Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles
Kansas CDL practice tests
How Kansas handles the commercial learner permit, the fees and the skills test.
- General Knowledge24 questions, required of every applicant
- Air Brakes20 questions, skip it and an L restriction applies
- Combination Vehicles18 questions, needed for Class A
- Hazardous Materials20 questions, endorsement H
- Tank Vehicles16 questions, endorsement N
Every knowledge area
The 145 questions are the same in every state. Start with general knowledge, then sit the areas Kansas will write onto the permit.
General Knowledge
Required of every applicant: inspection, control, space and speed management, hazard perception, emergencies and hours of service.
Air Brakes
Air brake knowledge and vehicle checks for applicants who may drive vehicles with air brakes.
Combination Vehicles
Coupling, the fifth wheel, off tracking and trailer swing. Needed for Class A.
Hazardous Materials
Placards, shipping papers, segregation and the security threat assessment.
Tank Vehicles
Liquid surge, baffles, outage and why a tanker rolls over so readily.
Doubles and Triples
Rearward amplification, converter dollies and coupling a second or third trailer.
Passenger Transport
Bus inspection, standee lines, passenger supervision and railroad crossings.
School Bus
Danger zones, loading and unloading, student crossing and evacuation.
What is different in Kansas
Kansas in particular
Kansas skips third party CDL examiners altogether and instead staffs a small dedicated network of state run skills testing offices in towns like Colby, Phillipsburg, and Seneca, a footprint built around covering rural counties rather than metro centers.
The written exams themselves are federal
Kansas decides the permit rules, the fees and who runs the skills test, but the knowledge you are tested on comes from 49 CFR Part 383 and is the same in every state, which is why the 145 questions here work wherever you apply.
What changes in this state
Commercial learner permit
Kansas requires an applicant to hold the commercial learner permit for at least 14 days before the skills exam, and state rule allows a CLP to stay valid for up to one year from the date it was first issued.
Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles, Commercial Driver's License, checked Aug 28, 2026Fees
A commercial learner permit costs $13 including the photo fee, and the CDL skills exam itself costs $15, with a $1.50 fee for a retest.
Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles, checked Aug 28, 2026Where you test
Kansas runs its own network of dedicated CDL skills testing offices in cities such as Chanute, Colby, Dodge City, Garden City, Hays, Phillipsburg, Salina, Seneca, Topeka, and Wichita, and testing is by appointment only.
Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles, Commercial Driver's License Skills Testing Offices, checked Aug 28, 2026Kansas CDL written exams, in the federal format.
145 cited questions, free, with nothing to sign up for. The permit rules above are Kansas's. The knowledge is 49 CFR Part 383.