The MV-278 proves you finished the 5-hour pre-licensing course. Without it the DMV will not schedule your road test.
It is the certificate of completion for the New York State 5-hour pre-licensing course. Your learner permit number is printed on it, which links the course to your DMV record.
Take the 5-hour course. Once you complete it, the certificate is sent to you by email - no need to pick anything up.
One year from the date it is issued. If it expires before you pass the road test, you will need to take the course again.
The MV-285 is issued to students who complete a full driver education course and is valid for two years. Most adult learners in NYC use the MV-278.
Book your road test. Bring your learner permit and the MV-278 to the test, plus the MV-262 if you are under 18.
When you book a road test online or by phone, the system asks for your MV-278 number along with the 9-digit ID from your learner permit, the ZIP code for the place where you would like to test, a mobile phone number and the vehicle you plan to use. Have the certificate in front of you when you book so the number goes in correctly.
The DMV's guidance for live online classes says the student signs the MV-278 before booking the road test. On test day you must present the original certificate; photocopies are not accepted. Keep it flat and together with your learner permit so both documents leave the house with you.
The DMV does not issue or replace the MV-278. The school that ran your course replaces a lost certificate, and you need the replacement before you can book. Contact the school as soon as you notice it is missing so your road test plans are not held up.
The certificate must still be valid on the day you schedule the road test, and it cannot be renewed. If you need months of practice first, think about when to take the course so the year does not run out while you are still learning. If it does expire, the only remedy is to complete the course again.
Students who finish the state's self-paced online pilot do not receive a paper MV-278. The provider reports the completion to the DMV electronically, usually within 48 hours, and that completion counts for booking a road test if the course was taken within the past year. The DMV's road test scheduling sheet says these students do not present an MV-278 at the test.
Holding the certificate does not let you drive alone. Until you pass the road test you still follow learner permit rules, including driving only with a supervising driver who is at least 21 and licensed for the vehicle. The certificate also has no effect on insurance rates or points.
Choose a class date and leave your contacts - we will confirm by text or email.
| MV-278 | MV-285 | |
|---|---|---|
| What it shows | You completed the 5-hour pre-licensing course in a classroom or a live online class | You completed a state-approved driver education program |
| How you earn it | About 5 hours of instruction, with no driving practice included | The State's 48-hour driver education program at a high school or college |
| Valid for booking a road test | 1 year from the date of issue; it cannot be renewed | 2 years from the date of issue |
| Typical holders | Adults, new residents, returning drivers and teens outside driver education | High school and college students who took driver education |
| For a 17-year-old in NYC | Leads to a junior license only; junior license holders may not drive anywhere in the five boroughs until 18 | Lets a 17-year-old move up to a senior Class D license, which is not covered by the NYC junior ban |
| Insurance | Not linked to the mandatory insurance reduction, which comes from the separate PIRP course | Many insurers voluntarily give young drivers a discount; proof comes from the school on letterhead, not the MV-285 itself |
Your New York State learner permit comes first; you cannot start the course without one. Keep the 9-digit ID number on the front of the permit handy, because it is what you use to book, change or cancel a road test. If your photo permit card is still in the mail, the DMV says to allow 3 weeks for it to arrive.
Sign up for a live online class; the $40 fee already covers the certificate. Completing it earns you the MV-278 completion certificate, which stays valid for a year after its issue date.
The course includes no driving, so practice is up to you and your supervising driver. The DMV's advice is to log 50 hours or more of practice, including 15 or more after dark and 10 or more in moderate to heavy traffic. For applicants under 18, the 50 hours with 15 after sunset are required and certified on form MV-262. Permit holders may not practice in DMV road test areas.
Booking requires your permit ID, your MV-278 number, the ZIP code for the place where you would like to test, a mobile phone number and details of the vehicle you plan to use. Applicants under 18 must also have held the permit for at least 6 months. You can book with the DMV online or by phone at 518-402-2100, or through us: Standard booking is $25 with a typical wait of about 5 to 9 weeks, and Rush booking is $75 with a typical wait of about 1 to 3 weeks.
The DMV does not supply a car. You need a registered, insured and inspected vehicle in good working order, plus a licensed companion driver: over 18 if they drive you to the site, over 21 if you drive there yourself. If you have no car or nobody with a license to bring you, our $115 road test car can be waiting for you at the site, with a short warm-up drive before the examiner starts.
