Virginia permit test
Test requirements, handbook sources, and practice for Virginia.
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 | Virginia | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Agency | Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles | Official source · PDF page 39 |
| Test name | two-part knowledge exam | Official source · PDF page 5 |
| Online testing | Computer exams are administered at DMV customer service centers and in classrooms at participating high schools; this page does not establish an at-home option. | |
| Traffic signs: questions | 10 | Official source · PDF page 5 |
| Traffic signs: correct to pass | 10 | Official source · PDF page 5 |
| General knowledge: questions | 30 | |
| General knowledge: correct to pass | 24 | |
| General knowledge: passing percentage | 80 | Official source · PDF page 5 |
| Minimum permit age | 15 years and 6 months | |
| Permit fee | $3 for the learner permit plus the applicable yearly driver-license cost. | |
| Driver’s education | For a driver’s license before age 18, complete a state-approved driver-education program and hold the permit at least nine months. This is a licensing requirement after obtaining the permit. | |
| Retest rules | Applicants under 18 must wait 15 full days after a failed exam; the failure date is not a waiting day. | Official source · PDF page 5 |
| Test languages | English, American Sign Language (ASL), Amharic (Ethiopian), Arabic, Chinese/Mandarin, Chinese/Mandarin (Traditional), Dari, Farsi, French, German, Haitian Creole, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Mongolian, Nepali, Pashto, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Twi (Akan), Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese | |
| Handbook | Virginia Driver’s Manual | Official source · PDF page 2 |
| Requirements for applicants under 18 | A parent or legal guardian signs consent for an under-18 application; an emancipation court order can replace that consent. | |
| Additional retest requirements | After a third knowledge-exam failure, additional education is required before another attempt. Adults 18+ may complete a DMV-approved eight-hour driver-manual course, offered at a training school or online. Minors may use that course if they already completed the classroom driver-education component and show its certificate to the school. The manual course must be completed after the third failure and its completion certificate given to DMV. Otherwise, the required classroom driver-education component must be completed and passed. | Official source · PDF page 5 |
| Adult retest rules | Applicants age 18 and older may test only once each day. | |
| Future education rule (not current) | From January1,2027, never-licensed ages18–20 need driver education and a90-day permit hold before licensing; under18 rules and age21+ rules remain distinct. |
Start with the handbook
Official source · PDF page 2
Study the federal road-sign catalog.
Free permit practice
Try 20 independently checked questions with explanations and handbook citations. This practice set does not reproduce the official exam format.
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