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DMV permit test · North Carolina

North Carolina DMV permit practice test

As of October 25, 2026, teens applying for a North Carolina limited learner permit must pass written, sign and vision tests with a parent or guardian present, or bring written consent from one.

North Carolina issues a Level 1 limited learner permit to teens 15 to 17 years old who hold a Driver's Education Certificate.

The North Carolina Level 1 limited learner permit costs $25.50 (per ncdot.gov, checked on Oct 25, 2026).

Updated Oct 25, 2026Rules checked against ncdot.govHow we check
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North Carolina permit test at a glance

Minimum permit age
15source, Oct 25, 2026
Permit or application fee
$25.50source, Oct 25, 2026
Wait after a failed test (under 18)
7 dayssource, Oct 25, 2026
Permit held before the road test
9 monthssource, Oct 25, 2026
Supervised practice
60 hourssource, Oct 25, 2026

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Free North Carolina practice test: 10 questions

OneTryPass wrote these questions from the North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025). Pick an answer to see if you got it; each explanation names the part of the handbook it comes from.

  1. Getting your permit

    Question 1. In North Carolina, how long must your supervising driver have held a driver license while you drive on a Level 1 limited learner permit?

    Show answer

    Answer: C. At least 5 years

    A North Carolina supervising driver is a parent, grandparent or guardian, or an adult one of them approves, who holds a valid license and has been licensed for at least five years.

    From North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025) · Chapter 1: Your License — Graduated Licensing

  2. Getting your permit

    Question 2. How much driving must a North Carolina Level 1 permit holder record in the driving log before applying for a limited provisional license?

    Show answer

    Answer: A. At least 60 hours, with at least 10 at night

    The log needs at least 60 hours behind the wheel, 10 or more of them at night. The supervising driver signs it, and it is turned in with the Level 2 application.

    From North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025) · Chapter 1: Your License — Graduated Licensing

  3. Speed and following distance

    Question 3. No speed limit sign is posted on a street inside a North Carolina city or town. What is the speed limit?

    Show answer

    Answer: C. 35 mph

    Unless another limit is posted, North Carolina sets 35 mph in cities and towns and 55 mph outside them. Interstates may be posted as high as 70 mph.

    From North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025) · Chapter 4: Your Driving — Adjusting Your Speed to Driving Conditions

  4. Right of way

    Question 4. You are on a divided highway with four lanes and a median. A school bus going the opposite way stops to let children off. What must you do?

    Show answer

    Answer: B. Keep going, because only traffic following the bus must stop

    On a divided highway of four or more lanes with a median, only the traffic behind the bus stops. On a two-lane road, or a four-lane road without a median, traffic in both directions stops.

    From North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025) · Chapter 4: Your Driving — School Buses

  5. Parking

    Question 5. Where there is a curb, how close to the curb line of an intersecting street may you park in North Carolina?

    Show answer

    Answer: D. No closer than 25 feet

    The handbook keeps parked cars 25 feet from the curb line of an intersecting street, or 15 feet from the intersecting right-of-way lines where there is no curb.

    From North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025) · Chapter 4: Your Driving — Parking

  6. Alcohol and drugs

    Question 6. A North Carolina driver under 21 is convicted of driving with any amount of alcohol in their body. What happens to the license?

    Show answer

    Answer: C. It is revoked for one year

    For a driver younger than 21, a conviction for driving with any alcohol or drugs in the body brings a one-year license revocation in North Carolina.

    From North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025) · Chapter 2: Alcohol and the Law — Alcohol and the Young Driver

  7. Night driving

    Question 7. Besides the hours from sunset to sunrise, when does North Carolina law require your headlights?

    Show answer

    Answer: A. Whenever visibility is 400 feet or less

    Headlights go on from sunset to sunrise and any time you can see 400 feet or less. The state also requires them whenever bad weather has your wipers running.

    From North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025) · Chapter 4: Your Driving — Night Driving

  8. Turns and lanes

    Question 8. The speed limit is 50 mph and you plan to turn right. At the least, how far before the turn should your signal be on?

    Show answer

    Answer: C. 200 feet

    Signal for at least the last 100 feet before you turn or stop, and for at least the last 200 feet when the limit is 45 mph or more.

    From North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025) · Chapter 4: Your Driving — Hand Signals

  9. Railroad crossings

    Question 9. What is printed on the blue Emergency Notification System sign posted at North Carolina railroad crossings?

