All exams/Hardest permit test states
Hardest permit test states, ranked by pass mark and misses allowed
Maryland sets the highest bar at 88%, and Maryland and Pennsylvania let you miss only 3 questions. Here are 36 states ranked by how strict the written permit test is, using only numbers each state agency publishes.
Ranked by pass mark
| Rank | State | Pass mark | Correct needed | Can miss | Signs scored separately |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | 88% | 22 of 25 | 3 | No |
| 2 | Idaho | 85% | 34 of 40 | 6 | No |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | 83% | 15 of 18 | 3 | No |
| 3 | California | 83% | 38 of 46 | 8 | No |
| 4 | Delaware | 81% | 26 of 32 | 6 | No |
| 5 | Vermont | 80% | 16 of 20 | 4 | No |
| 5 | Connecticut | 80% | 20 of 25 | 5 | No |
| 5 | Missouri | 80% | 20 of 25 | 5 | Yes |
| 5 | Nevada | 80% | 20 of 25 | 5 | No |
| 5 | Arizona | 80% | 24 of 30 | 6 | No |
| 5 | Maine | 80% | 24 of 30 | 6 | No |
| 5 | Tennessee | 80% | 24 of 30 | 6 | No |
| 5 | Oregon | 80% | 28 of 35 | 7 | No |
| 5 | Washington | 80% | 32 of 40 | 8 | No |
| 5 | Florida | 80% | 40 of 50 | 10 | No |
| 5 | New Jersey | 80% | 40 of 50 | 10 | No |
| 5 | Wisconsin | 80% | 40 of 50 | 10 | No |
| 5 | Colorado | 80% | — | — | No |
| 5 | Indiana | 80% | — | — | Yes |
| 5 | Iowa | 80% | — | — | No |
| 5 | Kentucky | 80% | — | — | No |
| 5 | Louisiana | 80% | — | — | No |
| 5 | Minnesota | 80% | — | — | No |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 80% | — | — | No |
| 5 | North Carolina | 80% | — | — | Yes |
| 5 | South Carolina | 80% | — | — | No |
| 5 | South Dakota | 80% | — | — | No |
| 5 | Virginia | 80% | — | — | Yes |
| 6 | West Virginia | 76% | 19 of 25 | 6 | No |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 75% | 15 of 20 | 5 | No |
| 7 | Georgia | 75% | 30 of 40 | 10 | Yes |
| 7 | Ohio | 75% | 30 of 40 | 10 | No |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 72% | 18 of 25 | 7 | No |
| 9 | New York | 70% | 14 of 20 | 6 | Yes |
| 9 | Texas | 70% | 21 of 30 | 9 | No |
| 9 | New Mexico | 70% | — | — | No |
Fewest questions you can miss
Where an agency publishes both the number of questions and the number to pass, the misses you can afford are a plainer measure than the percentage:
- Maryland: 3 of 25 (88% to pass)
- Pennsylvania: 3 of 18 (83% to pass)
- Vermont: 4 of 20 (80% to pass)
- Connecticut: 5 of 25 (80% to pass)
- Missouri: 5 of 25 (80% to pass)
- Nevada: 5 of 25 (80% to pass)
What else makes a permit test hard
- Road signs can fail you on their own. New York, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia, Indiana, and Missouri score road signs separately, so a strong overall score can still fail. New York needs at least 2 of its 4 sign questions right; Virginia makes you answer all 10 sign questions correctly before the rest of the test opens.
- A short test leaves little room. Pennsylvania’s 18 questions allow 3 misses, fewer than tests with 50 questions.
- Retakes cost time or money in some states. See the retake rules by state.
States we could not rank
Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, and Utah do not publish a pass mark for the written permit test, so they are left out rather than guessed. See the permit test by state table for what each does publish.
How we ranked them
We ranked only what state agencies publish: the pass mark first, then the number of questions you can miss. We did not use first-time pass rates because agencies do not publish them for the written permit test, and we did not judge how difficult the questions are. A state with a lower bar can still be hard if its questions are tricky, and the reverse.
Preparing? Practise for your state with free questions written from your state’s manual, each with the answer, an explanation and the manual section it comes from.