With a permit in CA you cannot ride at dark, on the freeway, or with passengers. My husband bought a bike (off Ebay sight unseen) with no permit and hadn't ridden a bike (dirt) since he was a kid. He immediately got a permit, but he drove the freeway to work and often at dark. Drove me crazy cause I'm a total rule follower plus I was afraid if he was breaking the law and was in an accident then our insurance would be void.
Anyway, he let his first permit expire before he got a license, then got another permit. His second permit was up for expiring and I finally set down the law and told him if he didn't have a license by x day, the bike would be on the front lawn with a FREE sign. It worked.