Montana written test scoring: 23 of 30, one attempt a day

The Administrative Rules of Montana 23.3.121 sets the written test scoring and never sets a question count. The maximum score for each written test is 100 percent. A wrong answer costs 5 points on the operator rules test, which has a minimum passing score of 75. A wrong answer costs 10 points on the signs test, which has a minimum passing score of 80. On the combined operator and signs test, 7 or fewer wrong answers is a pass, and that is the figure worth carrying into the exam room. The rule dates from 1983 and still names a chauffeur rules test Montana no longer issues, so treat it as the scoring authority rather than a description of the modern screen. The 82 percent figure circulating on prep sites appears in no Montana rule and in no edition of the Driver Manual.

ARM 23.3.126 allows a written examination only once a day, and a road test only once every seven days. Behind both sits a harder limit: a driver license receipt is valid for one year and allows three attempts inside that year to pass all the required exams. Receipts cannot be renewed, so running out of attempts or running out of the year means starting the whole application over rather than simply booking again. Fees are modest by comparison, with any Class D basic license or learner license listed at 5 dollars per year of validity plus a 3 percent administrative fee applied to all Motor Vehicle Division transactions.

The same rule that sets the scoring also sets the alternative format. ARM 23.3.121 tells the examiner to read out the questions on the road rules test and to have the applicant identify the signs on the sign test, so an applicant who cannot read the exam is examined out loud instead of being turned away. The rule is equally direct on the other side: anyone observed cheating is disqualified from that portion of the examination on the spot.