Free North Dakota DMV Car / Permit Practice Test 2026
The North Dakota Car / Permit knowledge test has ~25 questions, and you need ~20 correct (~80%) to pass. Practice free with questions written from the official North Dakota 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 North Dakota written test
The North Dakota Car / Permit knowledge test has ~25 questions; you need ~20 correct (~80%) to pass.
Based on the official North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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.
North Dakota Car / Permit test — frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the North Dakota Car / Permit test?
The North Dakota Car / Permit knowledge test has ~25 questions, and you need ~20 correct (~80%) to pass. Our practice tests mirror that format.
How many questions can I miss on the North Dakota Car / Permit test?
You can miss up to ~5 of the ~25 questions and still pass — you need ~20 correct, which is ~80%.
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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota driver handbook, practice by topic to target weak areas, and finish with full-length tests until you consistently pass.
Other North Dakota practice tests
Take the Car / Permit test in another state
Every North Dakota question is written from the official North Dakota 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
North Dakota Car / Permit questions with answers
20 sample questions from the North Dakota 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. North Dakota sorts the signs along its streets and highways into how many basic families?
Correct answer: Three
The manual describes three groups: signs that regulate traffic, signs that warn of a hazard, and signs that guide you toward a destination or service.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Signs
2. Which effect of alcohol does the North Dakota manual describe?
Correct answer: A false sense of confidence behind the wheel
The manual lists slowed reactions, blurred vision, broken concentration, dulled judgment, and a misleading sense of confidence among alcohol's effects on a driver.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Effects of Alcohol
3. What is the first thing to do when leaving a parking space?
Correct answer: Look behind, over your shoulder and in the mirror
Before anything else you look back — a glance over the shoulder plus the rear-view mirror; only then do you signal, give way, and move into the nearest lane.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Leaving a Parking Space
4. What does the manual say to do if the accelerator pedal sticks down?
Correct answer: Press the clutch or select neutral
Push in the clutch or move the shifter to neutral. Shutting the engine off is possible but costs you power steering and power brakes, and the ignition must never go to lock while the car is moving.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Equipment Failure
5. How often does the manual suggest checking your mirrors while driving?
Correct answer: Every six to eight seconds
The practice guidance is to keep the eyes moving and glance around and behind the vehicle every six to eight seconds.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Tips for Supervising Teen Driving
6. Unless a posted sign forbids it, when may a North Dakota driver turn right at a red light?
Correct answer: After halting and finding the intersection empty of people and vehicles
The turn is allowed after you have stopped, provided no pedestrians or vehicles remain in the intersection and no sign bans the movement.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Traffic Signals
7. What does a driver receive for violating the conditions attached to an instruction permit?
Correct answer: A two-point penalty
Driving outside the terms of an instruction permit puts a two-point penalty on the driving record, on top of any statutory fees.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Road Test Waiver
8. Below what visibility does poor weather oblige a North Dakota driver to switch the headlights on?
Correct answer: 1,000 feet
Rain, snow, sleet, hail, smoke, or fog that pulls visibility under 1,000 feet is the trigger for turning the headlights on.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Night Driving
9. A patrol car sits at a crash scene with its emergency lights flashing. What does the manual require of approaching drivers?
Correct answer: Steer to the right-hand side and stop before proceeding when clear
You are to move to the right-hand side of the road and stop; once traffic conditions allow, you may go past at your own risk, and an officer directing traffic must be obeyed.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Right of Way
10. Before you back your vehicle, what does the manual suggest you do?
Correct answer: Walk around the vehicle to check for clearance
Walking a full circle around the car before you reverse is the manual's advice, since it lets you spot children and objects the mirrors will never show.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Backing
11. Why do tractor-trailers tend to stay in the middle lane of a multi-lane highway?
Correct answer: It eases local traffic on and off and leaves the driver more options
Riding the center lane leaves local traffic free to enter and exit, and it also gives the trucker more escape options if a lane change becomes necessary.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Sharing the Road with Trucks
12. What do the numbers printed on North Dakota's milepost signs actually count?
Correct answer: The miles from the state's south or west edge, or from where the route starts
A milepost tells you how many miles separate you from the southern or western edge of the state, or from the point where that route begins inside the state.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Guide Signs
13. What fine does a first DUI conviction carry in North Dakota?
Correct answer: $500
The court penalty for a first conviction starts at a $500 fine; a reading of .16 percent or greater raises it to no less than $750 plus two days behind bars.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Driving While Under the Influence
14. How close to the curb should your wheels sit once you finish parallel parking?
Correct answer: Within one foot of the curb
The finished position calls for wheels lined up parallel with the right-hand curb and no more than a foot away from it.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Parallel Parking
15. How deep does water have to be to reach the underside of most passenger cars?
Correct answer: Six inches
Six inches is enough to touch the bottom of most cars and cost you control or stall the engine, and two feet of moving water can float away most vehicles.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Flooding
16. What is the maximum on North Dakota's rural Interstate highways when nothing else is posted?
Correct answer: 80 miles per hour
Rural stretches of Interstate carry the state's highest figure, 80 miles per hour, unless a sign sets something lower.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Speed Limits
17. A center lane marked for two-way left turns may be used for what?
Correct answer: Left turns by drivers approaching from either direction
That middle lane is set aside for drivers turning left from either direction; it is not a place to overtake or to run through traffic.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Pavement Markings
18. How soon after a conviction are points normally added to a North Dakota driving record?
Correct answer: Within 10 days
The manual says points usually reach the record within ten days of the conviction that produced them.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Point System
19. Who must wear a seat belt under North Dakota's law?
Correct answer: Everyone in the vehicle, in every seat
North Dakota requires belts for every occupant of the vehicle, in every seating position, not merely those in front.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Seat Belts
20. Two cars reach an intersection with no signs at about the same moment. Who gives way?
Correct answer: The driver on the left yields to the driver on the right
At an unsigned intersection reached at roughly the same time, the driver on the left has to let the driver on the right go through first.
Source: North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual — Right of Way