    Show answer

    Answer: B. The crossing's ID number, the railroad's name and an emergency phone number

    Every highway-railroad crossing in the state must post the blue ENS sign in each direction. If your car stalls on the tracks, get everyone out and away first, then call the number on the sign.

    From North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025) · Chapter 4: Your Driving — Railroad Crossing Safety

  10. Sharing the road

    Question 10. A police car with its lights on is stopped on the shoulder of a highway that has two lanes in your direction. What does North Carolina law require?

    Show answer

    Answer: D. Move into the lane farther from the police car until you are past it

    With two or more lanes in your direction, leave the lane next to an emergency vehicle stopped within 12 feet of the road. With a single lane, slow to a safe speed until you are past it.

    From North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025) · Chapter 4: Your Driving — Emergency and Law Enforcement Vehicles

North Carolina permit test questions people ask

What tests do you take for a North Carolina limited learner permit?

Teens applying for a Level 1 limited learner permit take three tests at an NCDMV driver license office: a written knowledge test on traffic laws and safe driving, a traffic signs test and a vision screening. A parent or guardian has to be there, or the teen brings written consent from one.

On the signs test, applicants name each sign from its color and shape and say what it means. NCDMV offers the knowledge test in several languages and gives it orally on request. Neither the handbook nor the NCDMV test page states the number of questions or a passing score, so OneTryPass leaves both out.

Sources: Get a Level 1 Limited Learner Permit · Official NCDMV: Driver License Tests · Chapter 1: Your License

How old do you have to be for a learner permit in North Carolina?

The Level 1 limited learner permit is for residents from 15 through 17 who hold a Driver's Education Certificate. Driver education itself pairs a 30-hour classroom portion, which includes a vision and medical screening, with at least 6 hours behind the wheel.

Since October 1, 2026, Session Law 2026-46 has dropped the Driving Eligibility Certificate that teens used to bring from school. Applicants 18 and older skip graduated licensing and apply for a regular learner permit in person.

Sources: Get a Level 1 Limited Learner Permit · Official NCDMV: Teen Drivers · Official NCDMV: Getting a License or Learner Permit

What are the rules for a North Carolina Level 1 limited learner permit?

For the first six months the permit allows driving only from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., always with a supervising driver: a parent, grandparent, guardian or an adult they approve, licensed for at least five years and seated beside the teen. After six months, supervised driving is allowed at any hour.

Only the teen and the supervisor may sit in front, and mobile devices stay off. Moving up to the Level 2 limited provisional license takes nine months with the permit, a log of at least 60 hours with 10 at night, and six months free of moving violations and seat belt or phone infractions.

Sources: Get a Level 1 Limited Learner Permit · Chapter 1: Your License · Get a Level 2 Limited Provisional License

Every North Carolina rule we checked

Each line is one rule from an official North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles page, with the date we read it.

