All exams/North Carolina DMV Permit/Free questions
North Carolina DMV Permit practice questions and answers
20 free questions from our 300-question North Carolina DMV Permit bank, each with the correct answer, explanation, and source note. Official format: 25 questions · 20 correct (80%) to pass · signs tested separately (9 of 12).
Alcohol drugs
1. In North Carolina, the per se DWI blood alcohol limit for drivers 21 and older is:
Answer: A. At 0.08% BAC or higher, a driver 21 or older is per se guilty of driving while impaired — no other proof of impairment needed. Lower levels still support charges when ability is impaired. Because impairment begins with the first drink, the only safe choice is a sober ride planned ahead.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Alcohol and Drugs — DWI law
Intersections turns
2. At an all-way stop, if two vehicles arrive at the same time, who goes first?
Answer: B. When arrival is simultaneous at an all-way stop, the driver on the right has the right-of-way. Size, impatience, and signaling do not change that rule. If you arrived clearly first, you proceed first. Take turns visibly and never assume the other driver will yield correctly.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Intersections — All-way stops
Licensing gdl
3. North Carolinians may apply for a limited learner permit (Level 1) starting at age:
Answer: B. At fifteen, teens enter Level 1 of graduated licensing — knowledge, sign, and vision tests plus driver education open supervised practice. Adults eighteen and older apply for the regular learner permit in person. Age opens the door; passing all three tests walks through it.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Licensing — Learner permits
Parking
4. When parking downhill next to a curb, you should turn your front wheels:
Answer: C. Park downhill with the front wheels turned toward the curb so a rolling vehicle is caught by the curb rather than rolling into traffic. Uphill with a curb, angle them away so a rollback wedges the tire. Always set the parking brake — Asheville's grades punish every skipped step.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Parking — Hills
Passing schoolbus
5. Before passing on a two-lane road, you must be sure:
Answer: C. Legal passing needs all three: a permitted zone, full sight distance past hills and curves, and room to complete the pass and return before oncoming conflict. Signal, pass decisively without exceeding the limit, and return only when safely clear with room to spare. Blind hills, curves, shoulders and stopped school buses forbid passing outright.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Passing — How to pass
Road signs
6. An octagonal red sign always means what?
Answer: A. An octagon is reserved for one meaning: stop. Bring the vehicle to a complete halt at the limit line or before entering the intersection, then proceed only when safe. North Carolina's sign test asks you to identify signs by color and shape — the octagon's outline alone answers before the legend resolves.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Traffic Signs — Regulatory signs
Sharing road
7. A school bus with flashing red lights is stopped ahead on an undivided road. You must:
Answer: B. When reds flash and the mechanical stop signal extends for boarding, every approaching driver must stop and wait until the signal withdraws, the lights turn off and the bus starts moving. On two-lane roads both directions halt; wider roads follow the handbook's lane scenarios. Children dart around stopped buses — early rolling gambles with small lives.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Sharing the Road — School buses
Special conditions
8. When you see a flagger paddle showing SLOW/STOP in a work zone, you must:
Answer: B. Flaggers replace signal heads with human control: watch the paddle, stop or proceed exactly as directed. Fines for speeding in North Carolina work zones are increased. Their authority keeps crews alive where lights are not installed — compliance is never optional.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Special Conditions — Work zones
Speed space
9. North Carolina defaults to 55 mph outside municipalities unless posted, and drivers must:
Answer: D. Fifty-five is the rural default for ideal conditions — rain, fog, congestion, and work zones all demand slower speeds, and cities post lower limits. The limit caps speed; conditions dictate the safe one. Municipal 35 mph zones and school zones override the default wherever they appear.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Speed Limits — Maximums and conditions
Traffic signals markings
10. A steady yellow traffic light means:
Answer: A. Yellow warns the green phase is ending: stop if you can do so safely, and proceed only when stopping would be unsafe or you already entered. It is not an extension of green. Racing yellows trains you into red-light running, and the seconds saved never justify the angle-crash risk.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Traffic Signals — Signal meanings
Alcohol drugs
