(a) Motor vehicle operator’s license required for operation of motor vehicle. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section and § 14-40a, no person shall operate a motor vehicle on any public highway of this state or private road on which a speed limit has been established in accordance with § 14-218a or § 14-307a until such person has obtained a motor vehicle operator’s license.

Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 14-36

  • another: may extend and be applied to communities, companies, corporations, public or private, limited liability companies, societies and associations. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
  • Commercial motor vehicle: means a vehicle designed or used to transport passengers or property, except a vehicle used for farming purposes in accordance with 49 C. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Commissioner: includes the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles and any assistant to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles who is designated and authorized by, and who is acting for, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles under a designation. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Conviction: means an unvacated adjudication of guilt, or a determination that a person has violated or failed to comply with the law in a court of original jurisdiction or an authorized administrative tribunal, an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure the person's appearance in court, the payment of a fine or court cost, or violation of a condition of release without bail, regardless of whether or not the penalty is rebated, suspended or probated. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Driver: means any person who drives, operates or is in physical control of a commercial motor vehicle, or who is required to hold a commercial driver's license. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Highway: includes any state or other public highway, road, street, avenue, alley, driveway, parkway, place or dedicated roadway for bus rapid transit service, under the control of the state or any political subdivision of the state, dedicated, appropriated or opened to public travel or other use. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Motor vehicle: means any vehicle propelled or drawn by any nonmuscular power, except aircraft, motor boats, road rollers, baggage trucks used about railroad stations or other mass transit facilities, electric battery-operated wheel chairs when operated by persons with physical disabilities at speeds not exceeding fifteen miles per hour, golf carts operated on highways solely for the purpose of crossing from one part of the golf course to another, golf-cart-type vehicles operated on roads or highways on the grounds of state institutions by state employees, agricultural tractors, farm implements, such vehicles as run only on rails or tracks, self-propelled snow plows, snow blowers and lawn mowers, when used for the purposes for which they were designed and operated at speeds not exceeding four miles per hour, whether or not the operator rides on or walks behind such equipment, motor-driven cycles, as defined in §. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • New motor vehicle: means a motor vehicle, the equitable or legal title to which has never been transferred by a manufacturer, distributor or dealer to an ultimate consumer. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • oath: shall include affirmations in cases where by law an affirmation may be used for an oath, and, in like cases, the word "swear" shall include the word "affirm". See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
  • Operator: means any person who operates a motor vehicle or who steers or directs the course of a motor vehicle being towed by another motor vehicle and includes a driver. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, limited liability company, association, copartnership, company, firm, business trust or other aggregation of individuals but does not include the state or any political subdivision thereof, unless the context clearly states or requires. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • State: means any state of the United States and the District of Columbia unless the context indicates a more specific reference to the state of Connecticut. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • United States: means the fifty states and the District of Columbia. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Vehicle: includes any device suitable for the conveyance, drawing or other transportation of persons or property, whether operated on wheels, runners, a cushion of air or by any other means. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1

(b) Adult instruction permit. Out-of-state license holders. Minimum age. (1) A person eighteen years of age or older who does not hold a motor vehicle operator’s license may not operate a motor vehicle on the public highways of the state for the purpose of instruction until such person has applied for and obtained an adult instruction permit from the commissioner. Such person shall not be eligible for an adult instruction permit if such person has had a motor vehicle operator’s license or privilege suspended or revoked. An applicant for an adult instruction permit shall, as a condition to receiving such permit, pass a vision screening conducted by the Department of Motor Vehicles or submit to the commissioner the results of a vision examination conducted by a licensed medical professional, as defined in § 14-46b. Such medical professional shall certify that the applicant meets the vision standards established in regulations adopted pursuant to § 14-45a. An adult instruction permit shall entitle the holder, while such holder has the permit in his or her immediate possession, to operate a motor vehicle on the public highways, provided such holder is under the instruction of, and accompanied by, a person who holds an instructor’s license issued under the provisions of § 14-73 or a person twenty years of age or older who has been licensed to operate, for at least four years preceding the instruction, a motor vehicle of the same class as the motor vehicle being operated and who has not had his or her motor vehicle operator’s license suspended by the commissioner during the four-year period preceding the instruction. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall not issue a motor vehicle operator’s license to any person holding an adult instruction permit who has held such permit for less than ninety days unless such person (A) is a member of the armed forces on active duty outside the state, or (B) has previously held a motor vehicle operator’s license. (2) A person holding a valid out-of-state motor vehicle operator’s license may operate a motor vehicle for a period of sixty days following such person’s establishment of residence in Connecticut, if the motor vehicle is of the same class as that for which his or her out-of-state motor vehicle operator’s license was issued. (3) No person may cause or permit the operation of a motor vehicle by a person under sixteen years of age.

