AB Driver
Alberta graduated licensing: stages, minimum time and limits
In Alberta, all new drivers go through graduated driver licensing, regardless of age. There are three stages: Stage 1, learner (Class 7); Stage 2, probationary (Class 5-GDL); and Stage 3, full non-GDL Class 5. Applicants under 18 need a parent or guardian's consent.
You must hold a Class 7 learner's licence for at least 12 months before the road test, and be at least 16 to take it. There is one road test, the Class 5 road test. The advanced road test was dropped on April 1, 2023.
The official minimum to reach a full Class 5 licence is three years. A licensed Class 5/6 driver training course can shorten the probationary stage by up to six months, but the regulation says the reduction cannot end probation before age 18. You must be 18 or older to leave the program.
Class 7 limits: a supervisor must be 18 or older, hold a full Class 5 licence or higher, and sit in the front passenger seat. You may not drive between midnight and 5 a.m., you must have zero alcohol, and you cannot carry more passengers than there are seat belts. The learner's licence page says "over 18", while the Driver's Guide and the regulation say "18 years old or older". The official pages do not state how many years the supervisor must have been licensed.
Class 5-GDL limits: zero alcohol and drugs, and no more passengers than seat belts. The pages read do not set a night-driving limit for this stage. A Class 5-GDL driver cannot supervise a learner. The zero-alcohol rule ends when you leave the program.
No official page read requires a learner or novice sign on the vehicle.