Ohio supervised driving
How to fill out Ohio BMV 5791
Ohio BMV 5791 combines a notarized Fifty Hour Affidavit with a detailed Supervised Driving Log. A driver under 18 documents 50 supervised hours, including 10 at night, and an eligible adult signs the affidavit before a notary.
Complete the affidavit and its attached log
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Complete the permit-holder information
On the affidavit, enter the temporary permit holder’s name, permit I.D. number, and the requested address details. Copy the permit number directly so it agrees with the identification used at the BMV.
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Complete the eligible-adult section
Enter the eligible adult’s name, driver license or I.D. number, relationship, address, and contact information where requested. This is the adult making the sworn statement, which may differ from a supervisor listed on an individual drive.
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Fill every Supervised Driving Log row
For each drive, record the date, supervising driver’s name and Ohio driver-license number, start time, end time, and the day and night time. Do not use a duration alone where the form requests both clock times.
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Check the affidavit against the log
The attached log should support at least 50 total hours and 10 night hours before the eligible adult swears to the total. Review both pages together and correct missing supervisor details first.
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Sign in front of a notary
Do not pre-sign the notarized statement. The eligible adult signs as directed in the notary’s presence, then the family brings the completed affidavit and attached log to the BMV as required.
One drive on the attached log, with the field families forget
BMV 5791 asks for the supervising driver’s own Ohio license number on every row, and splits each drive’s time into separate Hours and Minutes boxes rather than one decimal figure. The affidavit also defines nighttime precisely — the period beginning one-half hour after sunset and ending one-half hour before sunrise — so take a drive that sits unambiguously inside it: 7:30 PM to 8:45 PM.
- DATE
- 02/21/2026
- Supervising Licensed Driver Name
- The adult in the passenger seat for that drive
- Supervising Adult Ohio Driver License #
- That supervisor’s license number, copied from the license. This is the field that most often sends a 5791 back.
- Start & End Time
- 7:30 PM / 8:45 PM — both clock times with AM or PM, as the column header asks, not a duration
- Total Day Time
- Left empty — none of this drive fell in daytime hours
- Total Night Time
- Hours 1, Minutes 15 — two boxes, so there is nowhere to put “1.25”
A drive spanning dusk is the harder case: only the part falling more than a half hour after sunset counts as nighttime, so an evening drive that begins in daylight splits across both pairs of boxes rather than landing wholly in Night. Getting that boundary wrong is how a log reaches 50 hours while still falling short of the 10 nighttime hours the affidavit swears to.
What sends a 5791 back
- Signing the affidavit before appearing in front of the notary.
- Leaving out a supervising driver’s Ohio license number or a drive’s start and end times on the attached log.
- Completing only the affidavit page without checking that the detailed log supports its 50-hour and 10-night-hour statement.
What fills the affidavit and the attached log
Ohio is the most field-heavy form of the set: an affidavit page of identity details plus a per-drive log. The export fills both:
| On the BMV 5791 Fifty Hour Affidavit | Comes from |
|---|---|
| Permit holder’s name and permit I.D. | The student’s name and the permit number you supply, printed on the affidavit page. |
| Eligible adult’s details | The name, license or I.D. number, relationship, address, and contact details you enter for whoever is making the sworn statement. |
| Date | Each drive’s date — one row per drive, ordered by date and then start time. |
| Supervising Licensed Driver Name | The supervisor on that specific drive. |
| Supervising Adult Ohio Driver License # | That supervisor’s stored license number, so the column that most often comes back incomplete is filled from the record rather than from memory. |
| Start & End Time | The drive’s clock times, printed into the form’s separate Start and End boxes. |
| Total Day Time / Total Night Time | The drive’s day and night split, written into each column’s Hours and Minutes boxes — a 20-minute stretch fills Minutes and leaves Hours empty. The foot of the log states the target these add up to: 40 hours of day time and 10 of night time. |
The notarization is the one part nothing can prepare in advance: the eligible adult signs in the notary’s presence, so a form that arrives pre-signed has to be redone.
Frequently asked questions
Must the eligible adult have supervised every drive?
Usually no — the eligible adult swears to the completed total, and the attached log can name a different supervising driver on any row. The affidavit carries one explicit exception: if the permit holder is applying for a limited-term Non-Renewable, Non-Transferrable license, the adult who supervised the driving must hold a valid Ohio license and be the same adult who signs the attestation.
What counts as nighttime on BMV 5791?
The affidavit defines it: the period commencing one-half hour after sunset and concluding one-half hour before the following sunrise. A drive that ends shortly after dark may contribute far fewer nighttime minutes than it feels like.
Can the affidavit be signed before the notary appointment?
No — and a pre-signed form has to be redone. The eligible adult signs in the notary’s presence.
Does BMV 5791 need start and end times?
Yes. The Supervised Driving Log provides start and end fields for every drive, along with separate day and night time.
What do I bring to the BMV?
Bring the completed, notarized affidavit and its supporting Supervised Driving Log as directed by the current Ohio BMV instructions.
Do I have to use a driving-log app in Ohio?
No. A state-promoted app may be optional, while the paper BMV 5791 remains an accepted form. Confirm the current BMV instructions.
Track your Ohio hours
Log every supervised drive and Learner Log keeps the totals ready for the BMV 5791 Fifty Hour Affidavit.
Still deciding how to keep the record? Compare paper against an app. Not sure where the BMV 5791 Fifty Hour Affidavit ends up? See submitting a log versus certifying the hours.
Official sources: Official BMV 5791 Fifty Hour Affidavit. Ohio licensing instructions. This guide was last reviewed against the official form on ; Ohio 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.