(c) Youth instruction permit. (1) A person who is sixteen or seventeen years of age and who has not had a motor vehicle operator’s license or right to operate a motor vehicle in this state suspended or revoked may apply to the commissioner for a youth instruction permit. The commissioner may issue a youth instruction permit to an applicant after the applicant has (A) passed a test as to knowledge of the laws concerning motor vehicles and the rules of the road, (B) paid the fee required by subsection (v) of § 14-49, (C) passed a vision screening conducted by the Department of Motor Vehicles or submitted to the commissioner the results of a vision examination conducted by a licensed medical professional, as defined in § 14-46b, that certifies that the applicant meets the vision standards established in regulations adopted pursuant to § 14-45a and (D) filed a certificate, in such form as the commissioner prescribes, requesting or consenting to the issuance of the youth instruction permit and the motor vehicle operator’s license, signed by (i) one or both parents or foster parents of the applicant, as the commissioner requires, (ii) the legal guardian of the applicant, (iii) the applicant’s spouse, if the spouse is eighteen years of age or older, or (iv) if the applicant has no qualified spouse and such applicant’s parent or foster parent or legal guardian is deceased, incapable, domiciled outside of this state or otherwise unavailable or unable to sign or file the certificate, the applicant’s stepparent, grandparent, or uncle or aunt by blood or marriage, provided such person is eighteen years of age or older. The commissioner may, for the more efficient administration of the commissioner’s duties, appoint any drivers’ school licensed in accordance with the provisions of § 14-69 or any secondary school providing instruction in motor vehicle operation and highway safety in accordance with § 14-36e to issue a youth instruction permit, subject to such standards and requirements as the commissioner may prescribe in regulations adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. Each youth instruction permit shall expire two years from the date of issuance or on the date the holder of the permit is issued a motor vehicle operator’s license, whichever is earlier. Any holder of a youth instruction permit who attains eighteen years of age may retain such permit until the expiration of such permit. (2) The youth instruction permit shall entitle the holder, while such holder has the permit in his or her immediate possession, to operate a motor vehicle on the public highways, provided such holder is under the instruction of, and accompanied by, a person who holds an instructor’s license issued under the provisions of § 14-73 or a person twenty years of age or older who has been licensed to operate, for at least four years preceding the instruction, a motor vehicle of the same class as the motor vehicle being operated and who has not had his or her motor vehicle operator’s license suspended by the commissioner during the four-year period preceding the instruction. (3) Unless the holder of the permit is under the instruction of and accompanied by a person who holds an instructor’s license issued under the provisions of § 14-73, no passenger in addition to the person providing instruction shall be transported unless such passenger is a parent or legal guardian of the holder of the permit. (4) The holder of a youth instruction permit who (A) is an active member of a certified ambulance service, as defined in § 19a-175, (B) has commenced an emergency vehicle operator’s course that conforms to the national standard curriculum developed by the United States Department of Transportation, and (C) has had state and national criminal history records checks conducted by the certified ambulance service or by the municipality in which such ambulance service is provided, shall be exempt from the provisions of subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection only when such holder is driving to or from the location of the ambulance for purposes of responding to an emergency call. (5) The commissioner may revoke any youth instruction permit used in violation of the limitations imposed by subdivision (2) or (3) of this subsection.

