GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 584
Short Title: Permit/Provisional License Modifications. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Willis, Johnson, McNeely, and Gable (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Transportation, if favorable, Judiciary 1, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and
Operations of the House
April 1, 2025
*H584 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT ELIMINATING DRIVING ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATE AND WAITING PERIOD 2
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ISSUANCE OF LEARNER 'S PERMITS AND 3
PROVISIONAL DRIVERS LICENSES. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
6
PART I. ELIMINATE DR IVING ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATE AND WAITING 7
PERIOD REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ISSUANCE OF LEARNER'S PERMITS AN D 8
PROVISIONAL DRIVERS LICENSES 9
SECTION 1. G.S. 20-11 reads as rewritten: 10
"§ 20-11. Issuance of limited learner's permit and provisional drivers license to person who 11
is less than 18 years old. 12
… 13
(b) Level 1. – A person who is at least 15 years old but less than 18 years old may obtain 14
a limited learner's permit if the person meets all of the following requirements: 15
… 16
(3) Has a driving eligibility certificate or a high school diploma or its equivalent. 17
… 18
(d) Level 2. – A person who is at least 16 years old but less than 18 years old may obtain 19
a limited provisional license if the person meets all of the following requirements: 20
(1) Has held a limited learner's permit issued by the Division for at least nine 21
months. 22
… 23
(4) Has a driving eligibility certificate or a high school diploma or its equivalent. 24
… 25
(f) Level 3. – A person who is at least 16 years old but less than 18 years old may obtain 26
a full provisional license if the person meets all of the following requirements: 27
… 28
(3) Has a driving eligibility certificate or a high school diploma or its equivalent. 29
… 30
(h) Exception for Persons 16 to 18 Who Have an Unrestricted Out-of-State License. – A 31
person who is at least 16 years old but less than 18 years old, who was a resident of another state 32
and has an unrestricted drivers license issued by that state, and who becomes a resident of this 33 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 584-First Edition
State may obtain one of the following upon the submission of a driving eligibility certificate or 1
a high school diploma or its equivalent:following: 2
… 3
(n) Driving Eligibility Certificate. – A person who desires to obtain a permit or license 4
issued under this section must have a high school diploma or its equivalent or must have a driving 5
eligibility certificate. A driving eligibility certificate must meet the following conditions: 6
(1) The person who is required to sign the certificate under subdivision (4) of this 7
subsection must show that he or she has determined that one of the following 8
requirements is met: 9
a. The person is currently enrolled in school and is making progress 10
toward obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent. 11
b. A substantial hardship would be placed on the person or the person's 12
family if the person does not receive a certificate. 13
c. The person cannot make progress toward obtaining a high school 14
diploma or its equivalent. 15
(1a) The person who is required to sign the certificate under subdivision (4) of this 16
subsection also must show that one of the following requirements is met: 17
a. The person who seeks a permit or license issued under this section is 18
not subject to subsection (n1) of this section. 19
b. The person who seeks a permit or license issued under this section is 20
subject to subsection (n1) of this section and is eligible for the 21
certificate under that subsection. 22
(2) It must be on a form approved by the Division. 23
(3) It must be dated within 30 days of the date the person applies for a permit or 24
license issuable under this section. 25
(4) It must be signed by the applicable person named below: 26
a. The principal, or the principal's designee, of the public school in which 27
the person is enrolled. 28
b. The administrator, or the administrator's designee, of the nonpublic 29
school in which the person is enrolled. 30
c. The person who provides the academic instruction in the home school 31
in which the person is enrolled. 32
c1. The person who provides the academic instruction in the home in 33
accordance with an educational program found by a court, prior to July 34
1, 1998, to comply with the compulsory attendance law. 35
d. The designee of the board of directors of the charter school in which 36
the person is enrolled. 37
e. The president, or the president's designee, of the community college 38
