Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services Division
Minnesota permit test: 40 questions, 32 to pass
Original Minnesota questions with the law cited under every answer, scored the way DVS scores it.
- Exam Simulator40 questions, pass with 32, scored the way DVS scores it
- Practice Test 120 questions, a broad first pass across signs, right of way, rules and safety
- Road Signs Full197 questions, every sign, signal and pavement marking question
- Laws and Limits12 questions drawn from the Minn. Stat.
Work through them in order.
MN Practice Test 1
MN Practice Test 2
MN Practice Test 3
MN Practice Test 4
MN Practice Test 5
MN Full Marathon
MN Road Signs Mini
MN Road Signs Full
MN Right of Way
MN Complex Situations
Minnesota Laws and Limits
MN Alcohol, Phones and Safety
MN Rules of the Road
Minnesota Exam Simulator
Every question you miss saves to a review deck on this device. See how the review deck works.
Know the format before you book.
Minnesota is the state where the two numbers you most want live in two different documents and neither one is on the DVS website. The 80 percent pass mark is written into law at Minnesota Rules 7410.4760, a single sentence, and repeated in the Class D Driver's Manual. The 40 question length appears in neither, and had to be taken from the Office of the Legislative Auditor's 2021 evaluation of the state's driver examination stations, which records a knowledge test of 40 questions drawn from the manual. Together that is 32 correct and 8 misses. Even the subject list is fixed by rule rather than by an examiner, since Minnesota Rules 7410.4200 names highway signs, traffic laws, alcohol and drug effects, railroad crossings, slow moving vehicles, bicycle laws and safe driving practices. Minnesota also lets approved third party proctors, public libraries among them, run the class D test online for up to 10 dollars on a 40 minute clock, and it waives the written test entirely for new residents aged 21 and over holding a valid out of state license.
Format verified against Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, Driver Examination Stations evaluation report (2021), page 12 on 2026-08-28. Check the official page before you book, because states do change their rules.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, Driver Examination Stations evaluation report (2021), page 12, verified 2026-08-28
What the process looks like.
The knowledge test is written from the Minnesota Statutes. Our questions teach those same rules and cite the section behind each answer, so what you learn holds up on test day and on the road afterwards.
The first step is an instruction permit at 15, which is valid for two years and requires 30 hours of classroom instruction as part of an approved driver education course.
Anyone 18 or younger must hold the permit for at least six months before the road test. At 18 the wait is six months, and from 19 onward it drops to three months.
The provisional license needs the applicant to be at least 16, to have finished the classroom and behind-the-wheel parts of driver education, to have held the permit six months with no moving or alcohol convictions, and to submit a supervised driving log.
That log must show 50 hours of supervised driving with 15 at night, or 40 hours with 15 at night if a parent or guardian completes the supplemental parent class.
For the first six months of the provisional license, driving is barred from midnight to 5 a.m. apart from listed exceptions, and only one passenger under 20 is allowed. The limit rises to three passengers under 20 for the second six months, and immediate family members do not count.
Minnesota Rules 7410.4780 allows any knowledge test to be attempted only once a day, with at least one calendar day between attempts. The Driver's Manual adds that after two failures in a row the third attempt and every one after it carries a 10 dollar fee.
Minnesota permit test questions, answered.
How many questions are on the Minnesota DVS knowledge test?
40. The number does not appear on the DVS licensing pages or in the Driver's Manual, which is why it is so often guessed at. It is stated plainly in a Minnesota state publication instead: the Office of the Legislative Auditor's 2021 evaluation of Driver Examination Stations records that a knowledge test is made up of 40 questions drawn from the Minnesota Driver's Manual, citing the manual itself as its source.
What score do I need to pass the Minnesota permit test?
80 percent, so 32 of the 40 questions. In Minnesota the threshold is not a guideline but a rule. Minnesota Rules 7410.4760 is one sentence long and says a knowledge test is passed with a score of at least 80 percent, and the May 2025 Driver's Manual repeats the same figure.
How long do I get for the Minnesota knowledge test?
40 minutes for the online version. The agreement DVS signs with businesses that run web-based class D testing tells them to make sure every test taker knows about that 40 minute limit before starting. Do not confuse it with the 40 questions, which is a separate number that happens to match.
What happens if I fail the Minnesota written test?
You wait until the next day. Minnesota Rules 7410.4780 limits you to one attempt at any knowledge test per day, with a minimum gap of one calendar day. Money comes into it on the third try: the manual says failing twice in a row means a 10 dollar fee for the third attempt and every attempt after that.
What does the Minnesota knowledge test actually cover?
The subject list is fixed by rule rather than left to the examiner. Minnesota Rules 7410.4200 requires the exam to test highway signs, Minnesota traffic laws, the effects of alcohol and drugs on driving along with the legal and financial penalties, railroad grade crossing safety, slow moving vehicle safety, bicycle related traffic laws, and safe driving practices.
Can I take the Minnesota knowledge test outside a DVS exam station?
Yes. Alongside DVS exam stations, Minnesota approves third party proctors, mostly deputy registrars, license bureaus, libraries and driver education programs, to run the class D test online. Proctors may charge up to 10 dollars for it, can test between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and may supervise no more than 10 test takers at once. Appointments are required for the class D test at DVS stations, which do not take walk-ins for it.
Do I need the written test if I move to Minnesota with an out-of-state license?
Not if you are 21 or older and hold a valid, unexpired license from another state. Minnesota dropped the written test requirement for those new residents, and the waiver also covers a valid two-wheeled endorsement from another state.