(d) Operator‘s license requirements for persons sixteen or seventeen years of age. (1) No motor vehicle operator’s license shall be issued to any applicant who is sixteen or seventeen years of age unless the applicant has held a youth instruction permit and has satisfied the requirements specified in this subsection. The applicant shall (A) submit to the commissioner, in such manner as the commissioner shall direct, a certificate of the successful completion (i) in a public secondary school, a technical education and career school or a private secondary school of a full course of study in motor vehicle operation prepared as provided in § 14-36e, (ii) of training of similar nature provided by a licensed drivers’ school approved by the commissioner, or (iii) of home training in accordance with subdivision (2) of this subsection, including, in each case, or by a combination of such types of training, successful completion of: Not less than forty clock hours of behind-the-wheel, on-the-road instruction for applicants to whom a youth instruction permit is issued on or after August 1, 2008; (B) submit to the commissioner, in such manner as the commissioner shall direct, a certificate of the successful completion of a course of not less than eight hours relative to safe driving practices, including a minimum of four hours on the nature and the medical, biological and physiological effects of alcohol and drugs and their impact on the operator of a motor vehicle, the dangers associated with the operation of a motor vehicle after the consumption of alcohol or drugs by the operator, the problems of alcohol and drug abuse and the penalties for alcohol and drug-related motor vehicle violations; and (C) pass an examination which may include a comprehensive test as to knowledge of the laws concerning motor vehicles and the rules of the road in addition to the test required under subsection (c) of this section and shall include an on-the-road skills test as prescribed by the commissioner. At the time of application and examination for a motor vehicle operator’s license, an applicant sixteen or seventeen years of age shall have held a youth instruction permit for not less than one hundred eighty days, except that an applicant who presents a certificate under subparagraph (A)(i) or subparagraph (A)(ii) of this subdivision shall have held a youth instruction permit for not less than one hundred twenty days and an applicant who is undergoing training and instruction by the driver training unit for persons with disabilities in accordance with the provisions of § 14-11b shall have held such permit for the period of time required by said unit. The commissioner shall approve the content of the safe driving instruction at drivers’ schools, high schools and other secondary schools. Subject to such standards and requirements as the commissioner may impose, the commissioner may authorize any drivers’ school, licensed in good standing in accordance with the provisions of § 14-69, or secondary school driver education program authorized pursuant to the provisions of § 14-36e, to administer the comprehensive test as to knowledge of the laws concerning motor vehicles and the rules of the road, required pursuant to subparagraph (C) of this subdivision, as part of the safe driving practices course required pursuant to subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, and to certify to the commissioner, under oath, the results of each such test administered. Such hours of instruction required by this subdivision shall be included as part of or in addition to any existing instruction programs. Any fee charged for the course required under subparagraph (B) of this subdivision shall not exceed one hundred fifty dollars. Any applicant sixteen or seventeen years of age who, while a resident of another state, completed the course required in subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, but did not complete the safe driving course required in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, shall complete the safe driving course. The commissioner may waive any requirement in this subdivision, except for that in subparagraph (C) of this subdivision, in the case of an applicant sixteen or seventeen years of age who holds a valid motor vehicle operator’s license issued by any other state, provided the commissioner is satisfied that the applicant has received training and instruction of a similar nature.

(2) The commissioner may accept as evidence of sufficient training under subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this subsection home training as evidenced by a written statement submitted to the commissioner, in such manner as the commissioner directs. Such statement shall be signed by the spouse of a married minor applicant, or by a parent, grandparent, foster parent or legal guardian of an applicant, and state that the applicant has obtained a youth instruction permit and has successfully completed a driving course taught by the person signing the statement, that the signer has had an operator’s license for at least four years preceding the date of the statement, and that the signer has not had such license suspended by the commissioner for at least four years preceding the date of the statement. If the applicant has no spouse, parent, grandparent, foster parent or guardian so qualified and available to give the instruction, such statement may be signed by the applicant’s stepparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt, by blood or marriage, provided the person signing the statement is qualified.

