Free North Carolina permit practice tests
North Carolina splits its exam in two and writes both bars into rule 19A NCAC 03B .0201: 80 percent on the knowledge questions, and a road sign examination graded on its own where a regular Class C applicant has to name 9 of 12 signs correctly.
- Questions
- 25
- Correct to pass
- 20 80% to pass; NCDMV publishes no question count
- Sign questions
- 9/12 required regardless of total
- Questions here
- 263 all free, all cited
Honest note: NCDMV does not publish the exam format in a place we could confirm, so the 25 question count and the pass mark of 20 shown here are our best information rather than a verified fact. The practice questions themselves teach North Carolina law either way. Confirm the format with North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles before your appointment.
Work through them in order.
The essentials
Start here. Five distinct sets drawn from across the whole bank, plus a marathon that keeps going until you have seen everything.
NC Practice Test 1
A broad first pass across signs, right of way, rules and safety.
NC Practice Test 2
A completely different set of questions from test 1.
NC Practice Test 3
More scenarios, no repeats from the first two tests.
NC Practice Test 4
Fresh questions again, weighted toward the tougher end.
NC Practice Test 5
The last of the five distinct sets in the essentials block.
NC Full Marathon
Every question in the bank, and anything you miss comes back later in the same run until you get it right.
Signs, signals and right of way
The two areas that fail the most people. Work through the sign tests until every shape and color is automatic, then handle the intersection scenarios.
NC Road Signs Mini
A ten question warm up on shapes, colors and the signs people mix up.
NC Road Signs Full
Every sign, signal and pavement marking question in the bank.
NC Right of Way
Intersections, four way stops, roundabouts, pedestrians and emergency vehicles.
NC Complex Situations
Only the questions rated hard. Short, unpleasant, and the fastest way to find your gaps.
The rules that get you fined
Speed, alcohol, phones, seat belts and the state specific limits that carry real penalties. These questions cite the statute so you learn the rule, not just the answer.
North Carolina Laws and Limits
Only the questions drawn from this state's own code: its limits, its penalties, its restrictions.
NC Alcohol, Phones and Safety
Impairment, distraction, seat belts, child restraints and sharing the road with trucks and bikes.
NC Rules of the Road
Speed, lane use, passing, parking, headlights and railroad crossings.
The exam simulator
The real thing: your state's exact question count and pass mark, scored the way the licensing agency scores it.
Your missed questions
Every question you get wrong anywhere on this site saves to a review deck on your own device. It comes back after a day, then three days, then a week, and retires once you have answered it correctly three times running. Open any test above and the review button appears as soon as the deck has something in it.
What the process looks like
- The Level One limited learner permit is for applicants at least 15 and under 18, and it requires a certificate showing 30 hours of classroom and six hours of behind the wheel driver education before you can sit the test.
- For the first six months on a Level One permit you may drive only between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. with your supervising driver. After six months you can drive at any hour, still supervised.
- A Level One permit must be held nine months, and the holder must keep a driving log covering at least 60 hours including 10 hours at night, before applying for the Level Two limited provisional license.
- Level Two drivers must be at least 16 and under 18, may drive unsupervised from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. plus trips directly to or from work or volunteer emergency service, and must hold the license six months before applying for the Level Three full provisional license.
- State rule spells out who faces the full examination: first time applicants, anyone whose North Carolina license expired more than two years ago, and anyone holding an out of state license expired more than two years.
Applicants who do not pass the knowledge test or the driving test for a regular Class C license may try again after seven calendar days.
The knowledge test is written from the North Carolina Motor Vehicle Laws, N.C. General Statutes Chapter 20, with driver licensing under the Uniform Driver's License Act in Article 2. 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.
How the North Carolina written test is scored and what happens at the North Carolina road test.
North Carolina permit test questions, answered
How many questions are on the North Carolina permit test?
NCDMV does not publish a count. The rule that defines the exam, 19A NCAC 03B .0201, sets the bar at 80 percent of the questions answered correctly but never says how many questions there are. The NCDMV driver license tests page, the North Carolina Driver Handbook and the NCDMV sample test questions page all leave the number out too, and that sample page is only nine illustrative questions, not the exam length. Driving schools in the state quote 25 questions, which at 80 percent works out to the 20 correct shown here, and the count is the unconfirmed half.
What score do I need to pass the NC knowledge test?
Eighty percent, and this figure is not folklore. It is written into 19A NCAC 03B .0201, the North Carolina administrative rule that defines the driver license examination, readopted on 1 November 2021. The rule fixes the share you must get right, not the number of questions you will see, so the percentage is the safe thing to plan around.
How does the North Carolina road sign test work?
It is graded separately from the knowledge test, and the same rule puts a number on it: an applicant for a regular Class C license must correctly identify 9 of 12 road signs. Class A and Class B applicants have to get every sign right.
What happens if I fail the NC permit test?
NCDMV says applicants who do not pass the knowledge test or the driving test for a regular Class C license may retake the test in seven calendar days.
How long do NC teens have to hold a learner permit?
A Level One limited learner permit must be held nine months, with a completed 60 hour driving log, before you can apply for the Level Two limited provisional license.
How long is a North Carolina Level One learner permit valid, and what does it cost?
It costs $25.50 to obtain, per NCDMV's licenses and fees page, and under N.C.G.S. 20-11 it stays valid until the holder's eighteenth birthday rather than expiring on a fixed schedule the way an adult license does.