How the knowledge test works

Before a state gives you a learner permit or a first license, it checks that you know its traffic laws and road signs. That check is the knowledge test, also called the written test or permit test.

Who sets it

Each state sets its own test, based on its own driver handbook. There is no national test. The agency has different names: Department of Motor Vehicles in California and Virginia, Driver and Motor Vehicle Services in Oregon, and others elsewhere.

What the three handbooks say

California. The handbook says that when you apply for an original driver's license you must pass a knowledge test with multiple choice questions, that you are allowed three attempts before you must reapply, and that minors must wait seven days to retake a failed knowledge test. The number of questions and the pass mark are not in the sections we read, so they are not stated here; check dmv.ca.gov.
Virginia. The manual describes a two-part knowledge exam. Part one has ten traffic sign questions, and you must answer all ten correctly before you can take part two. Part two tests general knowledge with multiple choice questions, and you must answer at least 80 percent correctly. If you fail and are under 18, the manual says that by law you must wait a full 15 days before retaking it.
Oregon. The manual says the knowledge test can be taken online through DMV2U or at a DMV office, where it is given on a touch-screen monitor and is available in several languages. We did not capture the number of questions and the pass mark from the manual, so they are not stated here; read the testing section of the manual.

These were read on 12 November 2026. Number of questions, pass mark, fee, languages and waiting periods are set by each state and change; take them from the official site.

What is tested

Every handbook covers the same ground, and tests draw on all of it:

Traffic signals, signs and pavement markings.
Right-of-way: at intersections, for pedestrians, emergency vehicles and school buses.
Speed limits and safe speed.
Turning, passing, lane use and parking.
Following distance and stopping.
Alcohol, drugs and the penalties.
Sharing the road with bicycles, motorcycles and large trucks.
Driving at night and in bad weather.

Signs come first

Virginia's arrangement shows how much weight signs carry: all ten sign questions must be right before the rest of the exam is even offered. Whatever your state, learn the shapes and colours of signs from the handbook pictures until you can name each at a glance. Our questions do not include sign pictures.

If you fail

States allow retakes, with limits. California's handbook allows three attempts before you must reapply, and makes minors wait seven days. Virginia's makes those under 18 wait a full 15 days. Check your state's rule and any fee for a retake.

After the knowledge test

Passing it leads to a permit or to the next step, which is usually a vision check and a behind-the-wheel driving test. Requirements for documents, age, supervised driving hours and insurance are in each handbook and on the official site.

How to study the driver handbook Practice test

Independent practice site. DMV Practice is not a government website and is not connected with any Department of Motor Vehicles or licensing agency. The questions are our own, written from each state's public driver handbook as we read it on 12 November 2026. They are not the official test questions. Laws change: the current handbook of your own state is the authority.