What's on the test
The questions come from the North Carolina Driver Handbook. They cover these areas; each links to free practice questions on it:
- Signs, signals & markingsTraffic signals, flashing arrows, sign shapes and colors, and pavement markings.
- Rules of the roadSpeed, curves, turns, following, passing, parking, railroads and roundabouts.
- Sharing the roadPedestrians, school buses, emergency vehicles, bikes, trucks and motorcycles.
- Safe driving & conditionsScanning, work zones, night, rain, fog, snow, emergencies and crashes.
- Alcohol, points & penaltiesDWI laws, young drivers and alcohol, license points and suspensions.
- Permits & licensesGraduated licensing, tests, renewals, IDs and vehicle registration.
A study plan in five steps
Read the North Carolina Driver Handbook
Everything on the test is in it. Read it chapter by chapter, slowly, and come back to the parts you find hard:
- Your License
- Alcohol and the Law
- Your Driving Privilege
- Your Driving: Safety, Belts, Pedestrians, School Buses and Emergency Vehicles
- Your Driving: Basic Skills and Rules
- Your Driving: Defensive and Hazardous Driving, Emergencies and Crashes
- Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings
- Sharing the Road
- How DMV Serves You
Practice one topic at a time
After each chapter, practice that topic. You see the right answer and why straight away, with the handbook page to reread.
Learn the road signs
Signs are quick points once you know them by shape and color. Study the signs one at a time, then test yourself on 20. North Carolina also gives a separate road sign test, so they matter twice.
Fix your weak spots
Your practice results are saved on your device. Practice my weak spots builds a round from the topics you miss most.
Take the full practice exam
The full exam works like the real one: 25 questions, 20 to pass, no answers until the end. Keep going until you pass comfortably several times in a row, then review every question you missed.
Before test day
Separate tests
For a license you're tested on vision, traffic signs and knowledge of driving laws, and each test must be passed on its own. (North Carolina Driver Handbook, p. 8–9)
Permit at 15
After driver education (30 hours of class and 6 behind the wheel), teens 15 to 17 can get a Level One Limited Learner Permit. (North Carolina Driver Handbook, p. 12)
60 hours of practice
Learner permit holders log at least 60 hours of supervised driving, 10 of them at night, and hold the permit for nine months. (North Carolina Driver Handbook, p. 12)
No phones under 18
Drivers under 18 may not use a cell phone at all while driving, except to call for emergencies or reach a parent or spouse. (North Carolina Driver Handbook, p. 12–14)
Points and suspensions
12 points in three years can suspend your license; 7 points may send you to a driver improvement clinic. (North Carolina Driver Handbook, p. 34)
School bus rules
On two-lane roads and four-lane roads without a median, traffic in both directions stops for a school bus. (North Carolina Driver Handbook, p. 47–48)
More answers: North Carolina permit test FAQ. Applying for the first time? How to get your North Carolina permit.
This guide is a free study aid, not the official test. Rules and fees can change: always check the current North Carolina Driver Handbook and the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) before your test.Page numbers are the ones printed on the handbook pages; tap one to open the official PDF at that page. A PDF viewer counts the cover too, so its page numbers run 2 higher.