Rhode Island · Division of Motor Vehicles
Rhode Island’s knowledge test, given by the DMV, has 40 questions, and you need 28 right, or 70%, to pass.
40
questions
28
right to pass
70%
passing score
90 min
time limit
Checked against the Rhode Island Driver’s Manual (April 2024 edition) on October 26, 2026. How we check facts
Practice test
Pick an answer and check it. Every question comes with the reason behind the right answer and the sentence of an official document it rests on.
To pass here you need 7 of 10, since Rhode Island’s test asks for 70%.
Question 1 of 10 · Guide and service signs
The answer is A: The exit is 1 mile ahead.
The bottom line of an advance guide sign is the distance to the exit, not to the town. The first sign is usually 1 mile out, and a second comes at half a mile. That is your notice to get into the exit lane in good time.
“An Interchange Advance guide sign (see Figure 2E-9) gives notice well in advance of the exit point of the principal destinations served by the next interchange and the distance to that interchange.”
Question 2 of 10 · Highways, merging and exits
The answer is B: change lanes and slow or stop.
Drivers are sorting into the lane that takes their payment. They slow or stop to pay, then speed up again on the far side. The number of lanes often changes before and after the plaza. Slow down as you approach and pick your lane early.
“Toll plaza operations often include lane-specific restrictions on vehicle type, forms of payment accepted, and speed limits or required stops. Vehicles are typically required to come to a stop to pay the toll or receive a toll ticket in the attended and exact change or automatic lanes.”
Question 3 of 10 · Snow and ice
The answer is B: Stay well back.
Stay well back from a plow. It throws snow, salt and grit, and the cloud it raises can hide the truck and the road. Plows move slowly and may stop or back up. Pass only when you can see the whole truck, and never on the side its blade is pushing snow to.
“Never crowd a snowplow. Pass snowplows only when you can see the entire vehicle. Stay well behind plows to avoid flying sanding materials, snow and ice that could hit your vehicle. Be alert for dangerous snow clouds or “whiteout” conditions. Snowplows can create clouds of blowing snow that may conceal the road and hide driving hazards.”
Question 4 of 10 · Warning signs
The answer is B: schools, pedestrians and bicycles
Fluorescent yellow-green is reserved for warnings about people: school, pedestrian, bicycle and playground signs. Road work is orange, and every other warning is plain yellow. The color tells you before you read the symbol that someone may be crossing.
“F. Fluorescent Yellow-Green—pedestrian warning, bicycle warning, playground warning, school bus warning, and school warning”
Question 5 of 10 · Passing
The answer is C: No. You cannot see over the hill.
Do not pass where a hill or a curve hides the road ahead. A car coming the other way is out of sight until it is close. The whole pass has to fit in the road you can see. Stay behind until you can see past the top.
“Do not attempt to pass when an oncoming vehicle is approaching, your view is blocked by a curve or a hill, at intersections, or before a highway-railroad crossing or bridge.”
Question 6 of 10 · Rain, fog and slick roads
The answer is C: when the rain first starts
The first rain mixes with the oil and dirt on the road into a greasy film. The road is at its worst in those first few minutes. Steady rain washes the film away, but the road stays slick until it dries. Slow down as soon as the first drops fall.
“Slippery roads—Reduce speed at the first sign of rain, snow, sleet, or ice.”
Question 7 of 10 · Pavement markings
The answer is C: A railroad crossing ahead.
A large X with the letters RR warns that a railroad crossing is coming, before you can see the rails. The center line usually turns solid with it, because passing is not allowed there. Slow down and look both ways.
“No-passing zone markings shall be used on”
Question 8 of 10 · Fatigue, vision and health
The answer is B: spot something moving.
You see sharply only in a narrow area straight ahead. Side vision picks up movement and shapes, but you cannot focus on anything out there. Glance to the side or check a mirror before you act on what the corner of your eye picked up.
“Side Vision. You need to see “out of the corner of your eye.” This lets you spot vehicles and other potential trouble on either side of you while you look ahead. Because you cannot focus on things to the side, you must also use your side mirrors or glance to the side if necessary.”
Question 9 of 10 · Stopping distance and braking
The answer is B: more room to stop.
Extra weight takes more braking to slow down, so a loaded car needs more road to stop. The same goes for a car pulling a trailer. Your reaction time does not change with the load, so leave extra room ahead whenever you carry a heavy load.
“Because of a large vehicle’s size and weight, they take longer to stop than cars.”
Question 10 of 10 · Speed limits
The answer is A: The speed of the traffic.
Drive with the flow of traffic as long as it stays within the limit. Crashes often happen when one car goes much faster or slower than the cars around it. If the flow goes over the limit, the limit wins. If you need to go slower, keep right.
“Driving safely means adjusting your vehicle speed for roadway and traffic conditions, providing an adequate following interval, and obeying the appropriate speed limits.”
These 10 questions are from the DMV Champ app’s practice set, last updated October 23, 2026. Spot a mistake in a question? Email us.
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You need 28 of the 40 right.
The test has 40 multiple choice questions.
“The computerized knowledge exam has a 90-minute maximum and consist of forty (40) multiple choice questions.”
The Community College of Rhode Island, which gives the DMV’s knowledge test to its driver education students, says you need 70% to pass.
“The final exam serves as the Rhode Island DMV Knowledge Test. Students must earn a passing score of 70%.”
The youngest you can be is 16.
“Although you cannot obtain a Limited Learner Permit from the DMV until you are sixteen (16), you are eligible to register for a driver education class”
If you fail, you must wait at least 8 days before you take the test again.
“Applicants that fail to pass the knowledge exam must wait at least 8 days before retaking the exam.”
If you fail the test through CCRI, you take it again at the DMV’s main office in Cranston.
“First-time applicants (and those who fail the RI DMV knowledge exam through CCRI) must take the computerized examination at the main office of the DMV in Cranston.”
It’s given by the DMV.
“You must pass a computerized knowledge exam administered by the Division of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”).”
The manual calls it the knowledge exam.
“Second: You must pass a computerized knowledge exam administered by the Division of Motor Vehicles”
If you’re 18 or older, or under 18 with driver education from a school other than CCRI, you take the test on a computer at DMV headquarters in Cranston.
“Applicants 18 years of age and older must come to the DMV headquarters, 600 New London Ave, Cranston to take a computerized knowledge exam prior to issuance of a learner’s permit. Applicants under 18 who have completed a driver education class with an approved curriculum at a driving school other than CCRI must come to the DMV headquarters in Cranston with the class completion certificate to take a computerized knowledge exam.”
If you take your driver education course with CCRI, you take the DMV test through CCRI.
“All applicants who take the thirty-three (33) hour driver education course with CCRI take the RI DMV Knowledge examination (Permit test) through CCRI.”
The computer test comes in English, Spanish and Portuguese, during business hours and by reservation only.
“Computerized knowledge exams are administered in English, Spanish and Portuguese. These tests are available during normal business hours by reservation only.”
You can ask to take a printed test in another language if you schedule it ahead of time.
“Applicants may request to take the knowledge exam (in a printed format) in a foreign language. Foreign language exams will need to be scheduled in advance to allow DMV time to prepare the test as requested.”
Test simulator
DMV Champ teaches every question with its explanation, then checks you with 5 simulated tests of 40 questions, graded against the 28-correct passing score. 35 topics in Rhode Island: the 34 every state tests, plus winter driving, because the Rhode Island handbook teaches it.
Download on the App Store