DRIVER EDUC./18 YRS & OLDER & UNLICENSED.

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View NCGA Bill Details2025-2026 Session
House Bill 217 (Public) Filed Tuesday, February 25, 2025
AN ACT TO REQUIRE A DRIVER EDUCATION COURSE, INCLUDING ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE AWARENESS, FOR UNLICENSED PERSONS EIGHTEEN YEARS AND OLDER.
Intro. by Lowery, Biggs, Charles Smith.
Status: Passed 3rd Reading (House action) (Apr 29 2025)

SOG comments (1):

Long title change

Submitted by jhenders@sog.unc.edu on

Committee substitute to the 1st edition changed the long title. Original title was AN ACT TO REQUIRE A COURSE IN ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE AWARENESS FOR PERSONS EIGHTEEN YEARS AND OLDER THAT ARE NOT LICENSED.

Bill History:

H 217

Bill Summaries:

  • Bill H 217 (2025-2026)
    Summary date: Apr 9 2025 - View Summary

    House committee substitute to the 1st edition makes the following changes.

    Removes proposed GS 20-11.2, which would have required applicants for a driver’s license age 18 and older to take an alcohol and drug abuse awareness course unless they have a license from another state or have completed a Department of Public Instruction drivers education course. Makes the following changes instead. 

    Enacts new GS 20-330 requiring the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles (Commissioner) to adopt rules to establish a course of driver education that will be offered by licensed commercial driver training schools to unlicensed people age 18 and up to prepare them for licensure. Requires the course to promote traffic safety and provide three hours of instruction on (1) state laws relating to the operation of a motor vehicle, (2) the physiological and psychological consequences of using alcohol and drugs and their effects on a driver, and (3) high-risk driving behaviors. Requires the course to be offered both online and in person and to ensure that there is a way to demonstrate successful completion of the course. 

    Amends GS 20-7 to require completion of the course described in GS 20-330 in order to obtain a drivers license. Specifies that the course does not have to be completed before obtaining a learner's permit. Excludes applicants who hold or have previously had a license, or those who have completed the drivers education course under GS 115C-215. 

    Applicable to applications for drivers licenses submitted on or after October 1, 2025.

    Amends the act's long title.

    Courts/Judiciary, Motor Vehicle, Government, State Agencies, Department of Transportation
    GS 20
  • Bill H 217 (2025-2026)
    Summary date: Feb 25 2025 - View Summary

    Amends Article 2 of Chapter 20 of the General Statutes (Uniform Driver’s License Act) by adding GS 20-11.2 to do the following:
    (1) Require applicants for a driver’s license age 18 and older to take an alcohol and drug abuse awareness course, unless they have a license from another state or have completed a Department of Public Instruction drivers education course;
    (2) Require that the mandatory course be a three hour online or in-person course that promotes traffic safety and provides instruction on (i) physiological and psychological consequences of alcohol and drug abuse, (ii) effects of drug and alcohol abuse on drivers, (iii) North Carolina laws relating to motor vehicle operation, and (iv) high risk driving behaviors like fatigued driving, aggressive driving, and distracted driving;
    (3) Direct the Division of Motor Vehicles (Division) to utilize third-party vendors to administer the course and to require the third-party vendors to obtain certification from the Division that the third-party’s course complies with the above requirements for the course; and
    (4) Provides that course participants must pay a fee for the course set by the Division.

    Effective October 1, 2025.

    Courts/Judiciary, Motor Vehicle, Government, State Agencies, Department of Transportation
    GS 20
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