DMV ChampDistrict of Columbia · Department of Motor Vehicles
The District of Columbia 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 exams in exactly that format.
25
questions
20
correct to pass
80%
passing score
60 min
time limit
Part of this format is confirmed by dmv.dc.gov/service/knowledge-tests; the rest is the best figure available, and it is the one DMV Champ’s exam simulator uses. Check the current District of Columbia handbook before your exam.
District of Columbia’s exam 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. You have 60 minutes, one of only 8 jurisdictions that put a clock on the exam.
The exam is given by the DMV. Its questions come from the official District of Columbia driver’s handbook, which is also where every DMV Champ question is checked.
The District of Columbia driver’s handbook calls it the knowledge test. Passing it is how you get a learner permit, which you can apply for from age 16 in District of Columbia. If you fail, the rule on retaking is: 3 calendar days; after six consecutive failures, 12 months.
36 topics in District of Columbia: the 34 every state tests, plus winter driving and flooding, because the District of Columbia handbook teaches them.
Exam simulator
Pick District of Columbia once in the app and every simulated exam uses these figures. Nothing is revealed mid-exam, and each attempt is graded against the 20-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 District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia exam today, with the 20-correct passing score marked on it and a 14-day trend.
District of Columbia questions
25. The District of Columbia knowledge test has 25 multiple-choice questions, and you need 20 correct answers (80%) to pass.
5. With 25 questions and 20 needed to pass, you can get 5 wrong and still pass.
Yes. You have 60 minutes. District of Columbia is one of only 8 jurisdictions that put a time limit on the knowledge test, and DMV Champ’s exam simulator uses the same clock.
16. In District of Columbia the first permit is called a learner permit, and the handbook sets 16 as the youngest age for it. The knowledge test is part of getting one.
From the official District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia?