Teen Driving Contract Template

What is a teen driving contract?

A teen driving contract (or parent-teen driving agreement) is a written set of house rules for a new driver. Road safety organisations commonly recommend one because it turns vague warnings into specific promises the teen has read and signed: phone out of reach, seatbelts on, no passengers for the first months, home by a set time. When a rule is broken, there is no argument about what was agreed or what happens next.

This template starts with non-negotiable safe-driving promises — seatbelts, no phone use at all while driving (including at red lights), no alcohol or drugs, obeying traffic laws, not driving tired, and not letting anyone else drive. You then set your own passenger rule, night-driving limit and curfew, how the teen asks to use the car, optional location sharing and any other rules. It covers looking after the car, fuel and cost sharing, tickets and damage, what to do after a crash or a police stop, a clear ladder of consequences and optional rewards. It closes with the parents' own promises, including a no-questions-asked safe ride home at any hour.

When to use a teen driving contract

• A teen getting a learner's permit and starting supervised practice
• A newly licensed driver taking the family car out alone for the first time
• Resetting the rules after a ticket, a scrape or a broken curfew
• A teen buying their own car but still living at home and on the family insurance
• Agreeing when and how restrictions will be relaxed as the teen gains experience

What you fill in

15 blanks, then the name and email of each person who signs: parent, teen driver.

What the teen driving contract covers

1. Safe driving — always
2. Our rules
3. Looking after the Car and paying for it
4. If there is a crash or the police stop the Car
5. Consequences
6. The Parents' promises

Using the teen driving contract, step by step

1 Add the driver and the car

Enter the parents' and teen's names, the car they will drive and, optionally, their licence stage. The contract requires the teen to follow every condition of their licence or permit, such as having a supervising driver.

2 Set the rules

Edit the passenger rule and the night-driving curfew, choose whether the teen asks every time or may drive to school and work without asking, and switch on location sharing if you want it. Add any other rules, one per line — for example no motorway driving yet.

3 Agree costs and consequences

Choose who pays for fuel and describe any cost sharing, such as a contribution to the extra insurance. Edit the consequences ladder so it's firm but fair, and add a reward for safe driving if you like.

4 Read it together and sign

Set a review date, add the teen as a signer (and a second parent in the editor if you like), and go through the contract together before signing. The signed copy is filed in your vault.

Tips before you send it

• Many places have graduated licensing rules for new drivers — passenger limits, night-driving limits or phone bans. Your contract's rules should be at least as strict as the law where you live.
• Tell your insurer about the new driver before they drive, and check they are covered — driving without insurance is illegal in many places.
• Make the consequences specific and proportionate, and enforce them calmly the first time — that is what makes the contract work.
• The safe-ride promise matters: teens are more likely to call for help if they know they won't be punished that night.
• Review the contract every few months and relax restrictions as your teen earns more experience.

Teen driving contract: frequently asked questions

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This template is a general starting point, not legal advice. Laws differ between countries and states — have a lawyer review the agreement for your situation before you rely on it. Page last reviewed 2026-09-29.