Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
Rhode Island CDL practice tests
How Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island
Rhode Island in particular
Rhode Island funnels every CDL skills test in the state through a single partner, the Community College of Rhode Island, instead of licensing a spread of private third-party testers the way most larger states do.
The written exams themselves are federal
Rhode Island 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
Rhode Island requires a commercial learner's permit to be held for at least 14 days before an applicant can sit the CDL skills test, and the permit must still be current on the day of testing.
RI DMV, Commercial Learner's Permit and Exams, checked Aug 28, 2026Fees
A Rhode Island CDL applicant pays a $12.50 application fee, $10 for each written exam, and $72.50 for the commercial learner's permit.
RI DMV, Commercial License Fees, checked Aug 28, 2026Where you test
The three-part CDL skills test, covering vehicle inspection, basic control, and the road test, is administered statewide through the Community College of Rhode Island rather than at DMV branches.
RI DMV, Commercial Skills Tests, checked Aug 28, 2026Rhode Island CDL written exams, in the federal format.
145 cited questions, free, with nothing to sign up for. The permit rules above are Rhode Island's. The knowledge is 49 CFR Part 383.