The 50-Hour Practice Log (MV-262): How NY Teens Complete It Before the Road Test

Illustration (AI-generated image). Not a photo of Drive Rite staff or students.

In New York City, a teen with a junior learner permit needs at least 50 hours of supervised driving, including 15 hours after sunset, before the road test. A parent or guardian certifies them on the MV-262 form, which goes to the examiner at every road test. NYC also limits when, where and in what car you can practice.

Fact-checked by our team
Last updated: October 29, 2026

If you are 16 or 17 and practicing in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan or Staten Island, the 50 hours are the longest part of getting your license. This guide explains what the MV-262 actually is, who may supervise your practice inside the five boroughs, how to fit 15 after-sunset hours in before the city's 9 p.m. limit, how to keep a simple log, and what to bring on road test day. We checked every rule on the DMV's pre-licensing requirements page and the related dmv.ny.gov pages on October 29, 2026.

Start with the key facts.

The infographic below shows the six logging steps covered later in this guide.

Photo panels are illustrations (AI-generated images).

What Is the MV-262?

The MV-262, Certification of Supervised Driving, is a one-page DMV form. Despite the common name, it is not a day-by-day log. It is a signed statement that the hours were done. The form says a parent or guardian certifies that the applicant has completed at least 50 hours of supervised driving, including 15 hours after sunset.

The form has three parts:

• Applicant details. Your name, address and learner permit ID number.
• Parent or guardian certification. The parent or guardian prints their name, signs and dates the form. A representative of a government agency or facility may sign instead when that applies.
• Driving school table. Hours driven with a licensed driving school instructor or a driver education teacher can be listed here and signed by the school.

The signature carries weight. The form warns that falsifying any information on the certification may be a crime, punishable by a fine, imprisonment or both. That is the best reason to keep a real record of every drive, even though the DMV does not ask you to turn one in.

According to the DMV's practice driving rules, every applicant who is 16 or 17 at the time of the road test and holds a junior learner permit must present the MV-262. If you are under 18, you also must wait at least six months from the date you received your learner permit before you can schedule the test.

Who Can Supervise Your Hours in NYC

Knowing what the form certifies leads straight to the next question: who may sit beside you while you earn those hours. New York City has its own junior permit rules, so this is where most families need to plan.

Under the DMV learner permit restrictions, a junior permit holder may drive in any of the five boroughs only between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m., and only under the direct supervision of a parent, a guardian, a person in loco parentis, a driver education teacher or a driving school instructor. Here is how each NYC rule affects your log.

Some limits apply to every permit holder, whatever their age. You may not drive on any street within a park in New York City, on any bridge or tunnel run by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, or in a DMV road test area. The DMV's road test page also says practice driving is not allowed at New York State test sites.

The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority is MTA Bridges and Tunnels, which runs seven bridges and two tunnels. For a learner, that rule touches every borough:

• Staten Island. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge is off limits, so a licensed driver takes the wheel for any trip to Brooklyn. Our guide to driving over the Verrazzano with a learner permit covers the details.
• Queens. The Throgs Neck, Bronx-Whitestone and RFK bridges are off limits, and so are the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial and Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial bridges to the Rockaways.
• Manhattan. The Queens-Midtown Tunnel, the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, the Henry Hudson Bridge and the RFK Bridge are off limits.
• Brooklyn. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel and the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge are off limits.

Drives that leave the city follow the rules of the region you are in. On Long Island and upstate, junior permit holders have their own hours and supervisor rules, so read the regional sections of the DMV page before you count a trip outside NYC. Our guide on who can supervise a learner driver in NYC covers supervisors in more depth.

Fitting 15 After-Sunset Hours in Before 9 p.m.

Once you know who can supervise, the hardest part of the log is usually the 15 hours after sunset. In NYC, a junior permit holder has a short window for them: from sunset until 9 p.m.

Late fall makes that window longer. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026, according to NIST. Today, October 29, the sun sets in New York City at about 5:56 p.m., according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. Once the clocks go back, sunset moves to about 4:51 p.m. on November 2 and to about 4:30 p.m. by early December. That leaves more than four hours of darkness before the 9 p.m. limit on many fall and winter evenings.

After-sunset driving is a different skill, not just the same drive with the lights on. Use those hours to practice:

• Headlights. Turning them on before you start, and knowing when to switch between low beams and high beams.
• Glare. Handling oncoming headlights and bright storefronts without staring into them.
• People who are harder to see. Watching for pedestrians in dark clothing, cyclists and delivery riders at crosswalks and corners.
• Wet streets at night. Reading reflections and lane markings when rain makes the road shine. Our guide to NY road tests in bad weather explains what changes when the forecast turns.