Bring your physical photo permit, the original MV-278 (copies are not accepted), an MV-262 signed by a parent or guardian for applicants under 18, and glasses or contacts if your permit lists a lens restriction. The examiner photographs you, your documents and the car. Class D tests are given on city streets, parallel parking is part of every test, and you may be asked to make a three-point turn.
Results are posted online after 6 p.m. on the test day. If you pass, an interim license is available online and the photo license arrives by mail in about 2 weeks. If you do not pass, your permit stays valid, you must wait at least 14 days before testing again, and extra fees apply after the first two failed tests.
After the course, the road test is the last step to a license. This section brings together what the DMV expects you to bring and arrange, how test day runs and what the examiner pays attention to. We are an independent private service, not the DMV. Standard booking costs $25, and the wait is usually about 5 to 9 weeks, varying by site. Rush booking costs $75: we search for the earliest openings, frequently at more than one nearby site, and the wait is usually about 1 to 3 weeks. Your date and time reach you by text or email. If you need to change them, tell us at least 48 hours ahead; rescheduling may carry a fee. DMV fees are paid to the state separately.
Only someone holding a valid New York learner permit can get a road test appointment, and the DMV record must show at least one unused road test. You also need an MV-278 that is less than one year old, or a driver education MV-285 that is less than 2 years old. Applicants under 18 must have had the permit for at least 6 months, and any time it was suspended does not count.
When you book, the system asks for the 9-digit number printed on your permit, your MV-278 number, a mobile phone number, a 5-digit ZIP code for the area you prefer and a representative vehicle. Any site in New York State is open to you. Within the city there are 27: Queens has 12, Brooklyn 6, Staten Island 6 and the Bronx 3, while Manhattan has none.
Bring the physical permit card; neither a picture of it on your phone nor the Mobile ID is accepted. If your permit is an interim one without a photo, add a New York State photo license or non-driver photo ID. Photo documents from other states are not accepted.
Bring the original paper certificate from your course, not a scan or a photocopy. If you met the requirement through high school or college driver education, bring the MV-285 instead.
Junior applicants must give the examiner a filled-out MV-262 at every attempt, not only the first, with the signature of a parent or guardian. The form certifies a minimum of 50 supervised driving hours, 15 or more of which were after sunset. Falsifying the form may be a crime.
If your permit carries a corrective lens restriction, wear your glasses or contact lenses during the test. Look at the restriction on the card a week ahead rather than on the morning of the test.
You must arrive with a licensed driver. The minimum age depends on who is driving on the way there: over 18 when the companion is behind the wheel, over 21 when you drive there on your permit. The companion must carry a physical license that covers the test car, since the Mobile ID is refused for companions as well. No one else may come to the site.
The DMV does not lend cars. Yours needs valid registration, insurance and inspection, permanent plates that belong to it and are mounted on it, working doors and seat belts, a clean front passenger belt the examiner can use, and the car as a whole must be clean. In-transit permits are not accepted, and for a rental you need the rental contract and written permission that allows its use on a road test. Our $115 car is meant for people who do not have a car or anyone licensed to bring them.
The DMV asks applicants to be there up to 15 minutes ahead of the appointment time. Lateness can mean the examiner is unable to give the test, and you would then need a new date. With our car, plan to arrive 60 minutes ahead instead, so the warm-up drive fits before the test. Some sites have no shelter, so wear clothing suited to the weather. Firearms are prohibited at road test sites unless otherwise authorized.
Before setting out, look up your appointment in the DMV's scheduling system: bad weather or road construction can lead to a test being cancelled, moved or rescheduled. Put the permit, the MV-278 and, for applicants under 18, the MV-262 in one folder, and confirm that your companion has a physical license.
At the site, the car pulls up at the end of the line of vehicles waiting for an examiner. DMV's guidance for driving schools asks for the paperwork to be ready when the examiner reaches you, so keep the folder in hand rather than in the trunk.
The examiner goes through your papers and takes photos of you, the documents, your learner permit and the car. A car that falls short of the requirements can keep the test from taking place, in which case a new booking is needed.
A DMV license examiner runs the test, which takes place on city streets. Every test includes parallel parking, and a three-point turn may be requested. According to that same guidance for driving schools, examiners do not set traps for applicants. The DMV publishes no official length for the Class D test, so do not plan around a fixed number of minutes.
When the drive is over, you receive a card explaining how to look up your result online. Results appear on the DMV's road test results site after 6 p.m. that same evening.
