Free Pennsylvania DMV Car / Permit Practice Test 2026
The Pennsylvania Car / Permit knowledge test has 18 questions, and you need 15 correct (83%) to pass. Practice free with questions written from the official Pennsylvania driver handbook — every one has a clear explanation, and you can retake as often as you like with no sign-up.
Content reviewed against official driver handbooks · August 12, 2026
What's on the Pennsylvania written test
The Pennsylvania Car / Permit knowledge test has 18 questions; you need 15 correct (83%) to pass.
Based on the official Pennsylvania exam format — always confirm current details with your state DMV.
Practice by topic
Focus on one area at a time — each topic has its own set of Pennsylvania practice questions.
Learn the shapes, colors, and meanings of regulatory, warning, and guide signs — from stop and yield to construction and school-zone signs.
Speed limits, turning and signaling rules, headlight and seat-belt requirements, and the everyday laws every driver must follow.
How to read traffic signals, lane lines, and pavement markings — including yellow and white lines, arrows, and flashing lights.
Who goes first at intersections, four-way stops, roundabouts, and crosswalks, and how to yield to pedestrians and emergency vehicles.
Following distance, scanning, blind spots, using your lights, and the habits that prevent crashes and keep you in control.
Driving safely around motorcycles, bicycles, large trucks, pedestrians, and school buses — and knowing who has the right of way.
Blood alcohol limits, zero-tolerance and implied-consent laws, and how alcohol and drugs — legal or not — affect your driving.
Legal and illegal parking, colored curbs, distances from hydrants and crossings, and how to park safely on hills.
Choosing a safe speed, keeping a space cushion, adjusting for weather and traffic, and understanding stopping distance.
What to do when things go wrong — brake failure, tire blowouts, skids, and stalling on railroad tracks.
The point system, license suspension, provisional-license rules, insurance requirements, and other licensing basics.
How to pass the first time
- Read the official Pennsylvania driver handbook at least once before test day.
- Practice by topic to find your weak spots, then fix them.
- Take full-length practice tests until you pass comfortably every time.
- Read every explanation — understanding beats memorizing.
Pennsylvania Car / Permit test — frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the Pennsylvania Car / Permit test?
The Pennsylvania Car / Permit knowledge test has 18 questions, and you need 15 correct (83%) to pass. Our practice tests mirror that format.
How many questions can I miss on the Pennsylvania Car / Permit test?
You can miss up to 3 of the 18 questions and still pass — you need 15 correct, which is 83%.
Can I retake the practice test?
Yes — practice as often as you like, completely free. The questions and answer choices are shuffled each time.
Can I take the Pennsylvania practice test in Spanish?
Yes. Every question here is available in English and Spanish — switch languages anytime. Many states also offer the real knowledge test in languages other than English; confirm what Pennsylvania offers with your DMV.
Can I practice on my phone?
Yes. The practice tests work in any mobile or desktop browser — no app or sign-up needed — so you can study anywhere.
Are these the real DMV test questions?
No. Our questions are original, written from the current official Pennsylvania driver handbook to match the real test's topics and style. We are not affiliated with any DMV or government agency.
What's the best way to study?
Read the Pennsylvania driver handbook, practice by topic to target weak areas, and finish with full-length tests until you consistently pass.
Other Pennsylvania practice tests
Take the Car / Permit test in another state
Every Pennsylvania question is written from the official Pennsylvania driver handbook and checked against its current edition. DMV Test Free is a free, independent study resource — not affiliated with any DMV or government agency. About DMV Test Free
Pennsylvania Car / Permit questions with answers
20 sample questions from the Pennsylvania Car / Permit question bank — each with the correct answer, a short explanation, and the section of the official handbook it comes from.
Show all 20 questions with answers
1. About how much moving water is enough to float and carry away many cars?
Correct answer: About 12 inches
About a foot of moving water is enough to float many cars, and two feet can sweep away most SUVs and pickups, so never drive onto a flooded road.
2. You can begin to hydroplane on a wet road at speeds as low as about:
Correct answer: 35 mph
Your tires can start to hydroplane at just 35 mph if only about a tenth of an inch of water covers the road, and worn tires make it worse.
3. Not stopping for a school bus that is displaying flashing red lights and an extended stop arm brings a license suspension of:
Correct answer: 60 days
This violation brings a 60-day license suspension, five points on your record, and a fine.