How to Keep a 50-Hour Log in 6 Steps

Because the MV-262 has no log of its own, your record is what lets a parent or guardian sign it honestly. A notebook or a notes app is enough. Follow these steps from the first drive to test day.

1. Confirm Your Permit Type. Check that your permit is a junior learner permit (Class DJ) and that you will be 16 or 17 on test day. If so, the MV-262 and the 50 hours apply to you.
2. Pick a Qualified Supervisor. Before each drive in the city, make sure the supervisor is a parent, guardian, driver education teacher or driving school instructor, 21 or older with a valid license, in a car with dual controls.
3. Log Every Drive Right Away. After every drive, write down the date, start and end times, the supervisor's name, whether it was daytime or after sunset, the conditions and the skills you practiced. Add up the totals each week.
4. Bank Night Hours Before 9 p.m. Plan your after-sunset drives so they end by 9 p.m. In November and December, the evenings after sunset give you the most time.
5. Add Busy Traffic and Highways. Aim for at least 10 hours in moderate to heavy traffic, as the DMV recommends, and add expressways and other highways when you are ready, avoiding MTA bridges and tunnels.
6. Sign the MV-262 and Bring It. When you reach 50 hours with 15 after sunset, have your parent or guardian complete and sign the MV-262. Bring it to the road test, and bring a completed form again to any retest.

A simple log can use the same columns every time. Here is one layout that works.

The DMV's Driver's Manual, Chapter 1 adds that road tests are given on city streets, but you should practice on expressways and other highways as well. If you are ready for that step, our guide to driving the Belt Parkway for the first time shows what a first parkway drive is like, and our guide to bus lanes and bike lanes in NYC covers the painted lanes you will meet on busy avenues.

How Driving School Hours Count

Your log does not have to come from family drives alone. The MV-262 says hours driven with a licensed driving school instructor or a driver education teacher count toward the 50.

Those hours go in the table on the form. The school fills in its name and driving school license number, the instructor's name and certificate number and the hours certified, and an administrator, owner or instructor signs it. The form notes that the information must be backed by the records the DMV and the State Education Department require.

In NYC, this matters more than anywhere else in the state. Driving school instructors are on the approved supervisor list, so lessons can cover some of your hours while you learn city skills with a professional. The DMV itself suggests driving school lessons as one way to get the recommended amount of supervised practice.

Our teen driving lessons page describes a teen package built around 50 hours of driving lessons and the 5-hour pre-licensing course. Hours with a licensed driving school instructor can be listed in the school table on the MV-262, and they count toward the total your parent or guardian certifies.

What to Bring on Road Test Day

With the hours done and the form signed, the last step is test day. The MV-262 is only one of the papers the examiner needs to see.

According to the DMV's schedule and take a road test page and the MV-262 form, you must bring:

• Your photo learner permit. The physical permit, plus glasses or contacts if your permit says you need them.
• Your course certificate. The original Pre-Licensing Course Certificate (MV-278) or Student Certificate of Completion (MV-285). Copies are not accepted.
• The completed MV-262. Signed by your parent or guardian if you are under 18, and given to the examiner each time you take a road test.
• An accompanying driver. A driver over 18 if they drive you to the site, or over 21 if you drive there, with a physical license valid for the test car.
• A test car. With valid registration, insurance and inspection, working properly and in clean condition. For a rental, also bring the rental agreement and written permission to use it for the road test.

The MV-278 and MV-285 are not interchangeable with the MV-262. The MV-278 shows you finished the 5-hour pre-licensing course and is valid for one year. The MV-285 shows you finished the State's 48-hour Driver Education Program through a high school or college and is valid for two years. The DMV's pre-licensing course page also says the online 5-hour course is only for people 18 or older, so teens take the classroom or live virtual classroom version. Our guide to the MV-285 certificate compares the two programs, and you can sign up for our pre-licensing course online.

Teen Driving Lessons With Drive Rite

Rules and paperwork are only part of the process. The rest is time behind the wheel with someone who can catch habits early and build city skills one step at a time. Drive Rite Academy teaches teens in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island, and our Staten Island lessons include concierge pickup.

For current prices, give us a call at 718-928-7048 or enroll online to see them.

Here are answers to common questions about the MV-262.

Your Next Step

The 50-hour requirement is easier when you plan it from the first drive. You now know what the MV-262 certifies, who may supervise you in NYC and in what car, how to fit 15 after-sunset hours in before 9 p.m., how to keep a simple log, and what to bring on test day. Keep the log honest, use the long fall evenings, and let driving school hours carry some of the load.

Ready to start your hours with an instructor? Visit our teen driving lessons page, or choose your borough below.