The California DMV Permit Test (Written Test): 46 Questions, 8 Misses, 3 Attempts, and How to Prepare

California's DMV knowledge test, the one most people call the written test or the permit test, is longer than most states', it is offered online as well as at the office, and it comes with a rule that catches people out: three attempts, then the application starts over. This guide covers what is on the test, how it is scored for teens and for adults, the online option, and a preparation plan that fits in a week.

Every figure below was checked against dmv.ca.gov and the DMV's own Provisional Licensing fast facts in September 2026. The DMV changes these by regulation, so if you are reading this much later, confirm the numbers on the official site before you rely on them.

What is on the California permit test

The knowledge test is multiple choice, taken on a touchscreen at the office or online, and every question comes from the California Driver's Handbook. The current edition is the 2025 DL 600. The topics are the handbook's: signs, signals and lane markings, rules of the road, safe driving, alcohol and drugs, speed limits, parking, emergencies, sharing the road with pedestrians, cyclists and trucks, licensing rules, the point system and insurance. If you miss a question at the office, the DMV employee can tell you which page the answer is on, which tells you how literally the test follows the book.

How it is scored

There are two versions. Applicants under 18 take the provisional version, which has 46 questions, and the DMV's fast facts state the pass rule plainly: you may miss no more than 8. Adults take a shorter version of 36 questions. Either way the DMV describes the pass mark as roughly 80 percent, and the questions come from the same pool.

The attempt rule is the one to know. You get three attempts to pass per application. Fail all three and you reapply and pay the fee again. A minor who fails must wait seven days before retaking, not counting the day of the failure. Tests are not given after 4:30 p.m., so a late-afternoon walk-in can end without a test at all.

The online option

Since September 2023 the DMV has let first-time applicants under 18, as well as adults, take the knowledge test online before their office visit. You verify your identity and agree to be monitored through your camera for the whole test. You get two online attempts; fail both and the third attempt is at an office. Passing online does not skip the visit. You still go in with your documents for the photo, thumbprint, vision screening and the $46 fee.

Take it seriously. It is the same test, and the online attempts count toward the three. Do not use them as a way to see the questions. Our post on the online test covers the webcam, the hours and when it is worth using.

A one-week preparation plan

The method is the one from our permit test study series: test first, read the gaps, keep a mistake list, and finish with timed simulations in the real format.

• Day 1: 36 questions cold, before you open the handbook. Sort the misses by topic. Read those sections only.
• Day 2: 36 fresh questions. Add each miss to a mistake list with the rule written out.
• Day 3: the mistake list only. Ten minutes.
• Day 4: questions from your two weakest topics only.
• Day 5: a full timed simulation. Under 18, make it 46 questions if your practice tool allows it.
• Day 6: rest, or the mistake list once.
• Day 7: two timed simulations. If both are at or above 90 percent, book the test.

Ninety percent in practice is what makes 83 percent safe on the day, after nerves and reading errors take their share.

The California pairs

Distractors on this test are very often the rule from a neighbouring situation. Write these on one page and read it daily:

• Two-lane undivided highway, 55 mph, versus most other highways, 65 mph, unless posted.
• School zone, 25 mph when children are present, and some zones are posted as low as 15.
• Wait after a failed knowledge test, 7 days, versus after a failed drive test, 14 days.
• Refusing a chemical test in a DUI stop: one-year suspension, whatever the outcome of the stop.
• Provisional license, first 12 months: no driving 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., no passengers under 20, unless a licensed parent, an adult 25 or older, or an instructor is in the car.

Start with ten free questions

Our California practice questions are ten questions from the app's bank with the answer, the reason, and the handbook page. Take them cold as day one. For the full plan, the Drive Prep app with California selected has 350 questions written from the 2025 handbook, each citing its page, a timed 36-question exam mode, topic filtering and a missed-questions list, in 11 languages and offline. Free to try, $4.99 once for the rest.

Do not lose the visit to paperwork

For a provisional permit you need to be at least 15½, have a driver education certificate or proof of enrollment, an identity document that is an original or certified copy, your Social Security number, a proof of California residency in your own name, and the eDL 44 application signed by your parents or guardians, both of them if both have custody. Parents can sign electronically and do not have to come. The California DMV permit checklist tracks all of it, our parent's guide to what to bring explains each item, and the test-day post covers the hour in the chair.

After the test

The permit is not valid for practice until you start behind-the-wheel training and the instructor signs it, or you turn 17½. From there it is six months of holding the permit, 50 supervised hours with 10 at night, and 6 hours of professional training before the drive test. Then the provisional license comes with its first-year restrictions. The knowledge test is the first gate, and with a week of the right kind of study it is the easy one.

Forty-six questions, eight misses, three attempts. Test yourself first, read the gaps, and practise above the bar.