Tennessee permit test
Test requirements, handbook sources, and practice for Tennessee.
Test and permit facts
Read the scope and exceptions alongside each fact. Requirements still awaiting review are omitted; their absence does not mean the agency has no rule.
| Fact | Tennessee | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Agency | Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security | |
| Test name | knowledge test | |
| Test format details | For the online test for ages 15–17, Tennessee publishes 30 questions, an 80% pass mark, a 60-minute limit, and English or Spanish. These details describe the online option. | |
| Test options and applicant conditions | Driver Service Centers normally use computer testing, with paper tests in limited cases. Selected centers offer oral tests by appointment for applicants with a learning disability or who cannot read. An applicant younger than 18 needs a physician or educational specialist statement documenting the condition or disability for an oral test. The department provides a certified sign-language interpreter for a deaf applicant requesting an oral test. | Official source · PDF page 35 |
| Test format scope | The handbook requires alcohol and other drugs to account for at least 25% of knowledge-test questions. Its examination overview describes roughly equal shares of 25% for signs/signals, safe-driving principles, road rules, and drugs/alcohol. | Official source 1 · PDF page 93 Official source 2 · PDF page 35 |
| Online test format | Questions: 30 Passing percentage: 80% Time limit (minutes): 60 Languages: English, Spanish Eligible ages: 15–17 | |
| Online testing | Applicants ages 15–17 may test online with a parent or legal guardian supervising through Tennessee Proctor ID. The proctor registers on a separate compatible phone or tablet and may supervise at most five applicants. The applicant uses a computer or tablet, not a phone. If testing reaches 30 minutes, the proctor must scan the QR code to authenticate again; tests finished before then need no second authentication. The department may require another exam at a service center even after an online pass. | |
| Minimum permit age | 15 | Official source 1 · PDF page 17 |
| Permit fee | $10.50 total for a Class PD learner permit under age 18; $5.50 total at age 18 or older. A County Clerk Partner adds a $4 administrative charge for services it provides. | |
| Permit validity | The published standard period for a Class PD learner permit is one year, both under age 18 and at age 18 or older. | |
| Retest rules | After an ordinary knowledge-test failure, wait at least one day before another attempt at a Driver Service Center, including after later failures. Online teen testing instead states a 24-hour wait and at most two online attempts. Cheating carries a separate 30-day bar. The handbook also lists a $2 application charge each time a PD, D or H test is taken and failed. | |
| Language list scope | These alternative languages apply to computerized tests at Driver Service Centers. See the separate teen online format for its language options. | Official source 1 · PDF page 35 |
| Foreign-language tests | Spanish, Korean, Japanese | Official source · PDF page 35 |
| Handbook | Comprehensive Driver License Manual | |
| Requirements for applicants under 18 | For a Class PD learner permit, pass the knowledge and vision tests and meet the document requirements. A responsible adult signs the minor affidavit, accepting financial responsibility; if the adult cannot attend, the signature can be notarized. Provide school-status evidence, such as a diploma, GED or school attendance form. The handbook includes a summer extension for a school form signed in the final 30 days of the school year, and separate evidence for home-school and out-of-state/private-school applicants. A learner must have a licensed adult age 21 or older beside them, avoid driving from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and hold the permit for 180 days before advancing. GDL exceptions apply to graduates/GED holders and certain emancipated 16-year-olds. | |
| Online retest rules | Online applicants must wait 24 hours after failure and may take that online test at most twice. | |
| Documents to bring | For a first Class PD application, bring original or certified identity documents: the handbook requires a primary ID and a second item from its primary or secondary lists., Provide citizenship or lawful permanent resident evidence for a regular permit; temporary legal presence uses the separate temporary-license process., Bring two acceptable Tennessee residency documents, name-change evidence when applicable, and your Social Security number or the sworn affidavit for someone never assigned a number., Applicants under 18 also need the responsible adult affidavit and appropriate school-status evidence. See the teen requirements for exceptions and school-form timing. | Official source 1 · PDF page 23 Official source 2 · PDF page 22 Official source 3 · PDF page 24 Official source 4 · PDF page 25 Official source 5 · PDF page 31 |
| Agency offices and appointments | Use the official Locations and Appointments directory to search by county, ZIP code or city and the service needed. Check the current location entry and closure notices before visiting., Knowledge-test appointments are offered at selected centers. Appointment availability and services vary by location; the department asks customers to arrive 15 minutes early. |
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Free permit practice
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