HSMV Form 71018: The Florida Parental Consent Form (Now Form 71142)

TLDR HSMV form 71018 is the older form number for the Florida Parental Consent Form, which FLHSMV now publishes as form 71142, Parental Consent for a Driver Application of a Minor. Every applicant under 18 needs it for a learner permit or driver license, signed by one parent or legal guardian and notarized or signed in front of the examiner.

If you arrived at this page by searching form 71018, you are looking for one thing: the consent form a parent signs so a minor can apply for a Florida learner permit. The state has renumbered the form over the years, and older checklists, school handouts, and blog posts still circulate the previous number, which is why the search exists at all. What matters at the counter is the current form and its signing rules, so this page explains what the parental consent form does, who can sign it, where the current version lives, and how it differs from the other forms people commonly confuse with it. Last updated August 2026.

What the Parental Consent Form Actually Does

Florida law requires that applicants under 18 have a parent or legal guardian consent to the license application. The form is the mechanism for that consent. It identifies the minor by name and date of birth, records the signing parent or guardian, and captures the notarization or examiner witness block that makes the consent official. The current version, listed on the official FLHSMV forms page under 71142, is available directly as a downloadable PDF, and the same page lists companion versions including a Spanish-language edition, which matters for the many Florida families completing the form in Spanish.

Without this form, the application stops at the counter. The knowledge exam, the vision check, and everything else become irrelevant until the consent requirement is satisfied, because the state will not issue driving privileges to a minor on an unsigned application. That is why the form appears on every first-time driver checklist, including our guide to what to bring to the Florida DMV for your permit.

Who Can Sign and How

The signing rules are stricter than applicants expect, and they are worth knowing before you print the form:

1. One parent or legal guardian signs the form. Both parents are not required.
2. The signature must be notarized, or signed in the presence of the driver license examiner at the office.
3. A stepparent may sign only if they have legally adopted the minor; marriage to a biological parent does not confer signing authority.
4. The form must be presented at the time of application along with the rest of the document stack.

The notarization option exists precisely so the office visit is not the only chance to get the form right. Banks, insurance offices, and many libraries offer notary services at little or no cost, and a form notarized in advance is the single most reliable way to keep a minor's appointment on track. If you choose to sign at the office instead, the parent or guardian signing must physically accompany the applicant, since the examiner witnesses the live signature.

Why the Form Number Changed

FLHSMV periodically renumbers and reissues its forms, and the parental consent form is one of the commonly cited examples: older materials reference it under the 71018 number, while the current forms page publishes it as 71142. The content and function carried over with the renumbering; what changed is the paper, not the requirement. This pattern repeats across the state's form catalog, which is a main reason stale checklists cause counter rejections. The reliable habit is to download forms from the FLHSMV forms page rather than from photocopies, saved PDFs, or school handouts of uncertain age.

For families checking that they have the right document in hand, the fastest verification is content-based. The current parental consent form asks for the minor's name and date of birth, the signature of a parent or legal guardian, the parent's printed name, the county, and identification details for the notary or witnessing examiner. If the form you are holding asks for materially different information, or carries a different title, it belongs to a different transaction.

Do Not Confuse It with These Forms

Florida's form numbers blur together, and two confusions account for most of the mix-ups at the counter:

The consent form is about permission. The course certificates are about education. The address certification is about residency. A parent signing the wrong paper at the kitchen table is the classic failure mode, so label your folder: consent form signed and notarized, course certificate printed, address documents counted.

Where the Form Fits in the Full Permit Checklist

The parental consent form is one item in a short stack. The complete set for a minor's Florida permit application is the proof of identity, the Social Security number with a supporting document, two proofs of residential address, the signed parental consent form, and the DETS course completion certificate for applicants under 18. Our step-by-step page on finishing the DETS course and the permit test in one day shows how the form fits into a compressed timeline, and our guide to the FLHSMV state-approved DETS course covers the provider check that has to happen before any certificate exists to bring to the office.

Fees are not affected by the consent form: signing and notarizing it costs whatever your notary charges or nothing if the examiner witnesses it, and the state's $48.00 original Class E fee covers the learner license issuance itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is HSMV form 71018?

Form 71018 is the older form number for the Florida Parental Consent Form that applicants under 18 need for a learner permit or driver license. FLHSMV now publishes the same consent form under number 71142, and the current version should be downloaded from the FLHSMV forms page.

Who needs to sign the Florida parental consent form?

One parent or legal guardian signs. The signature must be notarized or made in front of the driver license examiner, and a stepparent may sign only if they have legally adopted the applicant.

Does the parental consent form need to be notarized?

It needs either a notarized signature or a signature witnessed live by the driver license examiner at the office. Notarizing in advance at a bank or insurance office is the safer option because it removes any dependence on office notary availability.

Can I use the old 71018 form I already printed?

Use the current form from the FLHSMV website instead. The state reissues forms with updated numbers and wording, and offices accept the current version, so a downloaded-up-to-date form avoids any question at the counter.

Do I still need the consent form if my teen takes the permit test online?

Yes. The online knowledge exam option changes where the test happens, not the consent requirement. The signed parental consent form still belongs in the document stack for the licensing visit.

Print the current form, get it notarized this week, and file it with the rest of the permit stack. The consent requirement is the easiest item to complete early and the most expensive one to discover missing at the counter.

Citations

• FLHSMV - Forms - https://www.flhsmv.gov/resources/forms/
• FLHSMV - Parental Consent for a Driver Application of a Minor (form) - https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/71142.pdf
• FLHSMV - Required Forms for Teens - https://www.flhsmv.gov/driver-licenses-id-cards/licensing-requirements-teens-graduated-driver-license-laws-driving-curfews/required-forms-teens/