You will need to obtain the required DDS Certificate of Attendance even if when you want to obtain your permit is during the summertime when school is not in session in Georgia.

The Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) has been reminding students who plan to test for an instructional permit or driver’s license over the summer break on their site and in newspaper articles since early May that they would need to obtain a “DDS Certificate of Attendance Form” from their school administration before the end of the school year.

DDS Certificate of Attendance Forms (DS-1 form) must be signed and notarized from the student’s school and presented at the time of applying for a permit or Class D driver’s license. Typically, the form is valid for thirty (30) days. However, the Certificate of Attendance Forms issued in May 2009 will be accepted until September 30, 2009. DDS driver examiners have been reminded as well of the summer policy so they will not turn minors away due to having a certificate that is more than 30 days old.

The GA DDS notes that all applicants under the age of 18 not enrolled in school must provide a GED diploma, high school diploma, or an attendance form from the student’s local Board of Education if enrolled in an approved home school program.

A Georgia DDS Certificate of Attendance (DS – 1) form must be signed and notarized by your school. If you failed to obtain your Certificate of Attendance before the end of the school year than you may see if there is still any school personnel working during the summer (perhaps if they are running summer school classes they would be available during that time period) that could help you with this form now. If not than you can contact the GA DDS directly to see if you have any other options for you or if you are out of luck due to not obtaining the DS-1 form from your school before your summer school break began.

If you are able to obtain your Georgia instructional permit than your parents will need to inform their insurance agent about you starting the graduated driver licensing (GDL) process and see if they need to add you to the their insurance policy now or later when you have advanced through the licensing system. You can read more about teen insurance coverage here.