who seeks a permit or license issued
under this section is not subject to subsection (n1) of this section.
b. The person who seeks a permit or license issued
under this section is subject to subsection (n1) of this section and is
eligible for the certificate under that subsection.
(2) It must be on a form approved by the Division.
(3) It must be dated within 30 days of the date the
person applies for a permit or license issuable under this section.
(4) It must be signed by the applicable person named
below:
a. The principal, or the principal's designee, of
the public school in which the person is enrolled.
b. The administrator, or the administrator's
designee, of the nonpublic school in which the person is enrolled.
c. The person who provides the academic
instruction in the home school in which the person is enrolled.
c1. The person who provides the academic instruction
in the home in accordance with an educational program found by a court, prior
to July 1, 1998, to comply with the compulsory attendance law.
d. The designee of the board of directors of the
charter school in which the person is enrolled.
e. The president, or the president's designee, of
the community college in which the person is enrolled.
Notwithstanding any other law,
the decision concerning whether a driving eligibility certificate was properly
issued or improperly denied shall be appealed only as provided under the rules
adopted in accordance with G.S. 115C‑12(28), 115D‑5(a3), or
115C‑566, whichever is applicable, and may not be appealed under this
Chapter.
(n1) Lose Control; Lose License.
(1) The following definitions apply in this
subsection:
a. Applicable State entity. The State Board of
Education for public schools and charter schools, the State Board of Community
Colleges for community colleges, or the Secretary of Administration for
nonpublic schools and home schools.
b. Certificate. A driving eligibility
certificate that meets the conditions of subsection (n) of this section.
c. Disciplinary action. An expulsion, a
suspension for more than 10 consecutive days, or an assignment to an
alternative educational setting for more than 10 consecutive days.
d. Enumerated student conduct. One of the
following behaviors that results in disciplinary action:
1. The possession or sale of an alcoholic beverage
or an illegal controlled substance on school property.
2. The bringing, possession, or use on school
property of a weapon or firearm that resulted in disciplinary action under
G.S. 115C‑390.10 or that could have resulted in that disciplinary
action if the conduct had occurred in a public school.
3. The physical assault on a teacher or other
school personnel on school property.
e. School. A public school, charter school,
community college, nonpublic school, or home school.
f. School administrator. The person who is
required to sign certificates under subdivision (4) of subsection (n) of this
section.
g. School property. The physical premises of the
school, school buses or other vehicles under the school's control or contract
and that are used to transport students, and school‑sponsored curricular
or extracurricular activities that occur on or off the physical premises of the
school.
h. Student. A person who desires to obtain a
permit or license issued under this section.
(2) Any student who was subject to disciplinary
action for enumerated student conduct that occurred either after the first day
of July before the school year in which the student enrolled in the eighth
grade or after the student's fourteenth birthday, whichever event occurred
first, is subject to this subsection.
(3) A student who is subject to this subsection is
eligible for a certificate when the school administrator determines that the
student has exhausted all administrative appeals connected to the disciplinary
action and that one of the following conditions is met:
a. The enumerated student conduct occurred before
the student reached the age of 15, and the student is now at least 16 years
old.
b. The enumerated student conduct occurred after
the student reached the age of 15, and it is at least one year after the date
the student exhausted all administrative appeals connected to the disciplinary
action.
c. The student needs the certificate in order to
drive to and from school, a drug or alcohol treatment counseling program, as
appropriate, or a mental health treatment program, and no other transportation
is available.
(4) A student whose permit or license is denied or
revoked due to ineligibility for a certificate under this subsection may
otherwise be eligible for a certificate if, after six months from the date of
the ineligibility, the school administrator determines that one of the
following conditions is met:
a. The student has returned to school or has been
placed in an alternative educational setting, and has displayed exemplary
student behavior, as defined by the applicable State entity.
b. The disciplinary action was for the possession
or sale of an alcoholic beverage or an illegal controlled substance on school
property, and the student subsequently attended and successfully completed, as
defined by the applicable State entity, a drug or alcohol treatment counseling
program, as appropriate."
PART II. Conforming changes
SECTION 2. The following statutes are repealed:
(1) G.S. 20‑9(b1).
(2) G.S. 20‑13.2(c1).
(3) G.S. 115C‑12(28).
(4) G.S. 115C‑150.12C(19).
(5) G.S. 115C‑218.70.
(6) G.S. 115C‑238.66(8).
(7) G.S. 115C‑288(k).
(8) G.S. 115C‑566.
PART III. effective date
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to permit or provisional license applications submitted on or after that date.