Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles
Nevada CDL practice tests
How Nevada 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 Nevada 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 Nevada
Nevada in particular
Nevada concentrates its own skills testing in just four offices out of thirteen CDL locations statewide, so most of this large, sparsely populated state depends on a third party certifier rather than the DMV to actually administer the drive test.
The written exams themselves are federal
Nevada 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
Nevada issues the commercial learner permit for 180 days and requires an applicant to hold it at least 14 days before the skills test can be scheduled.
Nevada DMV, Commercial Learner Permits, checked Aug 28, 2026Fees
Issuing a commercial learner permit costs $141.50, the same transaction fee charged for an original CDL that requires both knowledge and skills testing.
Nevada DMV, CDL Offices and Fees, checked Aug 28, 2026Where you test
Only four Nevada DMV offices, in Elko, Winnemucca, Reno, and North Las Vegas, administer the driving skills test, and applicants elsewhere in the state typically test through an authorized third party certifier or school instead.
Nevada DMV, CDL Offices and Fees, checked Aug 28, 2026Nevada CDL written exams, in the federal format.
145 cited questions, free, with nothing to sign up for. The permit rules above are Nevada's. The knowledge is 49 CFR Part 383.