What happens if you fail the permit test in Florida?
In Florida you retake it, and what a failure costs you is money rather than time. FLHSMV publishes no mandatory waiting period between attempts and no cap on the number of attempts, so there is no second-attempt or third-attempt rule to serve out. What is fixed is the fee: Florida Statutes s. 322.12(1) charges $10 for each Class E knowledge exam retake after the first and $20 for each driving skills test retake, and a tax collector office adds a $6.25 service fee to the transaction. Nothing in the published rules sends you back to driver education after a second or third failure. One thing does change at the third attempt: if you have been testing through an FLHSMV-approved third-party administrator, you must sit any further test at a driver license service center or tax collector office. Anyone who passes through a third party can also be picked at random for a no-fee mandatory re-test before the license is issued. Checked in September 2026.
Source: Florida Statutes s. 322.12(1); FLHSMV Class E Knowledge Exam page and third-party administrator agreement, checked September 9, 2026.
Other questions about Florida
- How many questions can you miss on the Florida permit test?
- What to bring for the Florida permit test if you are under 18
- What to bring for the Florida permit test if you are 18 or over
- Can you take the permit test online in Florida?
- Florida supervised driving hours, and whether the log is turned in
Ready to practice for the Florida test?
How this works in other states
The wait, the fee and the attempt cap after a failed knowledge test, per state. Read the guide.
Written by Vikas. Checked against the source above on September 9, 2026. FLHSMV does not run this site and does not endorse it.