By state
New York permit practice test
Twenty questions, fourteen to get right: practice the New York written test at its real length, then see how the junior license works upstate and in the city.
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| Pass mark: 14 of 20 (70 %) |
| You can still miss 6 |
Practice questions written from the state handbook and federal rules. Not the official test.
The New York written test for a learner permit has 20 multiple-choice questions and you pass with 14 correct, 70 %; the DMV also requires at least two right answers out of the four questions on road signs, so a strong score elsewhere cannot make up for missing the signs. The junior learner permit is available from 16 years. It must be held 6 months before the road test, with 50 hours of supervised practice, 15 of them after sunset, and a 5-hour pre-licensing course. The junior license can then come at 16 years 6 months at the earliest. One fee, $80 outside the New York City area at age 16 and more inside it, covers the permit, the tests and the first license. Night rules differ by region: in the five boroughs of New York City, junior drivers may not drive at all from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. The practice test above uses the same 20-question length and the 14-answer mark.
Compare two states
Permit age
16 · 16
| Time on the permit | 6 months · 6 months |
| Supervised hours | 50 h · 50 h |
| Test questions | 20 · 50 |
| Restrictions end | 17 · 18 |
Questions and state rules by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the questions are written
New York beside its neighbors
New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania all start teens at 16, but the tests and paths differ. Compare any two states with the mini-tool, which opens on New York and New Jersey:
Compare two states
Permit age
16 · 16
| Time on the permit | 6 months · 6 months |
| Supervised hours | 50 h · 50 h |
| Test questions | 20 · 50 |
| Restrictions end | 17 · 18 |
| New York | New Jersey | Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Questions on the written test | 20 | 50 | 18 |
| Correct answers needed | 14 | 40 | 15 |
| Supervised hours | 50 | 50 | 65 |
| Permit fee | $80 | $10 | $45.50 |
The night rules by region
Junior permit/license: no driving 9 PM-5 AM in New York City (5 boroughs); Long Island: 9 PM-5 AM only directly between home and work-study/college/driver-ed/farm work; Upstate: 9 PM-5 AM only home-work/school or with parent/guardian.
Passengers: Junior license: no more than one passenger under 21 unless immediate family. Junior permit: same, and only the supervising driver may sit in front. Phones: New York bans handheld use for every driver, not only teens, which is why the state has no separate teen phone rule in our table.
Motorcycle permit in New York
A motorcycle learner permit is available from 16 years. Its written test has 20 questions; the pass rule is 14 of 20 (incl. 2 of 4 road-sign questions). The motorcycle practice test covers gear, lane position and riding in a group.
Where the figures come from
The test length, the sign rule, the hours and the fee are those of the New York Driver's Manual (MV-21) and of the DMV pages cited below. The fee varies by age at application and by region; the figure shown is the one the DMV gives for a 16-year-old outside the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. This site is independent of the New York State DMV.