California written test: 38 of 46, three tries per fee

The California DMV sets the knowledge test at 46 questions with 38 correct to pass for applicants under 18, and at 36 questions with 30 correct for applicants 18 and older. Both work out near 83 percent, but the practical difference is the margin: eight wrong answers on the teen exam against six on the adult one. The adult exam is not a different syllabus. It draws on the same California Vehicle Code material, so the study is identical and only the paper in front of you changes. Every question is multiple choice with exactly one correct answer, which means there is no partial credit and no separate road sign section to clear before the rest of the exam counts.

California charges for the application rather than for each sitting. The $46 driver license application fee covers three attempts at the knowledge test and at the behind the wheel test, so a second or third try at the written exam does not mean a second or third $46. Use all three attempts on one application and the application is finished: you reapply and pay the fee again before testing further. That structure rewards booking the test when you are actually ready, because the cost of a careless first attempt is not the money but one of only three chances attached to the application you already paid for.