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What Counts as Night Driving in Delaware?
Yes, you can drive at night with a Delaware learner’s permit, and you have to. The state requires 10 of your 50 hours to happen between sunset and sunrise. There’s no permit curfew, so the only restriction is that a licensed adult needs to be in the car.
That supervisor has to be at least 25. Not 21. Delaware’s age requirement is higher than most states, which catches families off guard. A 23-year-old older sibling doesn’t qualify. A 24-year-old doesn’t qualify. Most parents of 16-year-olds are fine, but if you’re counting on a young adult relative, check their age before planning your first drive.
What “Night” Means in Delaware
Delaware defines night as sunset to sunrise, no fixed clock time. The moment the sun drops below the horizon, you’re in night hours.
That boundary moves constantly. In Wilmington, sunset falls around 4:35 PM in December and pushes past 8:25 PM in June. Same 7:00 PM drive, completely different category depending on the month. In December, that’s night. In June, that’s still daytime.
If you’re logging on paper, you’d need to check your local sunset time before every single session and do the math yourself. Most families don’t bother, which means their logs are often wrong.
No Permit Curfew
Delaware doesn’t restrict what time of night a permit holder can drive. 11 PM, midnight, doesn’t matter, as long as your 25+ supervisor is with you, it counts. That changes once you get your actual license: the provisional license restricts driving between midnight and 6 AM for the first year. But during the permit phase, you have full flexibility.
Getting Your 10 Night Hours Done
The math on 50 hours over 6 months works out to about 2 hours per week. For your 10 night hours, one dedicated evening session per week gets you there in 10 weeks.
The mistake most families make is treating night hours as an afterthought. Day driving feels easier (less stress, better visibility), so they knock out 35 or 40 day hours before anyone thinks about night. Then the permit is nearly expired and you’re trying to schedule nighttime sessions in a panic.
Start night driving in the first month. A 45-minute loop after dinner twice a month is 1.5 hours. That’s not fast, but it keeps the clock moving. By month four, you’re done with night hours and can finish the remaining day hours with zero pressure.
December and January are worth targeting deliberately. Sunset around 4:35 PM means a quick 6:00 PM drive is already a full night session. You don’t have to stay out late. That’s hard to replicate in summer when night doesn’t start until 8:25 PM.
Delaware Permit Requirements
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Total supervised hours | 50 |
| Night hours required | 10 |
| Day hours required | 40 |
| Night definition | Sunset to sunrise |
| Minimum permit age | 16 |
| Permit hold period | 6 months |
| Supervisor minimum age | 25 |
| Driver’s ed required | Yes, for all under 18 |
| Permit curfew | None |
Practical Tips
Know who can supervise. Delaware’s 25+ rule eliminates most older siblings and many young aunts and uncles. Confirm your supervisor’s age before you plan sessions around them.
Use winter sunset times to your advantage. The 4:35 PM December sunset in Wilmington means you can log a night session before 6 PM. That’s the easiest night driving you’ll ever do.
Don’t mistake twilight for night. Sunset is the official cutoff. Civil twilight (that blue-gray window right after the sun drops) doesn’t count. Wait for actual sunset before logging night hours.
Vary your routes. Delaware is small, but the difference between driving I-95 near Wilmington and a rural road near Dover is real. Try to mix highway, residential, and commercial driving in the dark. Examiners notice when a new driver only has experience with one road type.
Keep your log current. Delaware accepts paper logs at the road test, but they need to be accurate. If you’re approximating sunset times from memory, you’re probably undercounting or overcounting.
Moda automatically records the sunset and sunrise times for your GPS location at the start of every session and tags each minute as day or night. Your 10-hour night total builds in real time, no lookups required.
For full Delaware permit requirements, see our Delaware permit hours guide.
Download: Moda on the App Store