Indiana Driving Record

An operator’s license gives a holder 18 years of age or older full driving privileges to operate most standard passenger vehicles on Indiana roads. A probationary operator’s license may be issued to individuals less than 18 years of age.

Indiana License Eligibility

To be eligible for an operator’s license, the applicant must meet these requirements:

• Be at least 16 years and 30 days if the applicant has held a valid driver education learner’s permit for 60 days and has successfully completed a BMV-approved driver education course.
• Be at least 16 years and 180 days if the applicant has held a valid Indiana learner’s permit for 60 days.
• Show proof of identity and date of birth as outlined in the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles Document List, found at www.myBMV.IN.gov
• For first-time applicants, must show proof of Social Security number or letter of ineligibility and Indiana residency.
• Provide proof of lawful status.
• Successfully pass a standard vision screening test.
• If less than 18 years of age, have an appropriate adult sign the financial responsibility agreement portion of the application.
• Successfully pass a driving skills test with a BMV driver examiner in a vehicle that the applicant provides, unless the applicant qualifies for a waiver.

Indiana Seat Bel Law

Indiana law, IC 9-24-11-3, provides that an individual holding a probationary license may operate a motor vehicle (including passenger trucks) only if the individual and each occupant of the motor vehicle have a safety belt properly fastened about the occupants’ bodies at all times when the motor vehicle is in motion.

Indiana Drinking and Driving

Motorists in Indiana agree to submit to a certified chemical test to determine the amount of alcohol in his or her bloodstream. Driving while intoxicated or with a blood-alcohol content (“BAC”) in excess of the legal limit is a criminal offense and has an immediate and significant effect on your privilege to operate a vehicle. A sobering 17 fact about alcohol: it is not what you drink, it’s how much. A 12-ounce beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, and a cocktail with 1.5 ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits all contain the same amount of alcohol.

• Refusal to Submit to a Certified Chemical Test: A person who refuses to submit to a certified chemical test conducted by a law enforcement officer will have his or her license confiscated and will face a license suspension of up to two years.
• Failure of the Certified Chemical Test: If a person submits to the certified chemical test and fails, that person’s driving privileges may be suspended for a period of up to 180 days upon receipt by the BMV of an affidavit from the law enforcement officer submitted to the court containing the results of the failed test.
• Post-Conviction Suspensions: The suspensions discussed above are preconviction license suspensions. When a person is convicted of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated or with a BAC of 0.08% or more, the court is required to suspend the driver’s license for at least 90 days. The suspension periods are longer for repeat offenders. Even if a person is a first-time offender and the local courts defer the conviction, the 90-day suspension is mandatory.

Major Offenses that Lead to a Suspension

• Failing to respond to the issuance of a citation by a law enforcement officer for speeding or other offenses or not paying for tickets after a judgment has been entered may lead to the suspension of your driving privileges. Upon receipt of a certification from a court that a person has not appeared or paid for a traffic offense, the BMV is required to suspend that person’s driving privileges. The suspension is indefinite and ends only when the person has either appeared or paid for the offense, and provides proof of disposition to the BMV.
• Indiana’s Habitual Traffic Violator law provides serious penalties for persons who have committed repeat traffic offenses over a 10-year period. The BMV will use the criteria listed below to determine if a driver qualifies as a Habitual Traffic violator.
• Operating a vehicle while suspended as a habitual traffic violator is a felony, which is the most serious type of criminal offense. Indiana law requires that a person who receives a conviction for operating a vehicle while suspended as a habitual traffic violator must have his or her driving privileges forfeited for life.
• Driving without a valid liability insurance policy on the vehicle you are operating is against the law. Thousands of Indiana residents suffer bodily injuries or property damages yearly caused by persons without insurance coverage on their vehicles.

Indiana Driver License Points

Additional Indiana Resources

• Indiana Driver Manual
• Drinking & Driving Violations
• Driving Without a License / With a Suspended License
• Driving Without a License / With a Suspended License
• Driving Without Insurance / With Insufficient Insurance
• Driving Without Registration / With Expired Registration
• Illegal U-Turn
• Leaving the Scene of an Accident / Hit & Run
• Mechanical Violations
• Mechanical Violations
• Reckless Driving
• Running a Red Light / Stop Sign
• Running a Red Light / Stop Sign
• Seat Belt / Child Restraint Violations
• Seat Belt / Child Restraint Violations
• Speeding
• Unlawful Vehicle Modifications