An instrument applicant must have 40 hours of actual or simulated time. Can some of this be flown without an instructor?
The 25 hours that are not required to be "instrument instruction" may be flown under the hood with a safety pilot. This is the usual way to accumulate some of the simulated instrument time.

I believe this time may also be flown &amp; logged in actual IMC with an instrument rated pilot acting as PIC (their name on the flight plan, etc.) and the instrument student acting as sole manipulator of the controls, but you may prefer to conduct your actual IMC practice with an instructor.