DMV ChampNew York · Department of Motor Vehicles
The New York written test has 20 multiple-choice questions, and you need 14 correct answers to pass. DMV Champ teaches every question with its explanation, then checks you with 5 simulated exams in exactly that format.
20
questions
14
correct to pass
70%
passing score
None
time limit
The number of questions and the passing score are confirmed by dmv.ny.gov. Check the current New York handbook before your exam.
New York’s exam is one of the shorter ones: only 1 jurisdictions ask fewer than 20 questions. You need 70% to pass, which means you can miss 6 questions and still get your permit. There is no time limit, so read every question twice.
The exam is given by the DMV. Its questions come from the official New York driver’s handbook, which is also where every DMV Champ question is checked.
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Driver’s Manual calls it the written test, so that is the phrase you’ll see at the counter and on the agency’s site. Passing it is how you get a learner permit, which you can apply for from age 16 in New York. If you fail, the rule on retaking is: no general rule stated; students who fail the online school-based test (OKTA) can retake it online as many times as the school allows.
35 topics in New York: the 34 every state tests, plus winter driving, because the New York handbook teaches it.
Exam simulator
Pick New York once in the app and every simulated exam uses these figures. Nothing is revealed mid-exam, and each attempt is graded against the 14-correct passing score at the end. Retake an exam as often as you like, reordered each time.
What you study
Signs and signals, road rules, safe driving and driving laws. The topics come from the AAMVA guidelines every state builds its exam on, checked against the New York handbook. Each is a short group of questions you can get through in a few minutes, and every answer is explained the moment you check it.
No chapters to read first. Every practice question carries its answer and the reasoning, so a wrong answer is how the next thing is taught.
A question you get wrong returns until you get it right. Once you’ve answered every new question and corrected every mistake, you’ve finished the learning phase.
The score you’d likely get on the New York exam today, with the 14-correct passing score marked on it and a 14-day trend.
New York questions
20. The New York written test has 20 multiple-choice questions, and you need 14 correct answers (70%) to pass.
6. With 20 questions and 14 needed to pass, you can get 6 wrong and still pass.
No. New York does not put a time limit on the written test. Only 8 jurisdictions do.
16. In New York the first permit is called a learner permit, and the handbook sets 16 as the youngest age for it. The written test is part of getting one.
From the official New York driver’s handbook, which is what the DMV writes its test from. Every DMV Champ question is checked against it and explained the moment you answer.
A few questions a day is enough. Not in New York?