An interim license becomes available online, and it lets you drive; keep it with your photo learner permit. The photo license is mailed to you and takes about 2 weeks to arrive. If you are 18 or older on the day you pass, a 6-month probation follows. During it, one conviction for DWAI, speeding, reckless driving, following too closely or a speed contest, or convictions for two traffic violations of any kind, lead to a 60-day suspension and then a fresh probation period.
Applicants under 18 who pass receive a junior license and must follow the junior driver restrictions. A junior license holder is barred from driving in all five boroughs, under any circumstances. The DMV's advice to teens who expect to do a lot of driving in the city is to put the road test off until 18.
Your learner permit remains valid until it expires. The next attempt can come no sooner than 14 days later, and after the first two failed tests a fee is due before you can book again. If we booked your first test, we can arrange the next one the same way.
The DMV does not release a scoring sheet, point values or a list of automatic-fail errors for Class D tests, so any point chart you find online deserves caution. Its guidance for driving schools does name the areas that are scored: observation, turns, U-turns, parallel parking, judgment and the rules of the road.
Prepare early for each turn and keep the car under control through the whole maneuver. Under state law, your signal has to come on at least 100 feet ahead of a turn or lane change, which means well before the corner rather than as you start to turn the wheel.
Every road test includes it. At the end, your wheels need to be within one foot of the curb. The Driver's Manual recommends pulling up alongside the vehicle parked ahead of the space, leaving roughly two feet of gap between the cars, and then reversing in.
The examiner needs to see that you are aware of what is around the car. Check the mirrors and turn your head for blind spots before you pull out, change lanes, back up or turn, and scan intersections and crosswalks as you approach them.
U-turns appear on the list of scored areas. They are not allowed in the business districts of New York City, at any spot with a NO U-TURN sign, in school zones, or where other drivers could not see you from 500 feet away in either direction. To turn around on a narrow street with two-way traffic, the manual describes the three-point turn, which the examiner may request.
Judgment covers the choices you make in traffic, such as how much space you leave around the car, what speed you choose for the conditions and when you yield to other road users.
Traffic signs, lights, lane markings, right-of-way and speed limits apply during the test exactly as they do on any other drive. Coming to a full stop where required and choosing the correct lane are part of driving by the rules.
Two features have to stay off for the whole test: adaptive cruise control and automatic parallel parking. Systems that only warn or assist, such as cameras, parking sensors or a blind-spot monitor, may remain on, but the examiner assesses whether you drove safely without relying on them, and that assessment is final.
$40 flat, and the MV-278 certificate is included. DMV fees, such as the permit and license fees, go to the state separately and are not part of our price.
It is live. The instructor teaches in real time over video and takes questions during the session, and you take part from your own home using a computer or a phone.
Yes, as long as the phone has a working camera and microphone and a stable connection. A laptop or tablet is more comfortable for a class of this length, but a phone is enough.
No. There is no quiz during the class and no exam at the end; attending the whole session is what completes the course.
Yes. A valid New York learner permit is required before you start. In class you show your photo permit on camera, or a valid interim permit together with a NYS government photo ID if the card has not arrived yet.
Yes. Live online classes are open from age 16, including applicants for a junior license. The age limit of 18 applies only to the self-paced online program. Before the road test you will also need to have held your permit for 6 months and bring a signed MV-262.
Yes. We run groups in English and in Spanish, and the Spanish dates are marked in the schedule.
Choose a date from the live schedule in the form and leave your name and phone number; email is optional. We then call or text you to confirm the seat. Seats in each group are limited.
It is issued after you complete the course, and you are told when it is ready. Keep the original certificate: you will need it at the road test, and it is good for one year from its issue date.
It cannot be renewed or extended. The certificate must be valid on the day you book, and once it has expired the course has to be repeated.
If you have moved to New York, yes. You pass the written test, complete the 5-hour course and pass the road test, then hand your foreign license to the examiner. Licenses from other U.S. states and Canadian provinces go through a separate exchange process.
Only if 2 or more years have passed since it expired. Up to 2 years after the expiration date you can still renew. After that you apply as a new driver and go through every step: vision and written tests, the 5-hour course and the road test.
No. Those benefits belong to the separate defensive-driving program known as PIRP, which is a different course and does not count toward the pre-licensing requirement.
Yes. Standard booking is $25, and most people wait about 5 to 9 weeks depending on the site. Rush booking is $75: we look for the earliest available dates, often checking several nearby sites, and most people wait about 1 to 3 weeks. A car for test day is $115. We are a private, independent service and not part of the DMV.
With the MV-278 in hand you can book your road test. We do that too - Standard $25, Rush $75 - and bring a car for test day for $115.
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