Information & FAQs
Driver Education Today
If you wish to get your learner permit at age 15, you must be enrolled in a driver education course and have a Certificate of Driver Education (CDE) form signed and dated by the driving school showing proof of enrollment; you will also need additional BMV-required documents for the permit (we provide complete details within your student account once you are enrolled with us.) Do not go to a BMV branch without the appropriate documentation! If you are age 16 or older, you do not need a CDE form to get a permit, but you still must take the additional documentation required by the BMV.
You must pass a written exam at the BMV to get a permit; and a driving school cannot administer the permit test. Everyone in Indiana—regardless of age—must hold the permit for a minimum of 180 days, whether you take driver education or not. The BMV will also give you a 50-Hour Log when you get your permit; you are required by the State to document 50 hours of driving (40 day time and 10 night time) and submit this log when you are eligible for your license. The six hours of driving you do with Behind The Wheel’s instructors can be applied toward the 50-hour total. To become a competent, safe driver, it is crucial that you log practice hours with family members between drive sessions with Behind The Wheel.
How to Get Behind the Wheel
Click here to register a student; registration must be done before making a payment. You are welcome to register and pay at any time; however, you cannot access the online course and permit paperwork until you are age 15.
Complete the registration form with the student’s information. TYPE IN THIS INFORMATION CAREFULLY; ALL BMV-REQUIRED PAPERWORK WILL GENERATE FROM WHAT IS ENTERED ON THE REGISTRATION FORM!
After setting up the student’s account, you will be directed to our program/payment options. Please read the program descriptions to understand what each option includes. You may pay online for the program of your choice, or call 812-402-7058 during office hours to make a secure debit/credit payment or to arrange for payment by cash, check, or money order.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have completed a different Indiana-accredited online course/classroom, you must provide Behind The Wheel with the Certificate of Completion from that course AND pay in full for the driving portion before Behind The Wheel will issue the Certificate of Driver Education (CDE) form that is required to get a permit if you are under age 16.
ONLINE COURSE
You are NOT required to complete our online course before attempting to get your permit. The farther you get into the course, the easier the test will be, but you may take the written permit test at the BMV as soon as you feel ready and have all the appropriate documentation. If you do not pass the test, you must wait at least 24 hours before taking it again. When you have your permit, you may drive with any relative age 25 or over that is a licensed driver.
Per State regulation, the online course takes a minimum of 30 hours to complete and you may work up to a maximum of three hours per 24-hour period. A driving school cannot remove the “clock” that the State has set on the course. You may not schedule any driving sessions with Behind The Wheel until you are 100% complete with the online course and have taken the final exam, even if you have worked on it for more than 30 hours (or have simply let the timer run but have not completed all sections and units.) Our online course never expires and is always available to you. Please remember, however, that if you procrastinate on finishing the online course, you may not have enough time to complete your drive sessions with our instructors to get your license when you are eligible!
DRIVING SESSIONS
When you are 100% complete with the online course, it is your responsibility to call us to schedule your drive sessions. All drive scheduling is done by phone, and is on a first-come, first-serve basis, regardless of when you are eligible for your license. Behind The Wheel does NOT monitor your progress with the online course and will not contact you about driving. We suggest that in order to be more comfortable in the car, you log a few hours of driving practice with a family member prior to scheduling drives with our instructors; this helps you be less nervous and able to master the various driving skills the State requires us to teach.
You must allow a minimum of four months to complete the six hours of driving with us (or more if you are heavily involved in sports or other activities that limit your availability.) Please do not attempt to schedule drive sessions during an athletic season, band, play/musical, or any other activity that greatly impacts your availability to drive. If you do not plan ahead and allow sufficient time to complete your drives with our instructors, you may not be able to get your license when you are eligible. Weather, emergency, and student/instructor illness can also affect our ability to drive with you. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!
You must have your permit with you every time you drive and our instructors cannot accept a picture of it or an expired paper copy; this is a State regulation. If your permit has expired, you are not allowed to drive until you have it renewed by the BMV.
