Five things you must know before your teen applies for a DMV learner's permit

Well, we put it off for as long as we could, but it's like trying to stop the tide from coming in. Those darn kids just won't stop growing up! Last week, The Pea finally got her driver's permit. Both Alfie and I got our first drivers license when were 17, so 15 1/2 seemed ridiculously young to start driving. How responsible can a teen that age be? But we bowed to the inevitable... and almost immediately The Pea proved our point about responsibility. We left the entire process of getting the permit to The Pea -- signing up for online driver's lessons, taking them, getting an appointment, gathering the paperwork. In typical Pea fashion, she didn't bother to gather the required paperwork until the night before her DMV appointment. This resulted in yours truly suffering through the morning commute traffic to get the proper forms and signatures so that The Pea wouldn't have to reschedule her written test.

Parents of 15 year-old would-be drivers, learn from my mistakes and PLAN ahead! Here are five things I've learned from this experience and written down so we don't make the same mistake when 3Po and Jammy are ready to get their permits:

DL-44 cannot be downloaded... and needs both parents' signatures

DL-44 is the DMV's application form for a driver's license (or permit). If both parents have custody of the teen, BOTH parents must sign this form! Both parents are not required to be present, but both parents' signatures are require. Here's the kicker: YOU CANNOT DOWNLOAD DL-44. The only 2 ways to get it are to drop by a DMV office or to call and have the DMV mail it to you. If you request the form to be sent to you by mail, allow 2-3 weeks for the form to arrive.

Make an appointment

Sure, you can fall in line, but why? The appointment line is always so much shorter than the walk-on line! The catch is that appointments can book out months in advance, so allow plenty of time.

Get in the correct line

You've gone through all that trouble of booking a DMV appointment, so when you get to the DMV make sure you get into the correct line! The Pea has a friend who mistakenly joined the walk-on line. By the time she figured it out, her appointment time had passed.

Bring cash or check

Credit cards are not accepted as fee payment.

Get ready to have your photo taken

The two photos that matter most to a high schooler are their senior yearbook photo and their drivers license photo. Your teen may want to make themselves look presentable, because they're going to have their photo taken on THIS visit. Even though the learner's permit is only a piece of paper, the DMV takes the official drivers' license photo when your teen gets the learner's permit.