Updates to Colorado’s Motor Vehicle Minor Driver Education Standards Effective 1/1/27

What You Need to Know About the New Standards on Teen Driving

On Jan. 1, 2027, new requirements for obtaining a learner’s permit in Colorado will go into effect. This update, known as HB24-1021, shifts the focus of driver’s education to a more comprehensive approach with stricter safety protocols for driving schools.

The new regulations require:

• A 30-hour driver education course for minors 15-18 years old (which may include an online course).
• Drivers 18 years and older can choose between a 30-hour course or a 4-hour prequalification driver awareness program (which may include an online course).
• Those applying for a license under the age of 16.5 must still complete six hours of behind-the-wheel training.
• Individuals under 21 years old must successfully complete a motorcycle safety instruction program before being issued a motorcycle instruction permit.

Under this act, the Department of Revenue may issue temporary driver’s licenses that are valid for up to one year, and the department expanded the list of authorized driving supervisors for permitted minors:

• The minor's parent or stepparent;
• The minor's grandparent with power of attorney;
• An individual who is 21 years of age or older and who signed the affidavit of liability;
• The minor's foster parent who signed the affidavit of liability;
• An approved driver education instructor;
• An alternate permit supervisor who is 21 years of age or older and is appointed by the person who signed the affidavit of liability; and
• If the minor is a foster child, an individual authorized to supervise the foster child.

To enhance public safety, the act also prohibits anyone who has been convicted of certain violent or sexual crimes from providing behind-the-wheel instruction to minors and at-risk adults, and commercial driving schools are prohibited from employing people with disqualifying criminal backgrounds as driving instructors. Each instructor employed by a commercial driving school must obtain a fingerprint-based criminal history record check.

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