Effective January 1, 2022, all drive sessions must be completed within two years of your enrollment date; any drives not completed within that timeframe will be subject to an additional charge of $50 per drive. Please contact the office if you have a special circumstance that prevents you from completing your drives in a timely manner.
Please visit the Program Options & Costs page on this site for information on the Missed Drive Fee, which may be assessed if you do not complete a scheduled drive.
Behind The Wheel reserves the right to temporarily suspend drive sessions for any student that is not successfully progressing through the program and needs additional practice time.
If you need to cancel a scheduled drive during non-office hours, please call 812-402-7058 and leave a message; voicemail messages during non-office hours are monitored for drive cancelations only.
DRIVE TEST
Everyone in Indiana is required to successfully complete a drive (road) test prior to receiving a license; students of Behind The Wheel Driving Academy that complete a full program of driver education and achieve at least an 80% average throughout the six hours of driving are eligible to take the final drive test with a Behind The Wheel instructor following the completion of the six hours of driving. When you set up your final block of drives with Behind The Wheel, we will explain the drive test process to you and how you will receive the final paperwork that is required by the BMV to get your license.
Why Should I Take Driver Education?
In addition to professional on-the-road instruction, enrolling in driver education allows a student to get a permit at age 15 versus age 16 without driver education; and completing the full driver education program (online course and six hours of driving) allows a student to get a license at age 16 and 90 days versus 16 and 270 days without driver education. Many insurance companies also offer a discount for completing the program; please call your company’s agent for specifics.
What is the Cost of the Program?
For complete information on program options and costs, please visit the Program Options/Rates page. For the driving sessions, we pick you up at your home or school and return you when finished; there is no extra charge for this service. We offer a Payment Plan program option in addition to our Paid In Full program to help make driver education more affordable. If you wish to cancel enrollment, you must notify us within three days (72 hours) of enrollment; no refunds will be issued after this time or because the student chooses not to complete all or a portion of the program.
Can I take a practice Learner Permit test online?
Yes, click here to be directed to a free Indiana BMV practice test. You may take the exams as many times as you wish until you feel comfortable enough to go to the BMV and take the exam. If you do not pass the permit test on the first attempt, you are required to wait at least 24 hours before trying again. You will not be charged for the permit until you pass the test.
What if there's snow or ice on the road?
It is the policy of Behind The Wheel that if school is canceled due to weather, drives are also canceled. If school is delayed, no drives will take place prior to the revised start time; and if school is dismissed early, no drives will take place following the dismissal time. On weekends, instructors will use their best judgement about road conditions, and will contact students if they do not believe it is safe to do the drive. We do not charge a No Show fee for hazardous road conditions or inclement weather.
What do I need to take to the BMV to get my license?
When you reach age 16 and 90 days, have held your permit for at least 180 days, and have completed all requirements for a license including the drive (road) test, you will need to take to the BMV a Certificate of Completion for the classroom portion of Driver Education and a signed Completion Form for the six hours of driving (Behind The Wheel provides both forms to you); your permit; and the BMV-issued 50-hour driving log (if you need another copy of the 50-hour log, you can download it from the BMV here.) You will take a vision test at the BMV, and the permit will then be converted to a license (no additional written test is required to obtain a license.) A license can only be issued by the BMV.
Contact Us
812-402-7058
Office Hours (Central Time):
Monday-Friday: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Closed on Saturday and Sunday
(but we still drive on weekends and we monitor voicemail messages for drive cancelations!)
PLEASE NOTE: In-person visits to the office are by appointment only; please call for available appointment times.
Behind The Wheel partners with Driving Brilliance for its online classroom instruction; Driving Brilliance is regarded as the top online instructional driver education program in the State of Indiana!
Both my son and daughter completed the entire program with Behind the Wheel. They are a top notch drive school. They are very well organized, professional and overall nice people. I highly recommend their services to everyone. Your new driver will be in good hands with Behind the Wheel Driving Academy!