Texas DMV Test Day: What to Expect

70 percent or better on any knowledge exam.

Source: Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), Revised January 2026, Chapter 1 'Part 1: The Knowledge exam', p. 7: "You must score a grade of 70 percent or better to pass any knowledge exam."

The number of questions is not published. The Texas Driver Handbook and the department pages give the passing score but no count, and the administrative rule that would carry one cannot currently be read from an official state source. Prepare for the whole manual rather than budgeting a number of misses.

Source: No official Texas source publishes a question count. Checked: Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), Revised January 2026, Chapter 1, Part 1: The Knowledge Exam, p. 7, which gives only the 70 percent standard; and the Department of Public Safety pages Apply for a Texas Driver License, Requirements, Driver License Division FAQ, Still Have Questions, and Request Knowledge Tests by Driver Education Schools, none of which states a count. The figures circulating on test-prep sites are not traceable to the department.

Texas does not publish this. The passing standard is a percentage, 70 percent, and the department does not print the number of questions the exam carries, so there is no fixed number of correct answers to aim for. Study for the whole handbook rather than for a margin of misses.

Source: Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), Revised January 2026, Chapter 1, Part 1: The Knowledge Exam, p. 7 ("You must score a grade of 70 percent or better to pass any knowledge exam"), which is the only figure Texas publishes; no question count appears in the handbook or on the Department of Public Safety driver license pages.

Texas publishes no time limit for the knowledge exam. Neither the handbook nor the department driver license pages state one, so plan to read each question carefully rather than racing a clock.

Source: No time limit is published. Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), Revised January 2026, Chapter 1, Part 1: The Knowledge Exam, p. 7, states the 70 percent passing standard and nothing about timing. Texas Transportation Code Sec. 521.161, which sets out what the examination must include and the option to take it in writing, imposes no time limit either, and none appears on the Department of Public Safety pages Apply for a Texas Driver License, Requirements, or the Driver License Division FAQ.

You get to choose, and the choice is a right the department has to tell you about. State law says the department shall give every applicant the option of taking the knowledge parts of the exam in writing, either instead of an electronic testing method or in addition to it. Take both versions and you pass that part if you pass either one. So if a touchscreen rattles you, ask for the written test; if you are not sure, you can sit both and keep the better result. Spanish speakers who cannot take the exam in English have a separate right to an alternate Spanish examination, identical to the English one except that the sign text stays in English.

Source: Texas Transportation Code Sec. 521.161(c): the department "shall give each applicant the option of taking the parts of the examination under Subsections (b)(1)(B), (C), (D), and (E) in writing in addition to or instead of through a mechanical, electronic, or other testing method. If the applicant takes that part of the examination in writing in addition to another testing method, the applicant is considered to have passed that part of the examination if the applicant passes either version ... The department shall inform each person taking the examination of the person's rights under this subsection." The Spanish alternate is Sec. 521.162.

Texas publishes no mandatory wait between attempts. What it publishes instead is a budget: one fee buys three examinations of each part of the test on a single application, and if you have not qualified after the third, you file a new application and pay again. Nothing in the law makes you wait a set number of days in between. In practice the delay is whatever the office schedule gives you, so book the next attempt as soon as you know you need it.

Source: Texas Transportation Code Sec. 521.161(d): "On payment of the required fee, an applicant is entitled to three examinations of each element under Subsection (b) for each application to qualify for a driver's license. If the applicant has not qualified after the third examination, the applicant must submit a new application accompanied by the required fee." No waiting interval appears in Sec. 521.161, in the Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), Revised January 2026, Chapter 1, or on the Department of Public Safety driver license pages.

Texas grades the Class C knowledge exam as one composite score and requires 70 percent or better to pass. The handbook does not divide the exam into scored subsections or impose per-topic minimums, so every correct answer counts equally toward the passing threshold.

Source: Texas Driver Handbook (Revised January 2026), Chapter 1: Your License to Drive, 'Examinations, Part 1: The Knowledge exam', p. 7

$16

Source: Texas Driver Handbook (rev. Jan. 2026), Appendix D: Fees – Learner license under 18 (new: $16); confirmed in Chapter 1, Table 1: Learner License ($15 for license + $1 fee = $16)

Texas does not charge a separate fee for the Class C knowledge (written) exam. The test is bundled into the driver license application fee, which is $16 for a learner license under 18 and $33 for a Class C license at age 18 or older. If you fail on your first attempt, your application is held for 90 days at no additional cost; after three failed exams or 90 days a new application and fee are required. A $10 exam fee applies only when you add a higher class or remove restrictions from an existing license.

Source: Texas Driver Handbook (rev. Jan. 2026), Appendix D: Fees; Chapter 1, 'How to Obtain a Texas Driver License' – Examinations (Part 1: The Knowledge Exam and Part 3: The Driving Exam) Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), Revised January 2026, Chapter 1, Examinations: "Before any exams are given, you must pay the required fee." The exams carry no fee of their own; the learner license ($16) or Class C license ($33) fee covers them.

Texas charges no separate state fee for the Class C driving (skills) exam. It is covered by the driver license application fee: $16 for a learner license under 18, or $33 for a Class C license at age 18 or older. If you do not pass on the first attempt, your application is held for 90 days at no additional charge; after three failed exams or 90 days you must submit a new application and pay the fee again. A $10 exam fee applies only when moving from a lower to a higher class of license, or when removing restrictions from an existing one. One caveat on "free": the driving exam can be taken at a driver license office or through a third party skills testing (TPST) school, and a TPST school is a private provider whose charge is not part of the state fee schedule. No state fee does not mean no cost if you test through a school.

Source: Texas Driver Handbook (rev. Jan. 2026), Appendix D: Fees; Chapter 1 'How to Obtain a Texas Driver License', Part 3: The Driving Exam (driver license office or third party skills testing school; $10 exam fee to change class or remove restrictions).

$33

Source: Texas Driver Handbook (rev. Jan. 2026), Appendix D: Fees – Driver license (Class A, B or C), Age 18 to 84: new ($33); confirmed in Chapter 1, Classes of Driver Licenses ($32 for license + $1 administrative fee)

$33

Source: Texas Driver Handbook (rev. Jan. 2026), Appendix D: Fees – Driver license (Class A, B or C), Age 18 to 84: renewal ($33); Age 85 and older renewal is $9

$16

Source: Texas Driver Handbook (rev. Jan. 2026), Appendix D: Fees – Identification (ID) card, Age 59 and younger: new/renewal ($16); Age 60 and older: $6. Confirmed in Chapter 1, Table 6 ($15 card + $1 fee = $16 for 59 or younger)

The application fee paid before testing covers the exams; the application is held for 90 days, and after 90 days or three failed exams a new application and fee are required. (The original Class C fee is $33 ages 18-84, $16 under 18 learner license, per Appendix D.)

Source: Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), Revised January 2026, Chapter 1 'Examinations', p. 7: "your application will be held for 90 days. After 90 days or three failed exams, a new application and fee will be required."