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North Carolina · Department of Motor Vehicles

North Carolina DMV practice test

The North Carolina knowledge test has 25 multiple-choice questions, and you need 20 correct answers to pass. DMV Champ teaches every question with its explanation, then checks you with 5 simulated tests in exactly that format.

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25

questions

20

correct to pass

80%

passing score

None

time limit

Part of this format is confirmed by 19A NCAC 03B .0201; the rest is the best figure available, and it is the one DMV Champ’s test simulator uses. Check the current North Carolina handbook before your test.

What the North Carolina test looks like

North Carolina’s test is one of the shorter ones: only 5 jurisdictions ask fewer than 25 questions. You need 80% to pass, which means you can miss 5 questions and still get your permit. There is no time limit, so read every question twice.

There is also a separate road sign test of 12 signs, and you need 9 of them.

The test is given by the DMV. Its questions come from the official North Carolina driver’s handbook, which is also where every DMV Champ question is checked.

The same format is used in Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

See how many questions you can miss in every state.

What the North Carolina handbook says

The North Carolina Driver Handbook calls it the knowledge test. Passing it is how you get a limited learner permit, which you can apply for from age 15 in North Carolina. Road signs are tested as a section of their own, so don’t skim the signs chapter.

36 topics in North Carolina: the 34 every state tests, plus winter driving and flooding, because the North Carolina handbook teaches them.

Test simulator

5 simulated tests in the North Carolina format

25 questions20 to passNo time limit

Pick North Carolina once in the app and every simulated test uses these figures. Nothing is revealed mid-test, and each attempt is graded against the 20-correct passing score at the end. Retake a test as often as you like, reordered each time.

What you study

4 sections, 36 topics, every one on the North Carolina test.

Signs and signals, road rules, safe driving and driving laws. The topics come from the AAMVA guidelines every state builds its test on, checked against the North Carolina handbook. On Learn they’re cut into short practices of about ten questions, in seven steps from road signs to the laws, and every answer is explained the moment you check it.

Learn by answering

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.

Mistakes come back

A question you get wrong goes to your mistakes in Review and comes back until you get it right there. Once you’ve answered every question and corrected every mistake, you’ve finished the learning phase.

Your chance of passing

Take a simulated test in the North Carolina format and see how likely you are to reach the 20-correct passing score. Your latest test counts the most.

North Carolina questions

Good to know before your North Carolina test.

How many questions are on the North Carolina permit test?

25. The North Carolina knowledge test has 25 multiple-choice questions, and you need 20 correct answers (80%) to pass.

How many questions can you miss on the North Carolina knowledge test?

5 in total. There is also a separate road sign test of 12 signs, and you need 9 of them.

Is the North Carolina knowledge test timed?

No. North Carolina does not put a time limit on the knowledge test. Only 8 jurisdictions do.

How old do you have to be to get a learner’s permit in North Carolina?

15. In North Carolina the first permit is called a limited learner permit, and the handbook sets 15 as the youngest age for it. The knowledge test is part of getting one.

Where do the North Carolina questions come from?

From the official North Carolina 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.

Ready for the North Carolina test?

A few questions a day is enough. Not in North Carolina?

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