(3) If the commissioner requires a written test of any applicant under this section, the test shall be given in English or Spanish at the option of the applicant, provided the commissioner shall require that the applicant shall have sufficient understanding of English for the interpretation of traffic control signs.

(4) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to implement the purposes of this subsection concerning the requirements for behind-the-wheel, on-the-road instruction, the content of safe driving instruction at drivers’ schools, high schools and other secondary schools, and the administration and certification of required testing.

(e) Requirements for issuance of operator’s license. (1) No motor vehicle operator’s license shall be issued until (A) the applicant signs and submits to the commissioner, in such manner as the commissioner directs, an application under oath, or made subject to penalties for false statement in accordance with § 53a-157b, and (B) the commissioner is satisfied that the applicant is sixteen years of age or older and is a suitable person to receive the license.

(2) Except any applicant described in § 14-36m, an applicant for a new motor vehicle operator’s license shall submit with the application a copy of such applicant’s birth certificate or other prima facie evidence, as determined by the commissioner, of date of birth and evidence of identity.

(3) Before granting a license to any applicant who has not previously held a Connecticut motor vehicle operator’s license, or whose Connecticut motor vehicle operator’s license expired more than two years prior to the application date, the commissioner shall require the applicant to demonstrate personally to the commissioner, a deputy, a motor vehicle inspector or an agent of the commissioner, in such manner as the commissioner directs, that the applicant is a proper person to operate motor vehicles of the class for which such applicant has applied, has sufficient knowledge of the mechanism of the motor vehicles to ensure their safe operation by him or her and has satisfactory knowledge of the laws concerning motor vehicles and the rules of the road. The knowledge test of an applicant for a class D motor vehicle operator’s license may be administered in such form as the commissioner deems appropriate, including audio, electronic or written testing. Such knowledge test shall be administered in English, Spanish or any language spoken at home by at least one per cent of the state’s population, according to statistics prepared by the United States Census Bureau, based on the most recent decennial census. Each such knowledge test shall include a question concerning highway work zone safety and the responsibilities of an operator of a motor vehicle under § 14-212d. Each such knowledge test shall include not less than one question concerning distracted driving, the use of mobile telephones and electronic devices by motor vehicle operators or the responsibilities of motor vehicle operators under § 14-296aa. If any such applicant has held a license from a state, territory or possession of the United States where a similar examination is required, the commissioner may waive part or all of the examination. If any such applicant is (A) a veteran who applies not later than two years after the date of discharge from the military and who, prior to such discharge, held a military operator’s license for motor vehicles of the same class as that for which such applicant has applied, or (B) a member of the armed forces or the National Guard who currently holds a military operator’s license for motor vehicles of the same class as that for which such applicant has applied, the commissioner shall waive all of the examination, except in the case of a commercial motor vehicle license, the commissioner shall waive the driving skills test for such applicant and may, in such commissioner’s discretion, waive the knowledge test for such application, provided such applicant meets the conditions set forth in 49 C.F.R. § 383.77, as amended from time to time. For the purposes of this subsection, “veteran” and “armed forces” have the same meanings as provided in § 27-103. When the commissioner is satisfied as to the ability and competency of any applicant, the commissioner may issue to such applicant a license, either unlimited or containing such limitations as the commissioner deems advisable, and specifying the class of motor vehicles which the licensee is eligible to operate.