11. A North Carolina driver under 21 with any measurable alcohol faces:
Answer: B. North Carolina holds under-21 drivers to any measurable alcohol or drugs — conviction revokes the license for one full year. At 0.08% young drivers face regular DWI charges on top. For young drivers any substance plus a car means losing the privilege to drive; inexperience and impairment combine lethally at any dose.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Alcohol and Drugs — Under-21 rules
Intersections turns
12. Before turning left at a green light, you should:
Answer: C. A left turn is allowed only when you can complete it without conflicting with oncoming vehicles, cyclists, or pedestrians. Signal early, position safely, wait for a clear gap, and never assume oncoming traffic will slow. A green light permits the turn but gives no priority over those lawfully in the intersection.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Turning — Left turns
Licensing gdl
13. Before a Level 2 provisional license, the driving log must show at least:
Answer: D. Sixty supervised hours with ten after dark — logged trip by trip and signed by the supervising driver — gate the Level 2 provisional license. Daylight means sunrise to sunset; night means after sunset without daylight. Fabricated logs endanger the logger first: the hours build the judgment solo driving demands.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Licensing — Driving logs
Parking
14. Before opening your door into traffic after parking, you must:
Answer: D. Dooring injures cyclists and motorcyclists who cannot anticipate a sudden steel wall. Shoulder-check before every traffic-side exit, open slowly, and step out only when clear. Your door's swing is your responsibility — a moment's check prevents injuries no apology can undo.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Parking — Entering and exiting
Passing schoolbus
15. When being passed by another vehicle, you should:
Answer: B. Help the passer complete safely: maintain or ease speed, hold your lane right, and never accelerate to block. Competing with a passing car creates a three-wide disaster with oncoming traffic. Courtesy here is survival — the pass ends quickest when you cooperate.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Passing — Being passed
Road signs
16. A sign shaped like an inverted triangle (point down) tells you to:
Answer: C. The upside-down triangle is the yield sign. Slow down, give the right-of-way to vehicles and pedestrians in or approaching the intersection, and stop only if needed. NCDMV's sign test keys on exactly this shape-color-meaning link, so learn the triangle as yield without hesitation.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Traffic Signs — Regulatory signs
Sharing road
17. When passing a cyclist with no bike lane, you should:
Answer: D. Cyclists hold the same lane rights as motor vehicles, and North Carolina requires passing with at least two feet to the left — more at higher speeds. Pass only with generous clearance, signal, and return without cutting back sharply. Mountain and coastal routes demand extra patience where shoulders vanish entirely.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Sharing the Road — Bicycles
Special conditions
18. If your vehicle begins to hydroplane, you should:
Answer: A. Hydroplaning means tires ride on water, not pavement: at 30 mph in barely an eighth of an inch of water the grip can already vanish. Release the accelerator gently, keep the wheel straight, resist the brakes, and let momentum decay until the tires bite again. Sudden inputs spin the car once tires reconnect — prevention means slowing before standing water.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Special Conditions — Rain
Speed space
19. Posted school-zone limits in North Carolina apply:
Answer: B. Reduced school-zone limits activate during posted hours — slow early so you reach the limit before the zone, scan both sides continuously, and never pass a vehicle stopped for children. The lower number reflects small pedestrians with short sightlines and zero traffic judgment. School beacons mark the active periods unmistakably.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Speed Limits — School zones
Traffic signals markings
20. A solid yellow center line on your side generally means:
Answer: C. A solid yellow line on your side restricts crossing to pass; double solid yellow prohibits passing for both directions. A broken yellow on your side allows passing only when safe. Yellow divides opposing flows while white divides same-direction lanes — color grammar every driver must read.
Source: NC Driver Handbook — Pavement Markings — Center lines
That’s the free set. The full bank has 300.
More original practice questions across the listed topics, a 25-question timed benchmark, and saved mistake review. Published NCDMV standard: 80% to pass, plus a separate road-signs test where you must identify at least 9 of 12 signs. NCDMV does not publish the question count; 25 is the commonly reported figure. One payment of $8.99, yours forever.