Michigan supervised driving
How to fill out the Michigan Supervised Driving Log
Michigan’s log serves two checkpoints: 30 supervised hours with 2 at night before Segment 2 driver education, then at least 40 daytime hours and 10 nighttime hours, for 50 total, before the driving skills test. Each dated row captures a lesson number, day and night hours, weather, supervisor initials, and notes.
Work the log through both certification checkpoints
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Identify the new driver
Enter the new driver’s name at the start of the practice pages. On the final page, enter the teen driver’s name and Level 1 learner’s license number; copy the number directly from the license.
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Record the lesson, date, and hours
For each row, enter the date and the lesson number from the form’s recommended-practice sequence when applicable. Split the practice between day and night hours, keeping partial-hour conversions accurate.
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Complete weather, initials, and notes
Record the weather conditions, have the supervising adult initial the date, and add useful notes about the session. Do not wait until the end of the six-month permit period to recreate these details.
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Complete the Segment 2 checkpoint
Before Segment 2, the log must show at least 30 hours, including 2 at night, after the Level 1 license has been held for the required period. Enter those totals and have the parent or legal guardian sign and date that certification block.
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Complete the driving-skills-test certification
Continue the same log to at least 40 daytime hours and 10 nighttime hours, for 50 total. Enter the grand totals, have the parent or legal guardian sign the second certification, and show the record to the Driver Testing Examiner.
A freeway lesson, and which checkpoint it counts toward
Michigan’s log is unusual in serving two certifications from one set of rows, so it helps to see a row alongside where it lands. Assume the log stands at 26 hours with 1.5 at night — still short of the Segment 2 checkpoint.
- Date
- 10/02/2026
- Lesson No.
- The numbered lesson from the form’s recommended-practice sequence that matches the session — here, the freeway-driving lesson
- Day hours
- 1.5
- Night hours
- 0.5
- Weather conditions
- Clear
- Supervisor’s initials
- The supervising adult’s initials
- Notes
- Merging and lane changes at speed — the detail that makes the row worth having six months later
This row takes the log to 28 hours with 2.0 at night. The night minimum for Segment 2 is now met but the 30-hour total is not, so the first certification block still cannot be signed — and the second, at 40 daytime hours plus 10 nighttime hours, is a long way off. Tracking only the grand total hides that distinction.
What derails a Michigan log between checkpoints
- Leaving the weather, supervisor-initials, or notes columns blank and trying to reconstruct months of practice later.
- Rounding partial hours so aggressively that the final total no longer reflects the actual driving time.
- Skipping the 30-hour/2-night Segment 2 certification because the family is focused only on the final 50-hour total.
What lands on the log and on page 4
Michigan wants four things on every row, plus a license number on the final page. The export fills each of them:
| On the Michigan Supervised Driving Log | Comes from |
|---|---|
| New driver’s name / Level 1 license number | The student’s name, and the Level 1 number you supply when generating the form, printed on page 4 where the certifications sit. |
| Date | The calendar date, with that date’s drives merged onto one line. |
| Day and night hours | That date’s day and night minutes, printed as decimal hours because Michigan’s columns read “Hours”. |
| Weather conditions | The distinct weather tags for that date, in the form’s order, capped with a “+N” tail so a varied day cannot overflow the column. |
| Supervisor’s initials | Initials for each supervisor on that date — a date split between two adults prints both. Printing them does not make the supervisor’s confirmation happen; the adult still reviews the row they are credited with. |
| Notes | The distinct notes from that date’s drives, joined and capped to the cell width. |
The Lesson No. column stays yours to fill: it refers to the form’s own recommended-practice sequence, which is a judgement about what the session was for rather than anything the app can infer from a drive.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Michigan log shown?
It is shown to the Segment 2 instructor at the 30-hour/2-night checkpoint and again to the Driver Testing Examiner after reaching 40 daytime hours and 10 nighttime hours, for 50 total.
Does the Segment 2 log start over for the skills test?
No. It is one continuous record — the 30 hours certified for Segment 2 count toward the 50, and the same rows carry forward to the second certification block.
How long must the Level 1 license be held?
The form describes at least three continuous months before Segment 2. Michigan’s GDL rules require at least six consecutive months before the Level 2 skills test, along with the other prerequisites.
What goes in the Lesson No. column?
Use the numbered recommended-practice lesson that best matches the session when applicable, such as parking, city driving, or freeway driving.
Do I have to use a driving-log app in Michigan?
No. A promoted app may be one format, but a completed printed Michigan Supervised Driving Log is accepted. Check current Secretary of State instructions.
Track your Michigan hours
Log every supervised drive and Learner Log keeps the totals ready for the Michigan Supervised Driving Log.
Still deciding how to keep the record? Compare paper against an app. Not sure where the Michigan Supervised Driving Log ends up? See submitting a log versus certifying the hours.
Official sources: Official Michigan Supervised Driving Log. Michigan licensing instructions. This guide was last reviewed against the official form on ; Michigan can change its form or instructions at any time, so confirm the current version at the links above. Learner Log is an independent tracking tool, not affiliated with any licensing agency.