(4) If any applicant or operator license holder has any health problem which might affect such person’s ability to operate a motor vehicle safely, the commissioner may require the applicant or license holder to demonstrate personally or otherwise establish that, notwithstanding such problem, such applicant or license holder is a proper person to operate a motor vehicle, and the commissioner may further require a certificate of such applicant’s condition, signed by a medical authority designated by the commissioner, which certificate shall in all cases be treated as confidential by the commissioner. A license, containing such limitation as the commissioner deems advisable, may be issued or renewed in any case, but nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the commissioner from refusing a license, either limited or unlimited, to any person or suspending a license of a person whom the commissioner determines to be incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle. Consistent with budgetary allotments, each motor vehicle operator’s license issued to or renewed by a person who is deaf or hard of hearing shall, upon the request of such person, indicate such impairment. Such person shall submit a certificate stating such impairment, in such form as the commissioner may require and signed by a licensed health care practitioner.

(5) The issuance of a motor vehicle operator’s license to any applicant who is the holder of a license issued by another state shall be subject to the provisions of sections 14-111c and 14-111k.

(f) Limited license. No person issued a limited license shall operate (1) a motor vehicle in violation of the limitations imposed by such license, or (2) any motor vehicle other than the motor vehicle for which such person’s right to operate is limited.

(g) Ignition interlock device. The commissioner may place a restriction on the motor vehicle operator’s license of any person or on any special operator’s permit issued to any person in accordance with the provisions of § 14-37a that restricts the holder of such license or permit to the operation of a motor vehicle that is equipped with an approved ignition interlock device, as defined in § 14-227j, for such time as the commissioner shall prescribe, if such person has: (1) Been convicted for a first or second time of a violation of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of § 14-227a, and has served not less than forty-five days of the prescribed period of suspension for such conviction, in accordance with the provisions of subsections (g) and (i) of § 14-227a; (2) been ordered by the Superior Court not to operate any motor vehicle unless it is equipped with an approved ignition interlock device, in accordance with the provisions of § 14-227j; (3) been granted a reversal or reduction of such person’s license suspension or revocation, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (i) of § 14-111; (4) been issued a motor vehicle operator’s license upon the surrender of an operator’s license issued by another state and such previously held license contains a restriction to the operation of a motor vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device; (5) been convicted of a violation of § 53a-56b or 53a-60d; (6) been permitted by the commissioner to be issued or to retain an operator’s license subject to reporting requirements concerning such person’s physical condition, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (e) of this section and sections 14-45a to 14-46g, inclusive; (7) had such person’s operator’s license suspended under subsection (i) of § 14-227b and has served not less than forty-five days of the prescribed period of such suspension; (8) been convicted for a first or second time of a violation of subsection (a) of § 14-227m and has served not less than forty-five days of the prescribed period of suspension for such conviction, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of § 14-227m and subsection (i) of § 14-227a; or (9) been convicted of a violation of subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of § 14-227n and has served not less than forty-five days of the prescribed period of suspension for such conviction, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of § 14-227n and subsection (i) of § 14-227a.

(h) Driving history record check. Before issuing a motor vehicle operator’s license in accordance with this section or § 14-44c, the commissioner shall request information from the National Driver Registry and the Commercial Driver License Information System, in accordance with the provisions of 49 C.F.R. § part section 383.73. Each driving history record shall contain a notation of the date on which such inquiry was made.

(i) Penalties. (1) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall, for a first offense, be deemed to have committed an infraction and be fined not less than seventy-five dollars or more than ninety dollars and, for any subsequent offense, shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars or more than three hundred fifty dollars or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.

(2) In addition to the penalty prescribed under subdivision (1) of this subsection, any person who violates any provision of this section who (A) has, prior to the commission of the present violation, committed a violation of this section or subsection (a) of § 14-215, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or sentenced to perform not more than one hundred hours of community service, or (B) has, prior to the commission of the present violation, committed two or more violations of this section or subsection (a) of § 14-215, or any combination thereof, shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year, ninety days of which may not be suspended or reduced in any manner.

(j) Regulations. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to implement the provisions of this section.