Knowledge test
Teens applying for a North Carolina limited learner permit must pass written, sign and vision tests with a parent or guardian present, or bring written consent from one. source, Oct 25, 2026
The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles written knowledge test covers traffic laws and safe-driving practice, is offered in different languages and can be given orally on request. source, Oct 25, 2026
On the North Carolina traffic signs test, applicants identify each sign by its color and shape and explain what it means; every sign on the test is in the North Carolina Driver Handbook. source, Oct 25, 2026
Minimum age
North Carolina issues a Level 1 limited learner permit to teens 15 to 17 years old who hold a Driver's Education Certificate. source, Oct 25, 2026
North Carolina driver education has a 30-hour classroom portion with a vision and medical screening, followed by at least 6 hours behind the wheel. source, Oct 25, 2026
The regular North Carolina learner permit is for applicants 18 and older, who apply in person; teens 15 to 17 get a limited learner permit through graduated licensing. source, Oct 25, 2026
Fees
The North Carolina Level 1 limited learner permit costs $25.50. source, Oct 25, 2026
The North Carolina Level 2 limited provisional license, the step after the learner permit, also costs $25.50. source, Oct 25, 2026
If you fail
The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles lets applicants who fail the knowledge test or the driving test for a regular Class C license retake it after seven calendar days. source, Oct 25, 2026
Permit rules
For the first six months, a North Carolina limited learner permit allows supervised driving only from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., and mobile devices are banned in the vehicle. source, Oct 25, 2026
North Carolina teens hold the Level 1 permit for nine months and log at least 60 hours of driving, 10 of them at night, before applying for a limited provisional license. source, Oct 25, 2026
A North Carolina permit supervisor is a parent, legal guardian, grandparent or an adult a parent approves, licensed for five years and seated next to the teen driver. source, Oct 25, 2026
Before a North Carolina Level 2 road test, a teen needs no convictions for moving violations or seat belt or mobile phone infractions in the last six months. source, Oct 25, 2026
What to bring
North Carolina limited learner permit applicants bring one proof of identity and date of birth, proof of a Social Security number, one proof of North Carolina residency and the Driver's Education Certificate. source, Oct 25, 2026
Since October 1, 2026, North Carolina no longer requires a Driving Eligibility Certificate for a limited learner permit, under Session Law 2026-46. source, Oct 25, 2026
A first North Carolina REAL ID is issued only at a driver license office, where the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles scans and keeps the documents. source, Oct 25, 2026
Test appointments
The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles books appointments online for in-office license and ID card services. source, Oct 25, 2026
The North Carolina Driver Handbook says an appointment is not necessary for a driver license exam and that offices take walk-ins all day or until capacity is reached. source, Oct 25, 2026
North Carolina mails the limited learner permit after the office visit, and it arrives within 20 business days. source, Oct 25, 2026
Official handbook
The current North Carolina Driver Handbook was revised in May 2025 and notes that the North Carolina General Assembly can change motor vehicle laws and fees. source, Oct 25, 2026
The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles posts the driver handbook in English and in Spanish, as the Manual de Manejo de Carolina del Norte, plus separate regulatory and warning sign guides. source, Oct 25, 2026
Agency
The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles is part of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and answers for driver licenses and vehicle registration. source, Oct 25, 2026

The full North Carolina pack

The free questions above are a sample. The pack is the whole question bank, practiced the way the app below shows.

Inside the North Carolina pack: study sessions that bring missed questions back, timed full practice tests and a readiness score.

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Full North Carolina practice pack

$14.951 year of access · no subscription

  • Every practice question in the North Carolina bank, not just these 10
  • Study sessions that bring missed questions back
  • Timed full practice tests with a readiness score
  • Mistake review by topic, on any device, for a year

Refunds: Full refund within 7 days of purchase, no questions asked.

OneTryPass is not affiliated with the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles. The official North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025) is free at ncdot.gov.

North Carolina permit test FAQ

How much is a learner permit in North Carolina?

A Level 1 limited learner permit costs $25.50, and the Level 2 limited provisional license that follows costs another $25.50. NCDMV mails the permit, which arrives within 20 business days. Source: official pages "Get a Level 1 Limited Learner Permit" and "Get a Level 2 Limited Provisional License", checked on Oct 25, 2026.

Do you need an appointment at a North Carolina driver license office?

No. NCDMV books online appointments for in-office license and ID services, but the handbook says an appointment is not necessary and offices accept walk-ins all day or until they reach capacity. Source: official pages "DMV Office Locations" and "Chapter 1: Your License", checked on Oct 25, 2026.

Is the North Carolina Driver Handbook available in Spanish?

Yes. Next to the English handbook, NCDMV posts the Manual de Manejo de Carolina del Norte, along with separate guides to regulatory and warning signs. Source: official page "Official NCDMV: Driver Handbooks", checked on Oct 25, 2026.

Are these the real North Carolina DMV test questions?

No. OneTryPass writes its own practice questions from the rules in the North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025), and each question names the part of the handbook it comes from so you can check the rule.

Is OneTryPass affiliated with the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles?

No. OneTryPass is an independent practice site and is not part of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles. The North Carolina Driver Handbook (revised May 2025) is free at ncdot.gov.

Where this information comes from

Every rule on this page comes from the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles' own website or handbook. OneTryPass reads the page, writes the rule in plain English and records the date. A rule that passes its re-check date leaves this page on its own until it is read again.

How often each kind of rule is read again: knowledge test, 120 days; minimum age, 365 days; fees, 90 days; if you fail, 180 days; permit rules, 365 days; what to bring, 180 days; test appointments, 60 days; official handbook, 180 days; agency, 365 days.

Something wrong on this page? Tell us at [email protected] and include the link to the official page that changed.