Permit tests by state/Pennsylvania
PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services · knowledge test · free practice
Pennsylvania DMV Permit Practice Test
- RetakeWait 1 day
- Free here20 questions, no signup
This free PA DMV permit practice test covers the 18-question PennDOT knowledge test (15 correct to pass), with questions written from the PennDOT Driver's Manual (PUB 95).
How many questions are on the Pennsylvania permit test, and what score passes?
The Pennsylvania DMV Permit test has 18 questions. You need 15 correct (83%) to pass, so you can miss 3 questions.
Gauges
What the Pennsylvania permit test covers
Each gauge is one topic's share of the 300 questions in this bank, written from the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual. Tap one to read its free questions.
The largest topics in the bank
How strict is Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania asks for 83%. The average of the 36 states that publish a pass mark is 79%; 32 states ask for less.
- Lowest
- 70% New Mexico
- Average
- 79% 36 states
- Highest
- 88% Maryland
From each state agency’s own page; every state’s format.
Warning lights
Pennsylvania permit test rules that fail people
What PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services says ends an attempt.
18 multiple-choice questions; 15 correct to pass — you can miss only 3.
Route planner
How to pass the Pennsylvania permit test
A study plan built from the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual and the test's own rules, in the order to do it.
Learn the numbers the manual tests: 4-second following gap, 70 mph maximum, 15 mph school zones, 300 ft to signal
Know the PA school-bus rule: stop at least 10 ft away until the reds stop, the arm folds and children are safe — the far side of a divided highway is the only exception
Practice 18-question sets until you score 17+ twice in a row — the real test allows only 3 misses
Read every sign by shape and color: octagon stops, pennants mark no-passing zones, orange means a work zone with doubled fines
Pennsylvania numbers the test asks about
- Speed limits70 mphMaximum speed limit in PennsylvaniaChapter 3 — Speed Limits
- Distances4 secondsFollowing distance on dry pavement — 5 to 6 seconds on wet roadsChapter 3 — Space Cushion; Road Conditions
- Parking12 inchesPark no farther than this from the curbChapter 3 — Parking
- Alcohol.08DUI blood alcohol level for drivers 21 and olderChapter 4 — Alcohol and the Law
- Speed limits15 mphSchool zone while the yellow lights flash or during posted timesChapter 2 — School Zone Signals
- Distances100 / 300 feetSignal before turning under 35 mph / at 35 mph or moreChapter 3 — Communicating Your Intentions
From the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95) · Every number on one printable page
Practice
Free Pennsylvania permit practice questions
Six of the 20 free questions, one topic at a time. Answer them in the quiz, or read every answer and its source on the questions page.
- Alcohol and drugsFor drivers 21 and older in Pennsylvania, the per se DUI blood alcohol limit is:
- Intersections and turnsAt an all-way stop, if two vehicles arrive at the same time, who goes first?
- Licensing (GDL)To get a Pennsylvania learner's permit you must be at least 16 and:
- ParkingWhen parking downhill next to a curb, you should turn your front wheels:
- Passing a school busBefore passing on a two-lane road, you must be sure:
- Road signsAn octagonal red sign always means what?
Trip
Pennsylvania permit test: booking, test day and after
From PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services's own pages. Read it before you book.
Prepare Your Papers and Book the Test
Before you go, complete the permit application (DL-180) and make sure the health care provider has filled in the back. If you are under 18, the parent or guardian form (DL-180TD) must be signed by a parent, guardian or spouse who is 18 or older, either with you or in front of a notary. Bring original identity documents (photocopies are not accepted), your Social Security card and the fee. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, bring them for the vision test.
The test is on a computer. It covers signs, Pennsylvania driving laws and safe driving practices, in the same manual you studied.
What Happens After You Pass
The examiner gives you a learner's permit, valid for one year, and you can start practicing. A licensed driver who is at least 21 (or a parent, guardian or spouse who is 18 or older and licensed) must ride in the front seat at all times, and if you are under 18 you can carry no more passengers than there are seat belts.
If you are under 18, the manual requires at least 65 hours of behind-the-wheel practice, including at least 10 hours at night and 5 hours in bad weather, and a six-month wait from the day the permit was issued before the road test. Log your hours as you go; your parent or guardian signs the certificate of completion.
