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North Carolina Road Signs and Their Meanings

Most states' road-signs coverage only matters if you're sitting for the full knowledge test. North Carolina is different: its road-signs test outlives the knowledge test. Renew an unexpired North Carolina license in person, or transfer in an unexpired license from another state, and North Carolina's own administrative rule waives the knowledge exam entirely — but still requires the road-signs test. Signs are the one thing almost nobody in North Carolina skips.

North Carolina's road-signs rule is written into state law, not just handbook guidance: 19A NCAC 03B .0201, the administrative code section governing driver's license examinations, states that a regular Class C applicant "shall correctly identify 9 of 12 road signs" to pass the Road Sign Examination — 75%. Applicants for a Class A or B license face a stricter bar: they must identify all of the road signs shown, with no margin at all. The same rule lists the Road Sign Examination alongside the Knowledge Examination, the Visual Acuity Test, and the Road Test as one of the components of a North Carolina driver's license application — and, unlike the knowledge and road tests, it still applies to many renewals and transfers. North Carolina has not published an official question count for the written knowledge test itself, which remains a modeled 25 questions with 20 to pass (80%) rather than a confirmed figure; the 9-of-12 rule is specific to the separate signs component.

North Carolina's Driver Handbook doesn't leave the signs test's scope in doubt: its testing overview states plainly, "All the information on the traffic signs test is in this handbook. To pass the signs test, you must identify the traffic signs by color and shape and explain what each means." The actual sign content lives in Chapter 5, Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings, published by the Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) — and every question in this bank names the part of that chapter it's drawn from.

First-time applicants aren't the only audience for this bank. In-person renewals, out-of-state transfers, and anyone whose old North Carolina license lapsed a while back all have to pass the same signs test — a wider group than the knowledge test ever reaches, since several of those categories skip the knowledge exam entirely. Every question here carries an explanation, because a bank this many different kinds of driver actually rely on shouldn't leave anything to memorized guesswork.

34 published North Carolina road-sign questions, each with an explanation and a citation to the handbook section it came from.

Content reviewed against official driver handbooks · August 12, 2026

Practice North Carolina road signs

Every sign you can be tested on in North Carolina

See what every sign means — the full U.S. sign chart

Regulatory signs

Warning signs

Construction & work-zone signs

Guide signs

Service & information signs

North Carolina road signs: frequently asked questions

What score does North Carolina's Road Sign Examination require?

North Carolina's Administrative Code (19A NCAC 03B .0201) sets the Road Sign Examination for a regular Class C applicant at 9 of 12 correct — 75%. That's a separate, published figure specific to the road-signs component; North Carolina's overall written knowledge test does not have an officially published question count and is modeled here at 25 questions with 20 to pass.

Do I have to take the road-signs test if I'm just renewing my North Carolina license?

Often, yes. North Carolina's rule requires applicants renewing a valid, unexpired license in person to complete the road-signs test and the vision test — even though the same rule waives the written knowledge test for that renewal. Renewing remotely online works differently and may waive more; check current NCDMV renewal options for your situation.

I have a valid license from another state — do I need to pass North Carolina's signs test?

If you're transferring an unexpired out-of-state license, North Carolina's rule requires you to complete the road-signs test and the vision test, but it waives the written knowledge test for that transfer. In other words, the signs test is the one written exam that follows you into North Carolina even when the general knowledge test doesn't.

Is the road-signs test harder for Class A or B license applicants in North Carolina?

Yes. The same administrative rule that sets 9 of 12 for a regular Class C license requires Class A and Class B applicants to correctly identify all of the road signs shown — a perfect score, with no margin. North Carolina issues both commercial and non-commercial Class A and B licenses, and the rule doesn't distinguish between them: the all-signs standard applies either way.

What if my North Carolina license has been expired for more than two years?

Then the renewal shortcut doesn't apply. North Carolina's rule treats a license expired more than two years like a first-time application: you have to complete the full set of tests — knowledge exam, road-signs test, vision test, and road test — rather than just the road-signs and vision tests that cover a more recent renewal or an unexpired out-of-state transfer.

Official sources

Checked against official state sources on 2026-07-28.