Source: PA Driver's Manual — Learning to Drive; Driving Record Information
4. You may not park within how many feet of a crosswalk at an intersection?
Correct answer: 20 feet
You may not park closer than 20 feet to a crosswalk at an intersection, which keeps the crossing visible.
5. What should you understand when you see a yellow diamond-shaped sign with a gently curving arrow?
Correct answer: The road curves gently ahead in the direction shown.
The road curves gently ahead in the direction shown. (This is the "Curve" sign.)
Source: PA Driver's Manual — Signs, Signals and Pavement Markings
6. When you approach a horse-drawn vehicle, it is important to remember that these vehicles:
Correct answer: Are often dark and hard to see in low light
Many horse-drawn vehicles are dark and hard to see at dawn, dusk, or night. Slow down, be patient, and pass with great care.
7. Drugs other than alcohol are involved in roughly what share of motorist deaths each year?
Correct answer: About 20 percent
Drugs besides alcohol play a role in about 20 percent of motorist deaths annually, and mixing drugs with alcohol multiplies the danger.
8. Pennsylvania allows a left turn on a red light in which of these situations?
Correct answer: Going from one one-way street to another one-way street
Once you stop at the red, you may turn left from the left lane, but only when moving from one one-way street to another, unless a sign prohibits it. Yield to pedestrians and traffic first.
Source: PA Driver's Manual — Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings
9. A steady yellow traffic light is telling you that:
Correct answer: A red light will appear shortly
A steady yellow means a red light is about to appear. Slow down and prepare to stop; go through only if you cannot stop safely before entering the intersection.
Source: PA Driver's Manual — Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings
10. If a driver behind you is tailgating and there is a lane to your right, the recommended response is to:
Correct answer: Move over to the right lane and let them pass
If someone tailgates you, move into the right lane when you can. With no lane to your right, you may gently tap the brakes to ease off speed and prompt them to go around.
11. At a short weaving lane where a highway entrance and exit are close together, who yields?
Correct answer: The entering driver yields to the exiting driver
In a weaving lane shared by entering and exiting traffic, the driver entering the highway must yield to the driver who is exiting.
12. If one of your tires suddenly blows out while you are driving, you should:
Correct answer: Hold the wheel firmly and ease off the gas
Grip the wheel firmly, stay off the brake, and slowly ease your foot off the gas. Braking after a blowout can make you skid and lose control.
13. On snow or ice, you should leave a following distance that is about:
Correct answer: About ten times the normal space
On ice- or snow-covered roads, leave roughly ten times the normal space between you and the vehicle ahead because stopping takes much longer.
14. Speeding through a posted school zone adds how many points to your driving record?
Correct answer: 3 points
Speeding in a school zone adds three points to your record, plus a fine.
Source: PA Driver's Manual — Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings
15. Which of the following is a place where you may never stop, stand, or park?
Correct answer: On a crosswalk
You may not park on a crosswalk, on a sidewalk, within an intersection, on a bridge, or on railroad tracks, among other prohibited spots.
16. A yellow advisory speed sign mounted below a curve warning sign tells you:
Correct answer: The top speed that is safe for the curve ahead
An advisory speed sign gives the highest speed that is safe to travel through the curve or condition ahead under good conditions.
Source: PA Driver's Manual — Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings
17. When a school bus has stopped with red lights blinking and the stop arm swung out, other drivers must halt at least:
Correct answer: 10 feet away
You must halt at least 10 feet away from a stopped bus showing flashing red lights and an extended stop arm, whether you are behind it or meeting it on the same road.
18. Which statement about prescription and over-the-counter medicines is correct?
Correct answer: They can impair driving, so you should check the labels
Many legal drugs, including sleeping pills, cough medicine, antihistamines, and decongestants, can impair driving. Read the warning labels and ask your doctor about side effects before driving.
19. You must switch from high beams to low beams when following another vehicle within how many feet?
Correct answer: 300 feet
When you are following another vehicle, use low beams within 300 feet so your bright lights do not glare in the other driver's mirrors.
20. A steady red "X" displayed on an overhead signal above a lane means that you:
Correct answer: Are not allowed to use that lane
A steady red X above a lane tells you that lane is closed to you and you may not drive in it.
Source: PA Driver's Manual — Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings