What to bring for the California permit test if you are 18 or over
At 18 or over in California there is no driver education certificate to bring, no parent or guardian signature, no six month permit holding period and no supervised hours requirement: the California Department of Motor Vehicles attaches all of those to applicants under 18. You sit a different and shorter paper too. Per DMV's own 2006 research report, adults take the 36 question DL 5 form with six errors allowed, while under-18s take the 46 question DL 5T. The instruction permit application is valid for 12 months, you get three attempts per application before you must reapply, and there is no seven day wait after a failure for adults, only for minors. Leave the handbook and your phone in the car: testing aids are prohibited and using one is recorded as a failure. Checked in September 2026.
Source: California DMV instruction permits page; California Driver's Handbook (DL 600), the testing process, checked September 9, 2026.
What does California DMV not publish on this?
DMV's identity and residency document list is not restated here: it is outside the source set checked on September 9, 2026.
Other questions about California
- How many questions can you miss on the California permit test?
- What happens if you fail the permit test in California?
- What to bring for the California permit test if you are under 18
- Can you take the permit test online in California?
- California supervised driving hours, and whether the log is turned in
Ready to practice for the California test?
How this works in other states
The under-18 list and the 18-and-over list, side by side for three states, with the statute behind each line. Read the guide.
Written by Vikas. Checked against the source above on September 9, 2026. California DMV does not run this site and does not endorse it.