If you fail the Pennsylvania permit test
- Wait to retake
- The next business day
Source: PA Driver's Manual, Chapter 1: Testing · Retake rules in every state
Sources: PennDOT Driver's Manual, Chapter 1: Testing · PennDOT Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 1
Test drive
Pennsylvania permit mock test, timed
18 questions on a 18-minute practice clock, one at a time, scored at the end like the real test.
- No feedback until you hand in, like the DMV’s screen
- Flag questions and come back to them
- A score for every topic, measured against the 83% pass mark
The free mock is 18 questions from the free set.
Take the free 18-question mockGlovebox
Free Pennsylvania permit study tools
Service record
How every question is checked
- Source
- Written from the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual, never copied from a real test
- Answer
- Every explanation says why the right answer is right and cites where it comes from
- Machine
- No duplicates, no missing explanations, no answer given away by its length
- Date
- Checked October 15, 2026
Spot an error? [email protected] · Editorial policy · Not affiliated with or endorsed by PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services.
Start the free Pennsylvania permit practice test
20 free questions written from the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual, each with the answer and where it comes from.
Pennsylvania permit test FAQ
Answered from PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services’s own pages and the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual.
18 multiple-choice questions. You need 15 correct (about 83%) to pass, so you can miss only 3. If you fail, you may retake the test the following business day.
The manual says the knowledge test measures your knowledge of traffic signs, Pennsylvania's driving laws and safe driving practices. PennDOT offers it in written and audio format in 18 languages at Driver License Centers statewide.
Following distance: Pennsylvania teaches a 4-second gap on dry pavement (5 to 6 seconds on wet roads), not the 2-second rule used in some other states. Stopping from 55 mph takes more than 250 feet even on dry pavement.
No. They are original questions written from the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95) and checked against its text, with the manual section cited on every answer. QuizCram is not affiliated with PennDOT.
Here, with no signup: 20 free Pennsylvania DMV Permit practice questions, each with the correct answer, why the other options are wrong and the source it comes from. You can answer them one by one, read them all with answers on the questions page, or sit a timed mock test of 18 questions that scores you in each exam area.
Permit tests by state
Find your state’s permit test
42 states: the knowledge test format, the pass mark, how long you wait to retake it, and practice questions from the state’s own handbook.
- AK
- Maine permit test, 80% to pass
- Vermont permit test, 80% to pass
- New Hampshire permit test, 80% to pass
- Washington permit test, 80% to pass
- Idaho permit test, 85% to pass
- MT
- ND
- Minnesota permit test, 80% to pass
- Illinois permit test
- Wisconsin permit test, 80% to pass
- Michigan permit test
- New York permit test, 70% to pass
- RI
- Massachusetts permit test, 72% to pass
- Oregon permit test, 80% to pass
- Nevada permit test, 80% to pass
- WY
- South Dakota permit test, 80% to pass
- Iowa permit test, 80% to pass
- Indiana permit test, 80% to pass
- Ohio permit test, 75% to pass
- Pennsylvania permit test, 83% to pass
- New Jersey permit test, 80% to pass
- Connecticut permit test, 80% to pass
- California permit test, 83% to pass
- Utah permit test, 80% to pass
- Colorado permit test
- NE
- Missouri permit test, 80% to pass
- Kentucky permit test, 80% to pass
- West Virginia permit test, 76% to pass
- Virginia permit test, 80% to pass
- Maryland permit test, 88% to pass
- Delaware permit test, 81% to pass
- Arizona permit test, 80% to pass
- New Mexico permit test, 70% to pass
- Kansas permit test
- AR
- Tennessee permit test, 80% to pass
- North Carolina permit test, 80% to pass
- South Carolina permit test, 80% to pass
- DC
- Oklahoma permit test, 75% to pass
- Louisiana permit test, 80% to pass
- MS
- Alabama permit test
- Georgia permit test, 75% to pass
- Hawaii permit test
- Texas permit test, 70% to pass
- Florida permit test, 80% to pass
Road signs
Signs the permit test asks about
31 signs, each with its meaning and real questions. Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina and Virginia test road signs as a separate section, so learn them on their own.