US DMV permit tests · Learn · 2 November 2026 · 6 min read

Permit test questions and pass marks for 42 states from official DMV pages: 18 to 50 questions, pass marks from 70% to 100%, and where none is published.

How many questions are on the permit test, and how many do you need right? It depends on your state. Pennsylvania asks 18 questions and Florida 50. Texas accepts 70 percent, Maryland asks for 88 percent, and Virginia wants every one of its 10 sign questions right. Sixteen of the 42 states we cover publish a single pass mark of exactly 80 percent, four more use 80 percent on at least one part, and nine publish no pass mark at all.

The table below gives what each state's official DMV pages or handbook say. Where the state does not publish a figure, we say "not published" rather than repeat a number from an unofficial site. Our own practice sets use the official figure where there is one, and a sensible practice size (usually 80 percent) where there is not.

Pass marks, state by state

States not in the table (for example Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee) are not yet covered on Fable Tests.

What the table tells you

80 percent is the common bar. Sixteen states publish a single 80 percent mark, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina and Wisconsin use it on at least one part, and Delaware and Pennsylvania sit just above it. If you can score 80 percent comfortably, you are at or above the line in most states.

Some states are stricter. Maryland (88 percent) and Idaho (85 percent, or no more than 6 wrong out of 40) leave less room. Virginia's sign section is the strictest of all: you must answer all 10 sign questions correctly before you move on to the general knowledge questions.

Some states are more forgiving. Texas and New Mexico accept 70 percent, New York 14 of 20, Massachusetts 18 of 25 (72 percent), Oklahoma 15 of 20 (75 percent) and West Virginia 19 of 25 (76 percent). On New York's 20 questions that still means no more than 6 mistakes, and on Oklahoma's 20 no more than 5, so do not treat a lower bar as an easy test.

Separate parts mean separate passes. In Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin, signs and rules are tested or scored apart, so a strong score on one does not make up for a weak score on the other. New York uses one test but adds its own condition: at least 2 of the 4 road-sign questions must be correct.

Utah depends on your history. Applicants who have never been licensed take a closed-book 50-question test. Previously licensed applicants take an open-book 25-question test.

Why some states publish nothing

Several states describe the test without giving a number. Alabama's Graduated Driver License page says only that a Stage I applicant must receive a passing grade. Michigan says outright that it does not publish the passing score. Arkansas does not give a total, but its State Police testing instructions say you need 20 correct answers. California gives the 80 percent rule without a question count, and Iowa's practice test page says 80 percent is needed to pass.

Where the state is silent, our practice sets use 80 percent as our own standard, and each state page says so. It is a target for practice, not an official figure.

How to use this

1. Find your row, then open your state page for the full facts box with sources and dates.
2. Set your practice target above the official bar. If the bar is 80 percent, aim for 90 percent on practice tests. If the bar is 70 percent, still aim for 85 or 90.
3. Check for separate parts. If your state scores signs separately, practice them separately too: see states with a separate road signs test and our road signs practice tests.
4. Take a first test now, for example New York practice test 1 or Florida practice test 1, to see where you stand.
5. Read how the test works in How the DMV permit test works.

Pass marks and question counts can change when a state updates its handbook or website, so check your state's official page before test day.

Sources: the official DMV, MVD, BMV, RMV, MVA, Secretary of State or Department of Public Safety pages and driver handbooks for each state, as listed with links in the facts box on each Fable Tests state page; checked 1 November 2026.