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What Counts as Night Driving in Montana?
Yes, you can drive at night with a Montana permit — there’s no curfew. Montana requires 10 of your 50 supervised hours to be logged after sunset before you can get a license.
What makes Montana unusual isn’t the requirement. It’s the range. Billings sunsets shift from 4:30 PM in December to 9:10 PM in late June. That’s nearly 5 hours of variation — among the most extreme in the lower 48 states.
What “Night” Means in Montana
Montana defines night as sunset to sunrise, not a fixed clock time. The sun sets and night starts.
In Billings, that can happen at 4:30 PM in December or after 9 PM in June. A 6 PM drive in winter is solidly a night drive. A 6 PM drive in summer is full daylight. Same time, completely different category.
If you’re logging on paper, you need to look up actual sunset time before every session. Moda does this automatically based on your GPS location, so every session is tagged correctly without any manual lookups.
No Permit Curfew
Montana doesn’t restrict when permit holders can drive. You need a licensed supervisor at least 21 years old in the car, and you need your permit. No time restrictions beyond that.
Driver’s ed is only required for permit applicants under 15. A 15-year-old can get a permit without any formal coursework. Most teens applying at 15 or older can go straight to studying for the written test and start supervised driving without completing a driver’s ed program first.
Getting to 10 Night Hours
10 out of 50 hours means 20% of all your supervised driving needs to happen after sunset. Most families push this to the end, which creates real problems — both practically (cramming night sessions under deadline pressure) and developmentally (night driving takes actual time to get comfortable with).
The practical approach is to start night drives from the first month. Two 30-minute sessions per week adds up to about 4 hours monthly. By month three, you’ve cleared your 10 hours and still have time to finish the remaining 40 hours of daytime driving.
Montana’s dramatic sunset variation makes timing matter. December through February is when night hours are easiest — sunset around 4:30–5:30 PM means an early evening drive is a night drive. No late nights required. In summer, you’d need to wait until after 9 PM, which isn’t practical for most families on weekdays.
Start heavy on night hours in fall and winter. Let the summer months cover your daytime hours.
A note on rural driving: Montana is a big state. Most teens in Montana will spend a lot of time driving rural two-lane highways and remote roads — not just residential suburbs. Night driving on a rural highway is a distinct skill. Less ambient light, wildlife crossings, narrower shoulders, and passing zones that are harder to judge in the dark. This kind of practice matters and it doesn’t happen on its own.
Montana Permit Requirements
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Total supervised hours | 50 |
| Required night hours | 10 |
| Night definition | Sunset to sunrise |
| Permit curfew | None |
| Minimum permit age | 14½ |
| Permit hold period | 6 months |
| Supervisor minimum age | 21 |
| Driver’s ed required | Only if under 15 |
Practical Tips
December through February is your best window. Billings sunset hits 4:30–5:30 PM for most of the winter. Any drive starting at 5 PM is a night drive. This is when you should be stacking night hours — not in July when you’d have to wait until 9:10 PM.
Practice rural roads. Montana teens drive rural highways more than most states. Supervised night practice on a two-lane rural road — with no streetlights, occasional wildlife, and long stretches between towns — is preparation that actually reflects where they’ll drive.
Rain and snow. Montana gets both. Wet roads and headlight glare are one thing; snow-covered roads at night are another. Don’t skip conditions just because they’re uncomfortable. Get at least a few sessions in real weather before the road test.
Give yourself the first 4–5 sessions on familiar roads. Start on routes your teen already knows in daylight. The goal is adapting to reduced visibility, not navigating new territory simultaneously.
Log with dates and start times. Montana doesn’t have a state-standard log form, but your examiner may ask to see documentation. Accurate records are better than approximate ones.
Moda tracks sunrise and sunset data for your exact location and splits every session automatically. In Montana especially — where the sunset time varies so dramatically — having that split calculated correctly matters.
For full Montana permit requirements, see our Montana permit hours guide.
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