What's on the test
The questions come from the Rhode Island Driver's Manual. They cover these areas; each links to free practice questions on it:
- Signals, markings & roundaboutsTraffic lights and arrows, hand signals, lane lines, special lanes and rotaries.
- Turns, passing & parkingSeat belts, stopping distance, turns, turnabouts, parking and passing.
- Sharing the roadMotorcycles, trucks, pedestrians, school buses, bicyclists and night driving.
- Emergencies & defensive drivingSkids, brake failure, blowouts, winter, following distance, work zones.
- DUI, phones & distractionsDistracted and drowsy driving, road rage, alcohol, drugs and DUI penalties.
- Permits, crashes & police stopsThe graduated license, collisions and being stopped by the police.
A study plan in five steps
Read the Rhode Island Driver's Manual
Everything on the test is in it. Read it chapter by chapter, slowly, and come back to the parts you find hard:
- Applying for a License
- Distractions, Drowsiness and Emotions
- Basic Skills: Seat Belts, Stopping, Turns and Turnabouts
- Basic Skills: Parking, Passing, Highways and Phones
- Signals and Roadway Markings
- Driving Emergencies
- Motorcycles
- Safe, Courteous and Defensive Driving
- Sharing the Road Safely
- Laws You Must Know
- Drinking, Drugs and Driving
- In Case of a Collision
- When Stopped by a Law Enforcement Officer
- Equipment You Must Inspect
- Appendices: Vehicle Laws, Work Zones and Renewals
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.
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: 40 questions, 28 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
Driver education first
Under 18, you complete a 33-hour classroom driver education course and pass the computerized knowledge exam before you get a limited learner permit at 16. (Rhode Island Driver's Manual, p. 10)
40 questions on a computer
The knowledge exam has 40 multiple-choice questions and a 90-minute limit. Students who took driver education at CCRI can take it through the college. (Rhode Island Driver's Manual, p. 10)
A supervisor 21 or older
On a limited learner permit, a driver who is at least 21 and has been licensed for 5 years sits beside you, and nobody else rides in the front seat. (Rhode Island Driver's Manual, p. 11)
6 months and 50 hours
Hold the permit at least 6 months with no moving or seat belt violations and log 50 hours of supervised driving (10 at night) before the provisional license. (Rhode Island Driver's Manual, p. 12)
No driving alone 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.
With a provisional license you may not drive unsupervised between 1 and 5 a.m. (work, volunteer fire or rescue duty and some school sports trips excepted), and for 12 months only one passenger under 21 who isn't family. (Rhode Island Driver's Manual, p. 14)
No phone at all under 18
Drivers under 18 may not use a cell phone while driving, not even hands-free, except in an emergency. Texting while driving is banned at every age. (Rhode Island Driver's Manual, p. 36–37)
More answers: Rhode Island permit test FAQ. Applying for the first time? How to get your Rhode Island permit.
This guide is a free study aid, not the official test. Rules and fees can change: always check the current Rhode Island Driver's Manual and the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Department of Revenue before your test.Page numbers are the ones printed on the handbook pages; tap one to open the official PDF at that page.