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New York, how many you can miss

How many questions can you miss on the New York permit test?

Up to 6 of the 20, but no more than 2 of those misses can be road sign questions. The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles grades the written permit test on two conditions and a paper has to meet both: at least 14 of the 20 questions right, and at least 2 of the 4 road sign questions right. Get 3 of the 4 sign questions wrong and the paper fails even with 14 correct overall; get all 4 wrong and it fails however well the rest went. DMV sets out the rule in Chapter 1 of the New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), and its motorcycle permit page applies the same two conditions to Class M. The 20 question format covers the Class D, DJ, M, MJ and E written tests. Checked in September 2026.

Source: New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), Chapter 1; New York State DMV, Get a Motorcycle Learner Permit and License, checked September 25, 2026.

Which NY test do you needNY
EExam simulatorFull New York DMV format: 20 questions, 14 to pass with at least 2 of the 4 road sign questions right, every answer keyed to a statute.1Warm up runA shorter 20 question run pulled from across the NY bank, for a first look before the full sitting.SSigns and lane markingsSigns, signals and lane markings on their own: 63 questions, the group that costs the most points.LState statute questionsThe 36 rules that belong to New York alone, each carrying the statute number it was drafted against.
Every New York test and ruleNo account needed

How does New York grade the 20 questions?

The overall line: 14 right out of 20
14 right answers needed6 can be wrong
A second line sits inside the 4 sign questions, where at least 2 answers must be right. Source: New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), Chapter 1.

The 16 questions on everything else are pooled with the signs for the total, but the 4 sign questions are also scored as a group of their own, and in a group that small each miss takes a quarter of it. Three wrong sign answers sink the paper even if all 16 of the other answers are perfect, which means a score of 17 out of 20, or 85 percent, can come back as a fail. That is why a bare 70 percent is the wrong way to describe the New York pass mark: 14 of 20 is 70 percent, but reaching it does not guarantee a pass.

At a DMV office the Class D test is taken at a touch screen station or on paper, in any of 20 languages, and DMV publishes no time limit for it.

Which mixes of right and wrong answers pass?

The table walks through each possible sign score and shows what the other 16 questions then have to deliver.

Every sign score, worked out
Sign answers right (of 4)Other answers needed (of 16)Misses allowed on the other 16Result
410 or moreUp to 6Pass at 14 to 20 overall
311 or moreUp to 5Pass at 14 to 19 overall
212 or moreUp to 4Pass at 14 to 18 overall
1No number is enoughNone matterFail, even at 17 of 20
0No number is enoughNone matterFail, even at 16 of 20

Worked from the two published conditions: 14 of 20 overall and 2 of the 4 road sign questions.

Misses you can still afford on the other 16, by sign score
4 of 4 signs right6 misses
3 of 4 signs right5 misses
2 of 4 signs right4 misses
1 of 4 signs right0 misses
Fails at any score
0 of 4 signs right0 misses
Fails at any score
Treat 6 misses as a budget. Each sign miss spends one of them, and the third sign miss ends the paper with budget still left.

What do the 4 sign questions draw on?

DMV does not publish which 4 signs a paper uses. Signs are taught in Chapter 4, Traffic Control, and the online manual also has a page titled Road Signs You Must Know, with its own quiz. With no list to narrow it down, plan to know every sign on that page.

Color sorts most signs into their family. Yellow means a warning, orange a work zone, green directions and blue a service, while a rule you must obey is usually printed in black on white. The stop sign is the red octagon.

Signs from the families Chapter 4 covers
Stop
Stop
Yield
Yield
No Turn On Red
No Turn On Red
Curve
Curve
Road Work Ahead
Road Work Ahead
Destination sign
Destination sign
Rest Area
Rest Area

Stop, yield, a regulation sign, a warning sign, a work area sign, a destination sign and a service sign.

The No Turn on Red sign in that row deserves extra attention in New York. Across most of the state you may turn right on a steady red after a full stop and a yield, unless that sign forbids it. In New York City the default is reversed: no turn on red at all, right or left, unless a sign allows one. Outside the city, a left on red is allowed only from one one-way road onto another, and a red arrow allows no turn in its direction until it changes.

Because the sign group can fail you on its own, get every item on the road signs quiz right before your office visit, not just most of them.

What are the other 16 questions about?

They come from Chapters 4 through 11 of the Driver's Manual, which DMV names as the material you must know for the Class D, DJ or E written test. Part 1, which is Chapters 1 to 3 on licenses, keeping your license and owning a vehicle, is worth reading but is not on the test.

  • Chapter 4, Traffic Control: signals, signs and pavement markings.
  • Chapter 5, Intersections and Turns: right of way, emergency vehicles, turns and U-turns, and the rule to signal at least 100 feet before a turn or lane change.
  • Chapter 6, Passing: passing on the left and the right, being passed, and stopping at least 20 feet from a school bus with red lights flashing, from either direction.
  • Chapter 7, Parallel Parking.
  • Chapter 8, Defensive Driving: speed, space, distractions, work zones and roundabouts, with 55 mph as the limit where none is posted and 25 mph in New York City unless a sign says otherwise.
  • Chapter 9, Alcohol and Other Drugs.
  • Chapter 10, Special Driving Conditions: railroad crossings, expressways, night driving, bad weather, winter and deer.
  • Chapter 11, Sharing the Road.

Several chapters turn on exact figures, and Chapter 10 packs in more than most. Headlights are required from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise, and at any hour when visibility falls below 1,000 feet or the wipers are clearing rain, snow or sleet. High beams must come down within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle and within 200 feet of a vehicle ahead, even one in another lane.

