1.3 The Apprentice Instructor Permit and Supervised Training

What the Permit Is

COMAR 11.23.02.22A: "The Administration may issue an apprentice instructor permit authorizing a qualified applicant to give instruction in the driver education program courses under the supervision of a certified driver education instructor."

The permit is a supervised training credential, not a junior license. It exists so a candidate can accumulate real classroom and in-car teaching hours under a certified instructor before sitting for the final skills evaluations that produce full certification.

Note the chapter. The apprentice instructor permit lives in COMAR 11.23.02 — the Driver Education Program chapter — not in COMAR 11.23.01. Material that cites "COMAR 11.23.01.14" for the apprentice permit has the wrong regulation entirely; 11.23.01.14 is Background Checks.

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Term, Frequency, and Scope (COMAR 11.23.02.22)

Validity term ...... 6 months
Extensions ......... none
Renewals ........... none
Times issued ....... once per individual, ever
Scope .............. both behind-the-wheel and classroom instruction
Employer ........... only the certified school where the apprentice is employed
Transferable ....... no (may not be transferred, sold, or assigned)

• §B — "The apprentice instructor permit is valid for 6 months and may not be extended or renewed." Six months. Not one year.
• §C(1) — the permit "shall only be issued once to the same individual." A candidate who lets the six months lapse without completing certification does not get a second run at the apprenticeship.
• §C(2) — the permit authorizes teaching both behind-the-wheel and classroom instruction.
• §C(3) — it authorizes instruction only with the certified school where the apprentice is employed. Changing employers does not travel with the permit.

The combination of a six-month clock, no extension, and a single lifetime issuance is what makes apprentice scheduling a compliance problem for schools. Every observation session, every advanced course, and both final skills evaluations must fit inside the window.

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Qualifying for the Permit (COMAR 11.23.02.23)

An applicant shall:

1. §A(1) — meet all the qualifications for instructor certification in COMAR 11.23.02.16, with the exception of §§A and B(10). That carve-out is the point of the apprenticeship: §A (already holding a driving instructor license) and §B(10) (having passed the final skills evaluation) are the two things the apprentice has not yet done. Age 21, the education requirement, the valid unrestricted driver's license, the four-point ceiling, the criminal-history bars, and the medical-condition bar all still apply.
2. §A(2) — have successfully passed the knowledge test and the basic skills evaluation in both classroom and behind-the-wheel instruction conducted by the Administration.

§B repeats the pending-background-check accommodation: an applicant otherwise qualified for an apprentice instructor permit may begin teaching under the direct supervision of an experienced certified instructor while satisfactory criminal-history data is pending.

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The Supervision Regime (COMAR 11.23.02.24)

An apprentice instructor "shall continuously follow all the requirements set forth for a certified instructor under Regulation .18 of this chapter" (§B). That includes the badge-in-full-view rule and the prohibition on cell phone use in a moving vehicle during behind-the-wheel instruction.

The certified school carries three affirmative duties under §C:

The two-hours-every-two-weeks cadence is a floor, not a cap, and the documentation obligation is what the MVA audits. COMAR 11.23.02.17C(2) requires the applicant to submit, before the final skills evaluation can even be scheduled, "a copy of the logbook provided by the Administration documenting the learning activities during the time as an apprentice instructor." The log is issued by the Administration; the school does not invent its own form.

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Losing the Permit (COMAR 11.23.02.25 and .26)

A duplicate apprentice instructor badge may be issued for one that is lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed; the apprentice applies on the MVA's form stating the date and circumstances, and surrenders a mutilated badge (.25).

Cancellation under .26A is automatic in three situations:

1. The applicant's criminal history record fails to contain satisfactory data;
2. At the expiration of the 6 month approval period; or
3. The apprentice instructor is no longer employed by the certified school.

Separately, §B allows approval of a permit to be revoked or suspended after notice and hearing if the certified school or the apprentice fails to comply with the chapter or with Transportation Article, Title 15, Subtitle 8 or Title 16, Subtitle 5. Cancellation is administrative and automatic; revocation and suspension are adjudicated.

Worked scenario

Case. An apprentice receives a permit on March 1. On June 15 the apprentice resigns and is hired the next week by a second certified school, which wants to finish the apprenticeship under its own senior instructor.

Analysis. The permit was cancelled on separation under COMAR 11.23.02.26A(3), because the apprentice is no longer employed by the certified school named on the permit. And because .22C(1) allows the permit to be issued only once to the same individual, the new employer cannot simply request a fresh permit. The candidate has lost the apprenticeship route. Schools plan apprentice hiring around this rule.