in which the person is enrolled. 39
Notwithstanding any other law, the decision concerning whether a driving eligibility 40
certificate was properly issued or improperly denied shall be appealed only as provided under 41
the rules adopted in accordance with G.S. 115C-12(28), 115D-5(a3), or 115C-566, whichever is 42
applicable, and may not be appealed under this Chapter. 43
(n1) Lose Control; Lose License. 44
(1) The following definitions apply in this subsection: 45
a. Applicable State entity. – The State Board of Education for public 46
schools and charter schools, the State Board of Community Colleges 47
for community colleges, or the Secretary of Administration for 48
nonpublic schools and home schools. 49
b. Certificate. – A driving eligibility certificate that meets the conditions 50
of subsection (n) of this section. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 584-First Edition Page 3
c. Disciplinary action. – An expulsion, a suspension for more than 10 1
consecutive days, or an assignment to an alternative educational 2
setting for more than 10 consecutive days. 3
d. Enumerated student conduct. – One of the following behaviors that 4
results in disciplinary action: 5
1. The possession or sale of an alcoholic beverage or an illegal 6
controlled substance on school property. 7
2. The bringing, possession, or use on school property of a 8
weapon or firearm that resulted in disciplinary action under 9
G.S. 115C-390.10 or that could have resulted in that 10
disciplinary action if the conduct had occurred in a public 11
school. 12
3. The physical assault on a teacher or other school personnel on 13
school property. 14
e. School. – A public school, charter school, community college, 15
nonpublic school, or home school. 16
f. School administrator. – The person who is required to sign certificates 17
under subdivision (4) of subsection (n) of this section. 18
g. School property. – The physical premises of the school, school buses 19
or other vehicles under the school's control or contract and that are 20
used to transport students, and school-sponsored curricular or 21
extracurricular activities that occur on or off the physical premises of 22
the school. 23
h. Student. – A person who desires to obtain a permit or license issued 24
under this section. 25
(2) Any student who was subject to disciplinary action for enumerated student 26
conduct that occurred either after the first day of July before the school year 27
in which the student enrolled in the eighth grade or after the student's 28
fourteenth birthday, whichever event occurred first, is subject to this 29
subsection. 30
(3) A student who is subject to this subsection is eligible for a certificate when 31
the school administrator determines that the student has exhausted all 32
administrative appeals connected to the disciplinary action and that one of the 33
following conditions is met: 34
a. The enumerated student conduct occurred before the student reached 35
the age of 15, and the student is now at least 16 years old. 36
b. The enumerated student conduct occurred after the student reached the 37
age of 15, and it is at least one year after the date the student exhausted 38
all administrative appeals connected to the disciplinary action. 39
c. The student needs the certificate in order to drive to and from school, 40
a drug or alcohol treatment counseling program, as appropriate, or a 41
mental health treatment program, and no other transportation is 42
available. 43
(4) A student whose permit or license is denied or revoked due to ineligibility for 44
a certificate under this subsection may otherwise be eligible for a certificate 45
if, after six months from the date of the ineligibility, the school administrator 46
determines that one of the following conditions is met: 47
a. The student has returned to school or has been placed in an alternative 48
educational setting, and has displayed exemplary student behavior, as 49
defined by the applicable State entity. 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 4 House Bill 584-First Edition
b. The disciplinary action was for the possession or sale of an alcoholic 1
beverage or an illegal controlled substance on school property, and the 2
student subsequently attended and successfully completed, as defined 3
by the applicable State entity, a drug or alcohol treatment counseling 4
program, as appropriate." 5
6
PART II. CONFORMING CHANGES 7
SECTION 2. The following statutes are repealed: 8
(1) G.S. 20-9(b1). 9
(2) G.S. 20-13.2(c1). 10
(3) G.S. 115C-12(28). 11
(4) G.S. 115C-150.12C(19). 12
(5) G.S. 115C-218.70. 13
(6) G.S. 115C-238.66(8). 14
(7) G.S. 115C-288(k). 15
(8) G.S. 115C-566. 16
17
PART III. EFFECTIVE DATE 18
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to permit or 19
provisional license applications submitted on or after that date. 20