Blog /
What Counts as Night Driving in Alabama?
Yes, you can drive at night on an Alabama learner’s permit. There’s no curfew that stops you, but you need a qualifying supervisor in the car every time.
Alabama requires 10 night hours as part of your 50-hour total. Night is sunset to sunrise, no fixed clock time. The window shifts every day of the year.
What counts as night in Alabama
Night starts at sunset and ends at sunrise. That’s Alabama’s definition, and it’s the one that matters for your log.
In Birmingham, sunset falls around 5:00 PM in December and pushes past 8:00 PM by late June. A 7:30 PM drive in January? Night. That same drive in July? Still daylight. The date you’re driving changes everything.
If you’re writing this down on paper, you’d need to look up sunset for your exact location every single day you drive. In practice, most people guess, and a lot of those guesses are wrong. An inaccurate log is a problem if the DMV asks questions.
Permit curfews in Alabama
Alabama has no permit curfew. You can drive at 2 AM if you want. The requirement is just that your supervisor is present and awake.
The restrictions on who can supervise are tighter than most states. A random 21-year-old family friend doesn’t qualify. Alabama requires your supervisor to be a parent, guardian, grandparent, or licensed driving instructor. Not a sibling. Not a neighbor. That circle is small, and it matters when you’re trying to schedule night drives.
Getting your night hours done
10 hours sounds manageable. It is, if you start early. The families that struggle are the ones who spend the first 4 months only doing weekend afternoon drives and then realize they’ve got no night hours two weeks before the road test.
The math is easy. Two 30-minute night drives per week gets you to 10 hours in 10 weeks. One evening drive to the grocery store plus one drive home from practice. Done.
Winter is the cheapest shortcut. Sunset in December is around 5:00 PM in Birmingham. Tuscaloosa is similar, right around 5:00 PM. You can knock out a night hour before 6 PM without anyone losing sleep. Plan for December and January if you can.
Summer is the opposite problem. Sunset in June hits 8:00-8:15 PM. If you’re trying to get night hours in July, someone’s staying up. Factor that in.
Alabama permit requirements
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Total supervised hours | 50 |
| Night hours required | 10 |
| Day hours | 40 |
| Night definition | Sunset to sunrise |
| Minimum permit age | 15 |
| Permit hold period | 6 months |
| Supervisor minimum age | 21 |
| Who can supervise | Parent, guardian, grandparent, or driving instructor only |
| Driver’s ed required | No |
Practical tips for Alabama
The supervisor pool is narrow. Alabama’s restriction (parents, guardians, grandparents, or instructors) is unusual. Most states allow any licensed adult over 21. Alabama doesn’t. If both parents work nights, the grandparent lives across town, and a paid instructor is your only option, build that into your plan early. Don’t assume a willing adult qualifies.
Use the short winter window. Birmingham’s December sunsets around 5:00 PM. Huntsville is the same. An after-school drive starting at 5:15 PM counts as night the moment the sun drops below the horizon. You don’t have to be out at 11 PM to check this box.
Night driving is harder for new drivers. Headlight glare from oncoming traffic, reduced depth perception, deer and pedestrians that appear with less warning. These aren’t the same challenges as a daytime suburban route. The 10 hours Alabama requires isn’t a lot, but it’s better than none. Spread them out so you’re not white-knuckling through every session.
Log accurately. If you’re submitting a paper log, an inaccurate night total (even by accident) can stall your road test. Know the sunset time before you leave.
Tracking night hours is one of the things that gets surprisingly complicated when you’re doing it by hand. Sunset moves 3-4 minutes per day around the solstices. Moda handles that automatically: it checks your GPS coordinates at the start of every drive and tags hours as day or night in real time.
For full Alabama permit requirements, see our Alabama permit hours guide.
Download: Moda on the App Store