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1.3 The Apprentice Instructor Permit and Supervised Training

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Maryland Driving Instructor Study Guide Exam

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1 Chapter 1: Maryland Driving Instructor Credentials

1.1 Two Credentials: Instructor License vs. Instructor Certification 1.2 Qualifications, Background Checks, and Application 1.3 The Apprentice Instructor Permit and Supervised Training 1.4 MVA Testing and Required Instructor Courses 1.5 Badges, Renewal, Professional Development, and Discipline

2 Chapter 2: Driving Schools, Certified Schools, and Facilities

2.1 Drivers' School Licensing and Operational Requirements 2.2 Driver Education School Certification and Operating Rules 2.3 Business Office and Classroom Facility Requirements 2.4 Training Vehicle and Dual-Control Equipment Requirements

3 Chapter 3: Program Administration, Records, and Enforcement

3.1 Student Enrollment, Rights and Responsibilities, and Refunds 3.2 Records, Reports, and Completion Certification 3.3 Quality Control, Violations, and Progressive Discipline

4 Chapter 4: Delivering the Maryland Driver Education Program

4.1 The 30/6 Program Structure and Classroom Operation Rules 4.2 The 10-Unit MVA Classroom Curriculum 4.3 Behind-the-Wheel Instruction Requirements 4.4 Student Performance Criteria, Testing, and Remediation

5 Chapter 5: Instructional Methodology and In-Car Technique

5.1 Classroom Teaching Methods and Adolescent Driver Psychology 5.2 Dual-Control Mechanics, Instructor Interventions, and In-Car Safety 5.3 Progressive In-Car Instructional Sequence and Skill Milestones 5.4 In-Car Coaching, Commentary Driving, and Emergency Management

6 Chapter 6: Maryland Vehicle Law and the Rookie Driver System

6.1 The Learner's Instructional Permit 6.2 The Provisional License and the Full Driver's License 6.3 The Maryland Point System, Sanctions, and Hearings 6.4 Impaired Driving, Implied Consent, and Noah’s Law

7 Chapter 7: Traffic Control Devices and Maryland Rules of the Road

7.1 Maryland Road Signs, Signals, and Pavement Markings 7.2 Right-of-Way Rules and Intersection Management 7.3 Speed Regulations, Passing Rules, and Special Roadway Scenarios

8 Chapter 8: Defensive Driving Systems, Adverse Conditions, and Hazard Management

8.1 Space Management Systems (SIPDE and SEE) and Visual Search 8.2 Adverse Environmental Conditions and Emergency Maneuvers 8.3 Sharing the Road with Vulnerable Users and Commercial Vehicles 8.4 Post-Licensing Risk Factors and Lifelong Safe Driving Habits

1.3 The Apprentice Instructor Permit and Supervised Training

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

The apprentice instructor permit is issued under COMAR 11.23.02.22 and is valid for 6 months — it may not be extended or renewed.

An apprentice instructor permit may only be issued once to the same individual (COMAR 11.23.02.22C(1)).

The permit authorizes both behind-the-wheel and classroom instruction, but only with the certified school where the apprentice is employed.

The supervising instructor must have a minimum of 2 years experience teaching the driver education program courses, or the Administration's approval to teach apprentice instructors (COMAR 11.23.02.24C(1)).

A certified instructor must observe the apprentice and conduct a one-on-one session for a minimum of 2 hours every 2 weeks , documented in the apprentice instructor activities log.

Last updated: September 2026

  • What the Permit Is
  • COMAR 11.23.02.22A : "The Administration may issue an apprentice instructor permit authorizing a
  • qualified applicant to give instruction in the driver education program courses under the
  • supervision of a certified driver education instructor."
  • The permit is a supervised training credential, not a junior license. It exists so a candidate can
  • accumulate real classroom and in-car teaching hours under a certified instructor before sitting for

the final skills evaluations that produce full certification.

  • Note the chapter. The apprentice instructor permit lives in COMAR 11.23.02 — the Driver
  • Education Program chapter — not in COMAR 11.23.01. Material that cites "COMAR 11.23.01.14" for the

apprentice permit has the wrong regulation entirely; 11.23.01.14 is Background Checks .

