Farm kids in Oklahoma as young as 14 can apply for a special driver’s license later this year.

House Bill 1962 — authored by Rep. Carl Newton, R-Cherokee — allows 14 year-olds who live or work on a farm to apply for a Class D driver's license, but only drive under certain conditions. It was signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt earlier this month.

"Those who run family farms work from dawn to dusk to raise food and other crops to provide for families across the nation," Newton said in a news release. "Allowing these responsible teens to be a more effective part in meeting the needs on the farm by using their driving skills in work around the farm or driving to school will be a major benefit for family farms."

The permit allows the teens to drive a car to and from farm-related work. It also allows teens that live on a farm to drive to and from school on the most direct route from their home.

Teens under 16 will also be able to drive cars anywhere — except on an interstate or turnpike — as long as a licensed driver is sitting in the passenger seat, similar to an Oklahoma learner’s permit.

If a driver is 16, they pass a driver’s test and have had their permit for six months, the permit effectively becomes a full driver’s license.

Other states like Kansas have similar restricted licenses like the one Stitt signed off on. The new law goes into effect Nov. 1.

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