The sun setting over the westbound New York State Thruway near the Warners Service Area
Sunset over the westbound New York State Thruway near the Warners Service Area.Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

What does the rule look like on a real result?

The same number of correct answers can fail one week and pass the next, depending on where the misses fall.

Worked example

Aisha's two results at 15 out of 20

  1. 1Aisha Rahman is 16 years and 2 months old and lives in Syracuse, in Onondaga County, outside the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. She applies for a Class DJ permit at a DMV office on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, and pays $80.00, the fee chart total for her age band.
  2. 2First attempt: 15 of 20 correct. That clears the overall line by 1.
  3. 3Her 5 misses include 3 of the 4 sign questions. She confused the orange of a work area sign with the yellow of a warning sign and misread a lane-use sign. With 1 sign answer right she is under the 2-of-4 line, so the paper fails at 75 percent.
  4. 4The $10 application fee inside her $80.00 covers the knowledge test twice under Vehicle and Traffic Law s. 503(2)(a), so her next attempt costs nothing more.
  5. 5She spends a week on the sign chart and the road signs quiz, then retests on Thursday, October 15, 2026. She again gets 15 of 20, this time with 4 of 4 sign answers and 11 of the other 16.

Outcome. Pass, with the same total as the paper that failed. Her Class DJ permit is issued once the vision test, written test and fees are done, and because she is under 18 the earliest she can schedule a road test is 6 months from the permit date, April 15, 2027.

Do motorcycle and commercial tests use the same rule?

The motorcycle permit test does; the commercial tests do not.

Pass rules across New York knowledge tests
TestQuestionsTo passLanguages
Class D, DJ or E permit20At least 14 right, including at least 2 of 4 sign questions20 for Class D; not stated for DJ or E
Class M or MJ motorcycle permit20At least 14 right, including at least 2 of 4 sign questions20 for Class M; not stated for MJ
CDL knowledge testsGeneral knowledge count not published80 percent on each test, 3 answer choices per questionEnglish, Spanish, Chinese and Russian; HazMat in English only

Sources: Driver's Manual Chapter 1; DMV permit test and motorcycle permit pages; Commercial Driver's Manual CDL-10, Section 1 (2/26); DMV CDL page.

A motorcycle applicant faces the same two lines with different reading: DMV points you to the Motorcycle Operator's Manual, MV-21MC, rather than only the car manual. For a commercial license, DMV publishes the 80 percent pass score but not how many questions the general knowledge test has. Any whole number of allowed misses for that test would be a guess, so this page does not give one. CDL tests are given only at DMV offices.

How should you study with two pass lines in mind?

Put the sign chart first, because it is the only part of the paper that can fail you by itself, then cover the chapters in order.

  1. 1
    Clear the sign chart

    Go through every sign on the chart and take the road signs quiz until you score 100 percent.

  2. 2
    Read Chapters 4 to 11

    Take the quiz for each chapter before moving on. Leave Part 1 for later, since it is not tested.

  3. 3
    Score yourself the way DMV does

    When you practice, track two numbers: total right, and sign answers right. A result that clears 14 but not the sign count is still a fail.

  4. 4
    Pick your language

    Choose whichever of the 20 languages you read most easily. A misread question counts the same as a wrong one.

The manual is free in print

Single printed copies of the Driver's Manual (form MV-21) are free at DMV offices, or by mail from the DMV Contact Center for your area code.

More questions about this in New York

Is 70 percent enough to pass the New York permit test?

Only if the sign questions also clear their own line. In New York, 14 correct answers out of 20 is 70 percent, and that total is required, but DMV also requires at least 2 correct answers among the 4 road sign questions. A paper with 17 right and just 1 correct sign answer fails at 85 percent. Treat 70 percent as half of the rule, with the sign count as the other half.

Is the New York motorcycle permit test scored the same way?

Yes. New York DMV grades the Class M and MJ written test on the same two conditions as the car test: at least 14 of 20 multiple-choice questions right, including at least 2 of the 4 road sign questions. The difference is the reading. DMV directs motorcycle applicants to the Motorcycle Operator's Manual, MV-21MC, and says the Class M test comes in the same 20 languages as Class D.

Is there a time limit on the New York written permit test?

New York DMV publishes none. Neither Chapter 1 of the Driver's Manual nor DMV's permit test page sets a time limit for the 20-question Class D test at an office, which you can take at a touch screen station or on paper. If timing worries you, ask the office staff before you start.

Which chapters of the New York Driver's Manual are on the permit test?

Chapters 4 through 11, plus the road sign chart. New York DMV says Part 1 of the manual, Chapters 1 to 3 on licenses, keeping your license and owning a vehicle, is not covered on the written test for a Class D, DJ or E permit. The online manual has a quiz for each tested chapter, a signs quiz and an all-chapters quiz, and printed copies are free at DMV offices.

How many questions are on the New York CDL general knowledge test?

New York DMV does not publish the number. Its Commercial Driver's Manual, CDL-10, says in Section 1 (revised February 2026) that each question has 3 answer choices and the pass score for each commercial knowledge test is 80 percent. Retakes are not capped, but they are at the discretion of the office's district director, manager, county clerk or supervisor. CDL tests are given only at DMV offices.

Sources

Other questions about New York

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Written by Vikas. Checked against the source above on September 25, 2026. New York DMV does not run this site and does not endorse it.