Permit test by state: questions, pass mark and age

Drivoku is not connected to any state agency. We add a state only when we have read its agency’s own pages ourselves. Rules change, so check your state’s agency before test day.

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The permit (knowledge) test for a first learner’s permit, by state
State	Minimum permit age	Questions	To pass	Where you take it
Alabama	15	Not on the ALEA page we read	Not on the ALEA page we read	An ALEA written exam ($5 fee)
Arizona	15½	30	24 (80 percent)	At home with a parent as proctor (under 18), or at MVD
Arkansas	14	Not on the State Police pages we read	Not on the State Police pages we read	The Arkansas State Police, by appointment
California	15½	Not on the DMV pages we read	80 percent	A DMV office; in 2023 the DMV announced an online test
Colorado	15 in driver education, 15½ with a 4-hour course	Not on the DMV pages we read	Not on the DMV pages we read	A DMV office, online (@Home) or a driving school
Connecticut	16	25	20	Ten DMV offices, by appointment
Florida	15	50	40 (80 percent)	A driver license office, or online with an adult watching
Georgia	15	40: 20 signs and 20 rules	15 of 20 on each part	Any DDS Customer Service Center, walk-in
Illinois	15, in driver education	35: 15 on signs	28 (80 percent)	A Secretary of State facility
Indiana	15 in driver education, otherwise 16	Not on the BMV pages we read	80 percent on each part	A BMV branch
Iowa	14	25	20 (80 percent)	A DMV, a county treasurer, or at home with a parent
Kentucky	15	Not on the KYTC pages we read	80 percent	The Kentucky State Police, by appointment
Louisiana	15, after driver education	40	32 (80 percent)	Your driver education provider or the OMV
Maryland	15 years and 9 months	25	22 (88 percent)	The MVA
Michigan	14 years and 9 months (Level 1 learner’s license)	80 on the Segment 1 course exam for teens in Michigan driver education (40 at the office for out-of-state certificates)	70 percent on the Segment 1 exam	Your Segment 1 driver education course
Minnesota	15, in driver education	Not on the DVS pages we read	80 percent	A DVS exam station or an approved testing provider
Missouri	15	25	20 (80 percent)	A Highway Patrol examination station
Nevada	15½	Not on the DMV pages we read	Not on the DMV pages we read	Online, or a DMV office
New Jersey	16 (special learner’s permit)	50	40 (80 percent)	An MVC testing center by appointment, or your driving school at 16
New York	16	20	14, with 2 of the 4 sign questions	A DMV office, or online if you are under 18
North Carolina	15	Not on the NCDMV pages we read	Not on the NCDMV pages we read	A driver license office, with a parent or guardian, or another adult with their written consent
Ohio	15½	40	30 (75 percent)	Online, a driver exam station or some deputy registrars
Oklahoma	15 in driver education, otherwise 16	20	15	Online, or a Service Oklahoma location
Oregon	15	35	28	Online, or a DMV office
Pennsylvania	16	18	15	A Driver License Center
Tennessee	15	30 (online test)	80 percent	Online at 15 to 17 with a parent as proctor, or in person
Texas	15	Not published by DPS	70 percent	A DPS office, or your driver education provider
Utah	15	50	40 (80 percent)	A Driver License office, by appointment
Virginia	15 years and 6 months	40: 10 signs and 30 general	All 10 signs, and 24 of 30	A DMV customer service center, or some high schools
Washington	15 with driver training, otherwise 15½	40	32	A driver training school or testing location
Wisconsin	15, in driver education	65: a 15-question signs test and a 50-question knowledge test	12 and 40 (80 percent)	A DMV service center; the knowledge test also online at 15 to 17

Checked on November 3 and 4, 2026, on each state’s own pages; Texas on October 20, 2026. The sources are on each state’s page. To work out how many questions you can miss, use the pass mark checker.

What is the same in every state?

Signs, signals and markings. They follow one national standard, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), so a STOP sign or a yellow center line means the same everywhere. Start with US road sign shapes and colors and the road signs library.
Licensing in stages. All states and the District of Columbia have graduated driver licensing: a supervised permit, an intermediate license with limits, then a full license. Our guide to graduated driver licensing explains the three stages.
A knowledge test. Every state on this page has one, and in most of them you pass it before you get the permit. Most also need a parent or guardian to sign for a teen.

What changes from state to state: the number of questions and the pass mark, the minimum age, practice hours, night and passenger limits for new drivers, and many traffic laws. That is why the permit test guide tells you to read your state’s driver handbook.

Your state is not listed yet?

We add states only after reading their agencies’ own pages, so some large states are not here yet. Until yours is:

Find your state’s driver licensing agency. USA.gov has a list of every state’s motor vehicle agency, with links to their websites.
On its website, look up the same facts this page lists: the number of questions, the pass mark, the minimum age, where you can take the test (some states test online), the documents and the fee.
Download the state’s driver handbook. The test is written from it.
Practice the shared part with us. Our free permit practice test and road signs quiz cover the road rules and signs every state shares; your handbook covers your state’s own laws.

What Drivoku covers in every state

Our questions are our own, written from the national sign manual (MUTCD), NHTSA and the Uniform Vehicle Code, a model law many states’ rules follow, and checked against those sources. They cover rules and signs that apply in every state. Texas also has its own Texas practice test with Texas law questions; for other states we do not have state law questions yet. No state agency has reviewed our questions: how we write and check them.

Common questions

Is the permit test the same in every state?

No. Each state writes its own test from its own driver handbook. Signs, signals and markings follow one national standard, so they mean the same everywhere.

Which state has the fewest questions on the permit test?

Of the states we have checked that publish a number, Pennsylvania, with 18 questions and 15 needed to pass.

Which states let you take the permit test online?

Of the states on this page, Arizona (under 18), Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New York (under 18), Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee (15 to 17) and Wisconsin (the knowledge test, 15 to 17) offer an online or at-home test, and California announced one in 2023. Each has its own rules, such as a webcam or a parent as proctor.

What is the youngest age to get a learner’s permit?

14 in Arkansas and Iowa, and Michigan’s Level 1 learner’s license starts at 14 years and 9 months. Most of the states we have checked start at 15. Arizona, California, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia start at 15 and 6 months, Maryland at 15 and 9 months, and Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania at 16.

Sources

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