  • Term, Frequency, and Scope (COMAR 11.23.02.22) Validity term ...... 6 months
  • Extensions ......... none
  • Renewals ........... none
  • Times issued ....... once per individual, ever
  • Scope .............. both behind-the-wheel and classroom instruction
  • Employer ........... only the certified school where the apprentice is employed
  • Transferable ....... no (may not be transferred, sold, or assigned)
  • §B — "The apprentice instructor permit is valid for 6 months and may not be extended or

renewed." Six months. Not one year.

§C(1) — the permit "shall only be issued once to the same individual." A candidate who lets the

six months lapse without completing certification does not get a second run at the apprenticeship.

§C(2) — the permit authorizes teaching both behind-the-wheel and classroom instruction.

§C(3) — it authorizes instruction only with the certified school where the apprentice is

employed. Changing employers does not travel with the permit.

  • The combination of a six-month clock, no extension, and a single lifetime issuance is what makes
  • apprentice scheduling a compliance problem for schools. Every observation session, every advanced

course, and both final skills evaluations must fit inside the window.

Qualifying for the Permit (COMAR 11.23.02.23)

An applicant shall:

  • §A(1) — meet all the qualifications for instructor certification in COMAR 11.23.02.16, with
  • the exception of §§A and B(10) . That carve-out is the point of the apprenticeship: §A (already
  • holding a driving instructor license) and §B(10) (having passed the final skills evaluation) are
  • the two things the apprentice has not yet done. Age 21, the education requirement, the valid
  • unrestricted driver's license, the four-point ceiling, the criminal-history bars, and the

medical-condition bar all still apply.

§A(2) — have successfully passed the knowledge test and the basic skills evaluation in both

classroom and behind-the-wheel instruction conducted by the Administration.

  • §B repeats the pending-background-check accommodation: an applicant otherwise qualified for an
  • apprentice instructor permit may begin teaching under the direct supervision of an experienced

certified instructor while satisfactory criminal-history data is pending.

  • The Supervision Regime (COMAR 11.23.02.24)
  • An apprentice instructor "shall continuously follow all the requirements set forth for a certified
  • instructor under Regulation .18 of this chapter" (§B). That includes the badge-in-full-view rule and

the prohibition on cell phone use in a moving vehicle during behind-the-wheel instruction.

The certified school carries three affirmative duties under §C:

Duty Standard

Assign a qualified mentor A certified instructor experienced in teaching the program courses with a minimum of 2 years experience teaching driver education program courses, or the Administration's approval to teach apprentice instructors

Continue supervision Until the MVA has satisfactory criminal-history data and the individual is issued an instructor's certification

Document coaching A certified instructor shall observe performance and conduct a one-on-one session with the apprentice for a minimum of 2 hours every 2 weeks , documented in the apprentice instructor activities log

  • The two-hours-every-two-weeks cadence is a floor, not a cap, and the documentation obligation is
  • what the MVA audits. COMAR 11.23.02.17C(2) requires the applicant to submit, before the final
  • skills evaluation can even be scheduled, "a copy of the logbook provided by the Administration
  • documenting the learning activities during the time as an apprentice instructor." The log is issued

by the Administration; the school does not invent its own form.

  • Losing the Permit (COMAR 11.23.02.25 and .26)
  • A duplicate apprentice instructor badge may be issued for one that is lost, stolen, mutilated, or
  • destroyed; the apprentice applies on the MVA's form stating the date and circumstances, and

surrenders a mutilated badge (.25).

Cancellation under .26A is automatic in three situations:

  • The applicant's criminal history record fails to contain satisfactory data;
  • At the expiration of the 6 month approval period; or

The apprentice instructor is no longer employed by the certified school.

  • Separately, §B allows approval of a permit to be revoked or suspended after notice and
  • hearing if the certified school or the apprentice fails to comply with the chapter or with
  • Transportation Article, Title 15, Subtitle 8 or Title 16, Subtitle 5. Cancellation is

administrative and automatic; revocation and suspension are adjudicated.

  • Worked scenario
  • Case. An apprentice receives a permit on March 1. On June 15 the apprentice resigns and is
  • hired the next week by a second certified school, which wants to finish the apprenticeship under

its own senior instructor.

  • Analysis. The permit was cancelled on separation under COMAR 11.23.02.26A(3), because the
  • apprentice is no longer employed by the certified school named on the permit. And because
  • .22C(1) allows the permit to be issued only once to the same individual, the new employer cannot
  • simply request a fresh permit. The candidate has lost the apprenticeship route. Schools plan

apprentice hiring around this rule.