Why do sites list different permit test numbers?

By the Permito team · Facts checked against the Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington agency pages and North Carolina rule 19A NCAC 03B .0201 · Updated November 11, 2026 · Sources checked November 11, 2026 · How we check facts

What did we compare?

In October 2026 we read 66 pages on six practice and test-prep sites for 23 states and wrote down every question count, correct-answer count and percent they gave. We do not name or link those pages. On November 11, 2026 we tried to open the agency page or document for each state. We could read one for 13 states: Alabama (Alabama driver manual), California (California DMV), Florida (Palm Beach County Tax Collector), Georgia (Georgia DDS), Indiana (Indiana BMV), Massachusetts (Massachusetts RMV), Michigan (Michigan Secretary of State), Missouri (Missouri Driver Guide), New York (NY DMV Driver’s Manual), North Carolina (N.C. rule 19A NCAC 03B .0201), Pennsylvania (PA Driver’s Manual), Virginia (Virginia DMV) and Washington (Washington DOL).

For the other ten states we could not read an agency number that day, so we make no claim about them. The chart shows every state, and the data behind it is a CSV file that carries no site names. Our own pass marks by state are in the Questions and pass mark by state, with sources.

Where did the numbers agree?

In five states every count in the summary text of every practice site we read matched the agency page. Florida says 40 of 50 correct, Washington 32 of 40 and Massachusetts 18 of 25 (Palm Beach County Tax Collector) (Washington DOL) (Massachusetts RMV). New York says 14 of 20, with at least 2 of its 4 sign questions right (NY DMV Driver’s Manual). Georgia matches too, but only if you read it as two tests: 15 of 20 on the signs test and 15 of 20 on the road rules test (Georgia DDS).

In 5 of the 8 states where an agency prints both numbers, the sites agreed; Virginia, Missouri and Pennsylvania are the three where a figure differs (Virginia DMV) (Missouri Driver Guide) (PA Driver’s Manual). The trouble shows up most where an agency prints parts, prints one number, or prints nothing.

Where did the numbers split?

Eight states split, in two ways. In four, a practice-site figure contradicts something the agency states. In four more, the sites gave a question count that the agency page does not print, so there was nothing to match it against.

Only four states in the chart contradict an agency, and only Virginia differs on the question count itself. Missouri and Pennsylvania differ on the correct-answer count or the percent, and California differs on the percent. Indiana is listed as a gap, not a contradiction. Its 80 percent on 16 sign questions would need 13 correct, and the 14 two sites gave is higher, but the agency prints no count to compare it with (Indiana BMV). Such gaps are hard to see: a reader who finds three sites that agree has no way to know that the agency never printed the number.

Why do the numbers differ?

A practice test is not the test. A practice site chooses how long its own practice test is. The agency chooses how long the real one is. Agencies say the exam draws on the handbook (Virginia DMV) (Missouri Driver Guide), so a site can write as many practice questions from the same material as it likes, and we cannot tell where either number came from. On one site we read, the summary text and the practice-test list on the same state page gave different numbers for several states, so even one site is not always consistent.

One test, several parts. Virginia’s exam has two parts: all 10 sign questions right, then 24 of 30 general questions (Virginia DMV). Adding them gives 40 questions and 34 correct. Georgia asks for 15 of 20 on each of two parts, so “15 correct” on a page means per part, not 15 of 40 (Georgia DDS). Indiana scores two sections at 80 percent each (Indiana BMV), which makes a single combined percent a number the agency never set.

Versions by age, license class or delivery. Michigan’s Segment 1 exam belongs to the driver education course for teens, with its own 70 percent mark (Michigan Secretary of State), and it is not the adult knowledge test. One site we read listed both on the same state page. North Carolina asks 9 of 12 road signs for a regular Class C license but all signs for an A or B license (N.C. rule 19A NCAC 03B .0201). When a page does not say which applicant or which license class its number is for, it may be right for someone else.

Rounding a percent. Pennsylvania prints a count, 15 of 18 (PA Driver’s Manual). As a percent that is 83.3, which rounds to 83, not 84, so the 84 percent one site printed does not follow from the count. California’s DMV states 80 percent and no count (California DMV). If the test has 46 questions, 80 percent is 36.8, which is not a whole number of questions. A site that says 38 correct is asking for 82.6 percent, more than the 80 the DMV states. Indiana’s 80 percent shows the same issue: on 34 questions it is 27.2, so any count has to round up to 28, which is about 82 percent, and a page that prints that percent shows the rounding, not the rule (Indiana BMV).

The same number on several sites. Where an agency prints nothing, sites still print a number, and they often match each other. Alabama’s manual gives no question count and no passing score (Alabama driver manual), yet all three sites we read said 30 questions and 24 correct in their summary text. Agreement between sites is not a source. A shared number may be copied or may come from something we cannot see, and we cannot tell which, so matching figures prove nothing without an agency page behind them.

Old handbooks. A site’s number could come from an older version of a test or handbook. The practice-site pages carry no handbook edition that we could compare with an agency’s, so for no state can we say which edition a site’s number came from. We do not blame an old handbook for any figure in the tables.

How do you find the number your state sets?

1. Go to your state agency’s own website (the DMV, DPS, BMV or the like), not a search result summary. State and county government sites usually end in .gov or .state.xx.us. Look for the page called the knowledge test, written test or permit test.
2. Check who the page is for. Look for your age and license class, and whether it describes the in-office test, an online test or a school’s course exam, as Michigan’s Segment 1 exam is (Michigan Secretary of State).
3. Read for parts. If the page lists a signs test and a rules test, each can have its own minimum, as in Virginia (Virginia DMV) and Georgia (Georgia DDS).
4. If the page gives only a percent, do not turn it into a count yourself. California’s page gives 80 percent and no count (California DMV). Ask the agency how many questions the test has, or treat the count as unknown.
5. Note the date or edition on the page, and compare it with the edition of the handbook you are studying.

The pass marks that agencies publish are in the Questions and pass mark by state, with sources, and each state’s guide is linked from the Permit test by state. For what a pass mark means in missed questions, see How many questions can you miss on the permit test?, and for handbook rules that differ from the law, What if the driver handbook and the law disagree?. You can practice with our question sets for Virginia practice test: ten questions with explanations, Pennsylvania practice test: ten questions with explanations and Florida practice test: ten questions with explanations.

What does this study not show?

It is a snapshot of the states we could read on one day, against pages we read in October, and the practice sites may have changed since. In ten states we could not read an agency number, so those rows say nothing about whether the sites are right. We did not judge the sites’ practice questions or their advice, only the numbers they print about the exam itself.

The bottom line

Practice sites and agencies often agree, as in Florida, Washington, Massachusetts and New York (Palm Beach County Tax Collector) (Washington DOL) (Massachusetts RMV) (NY DMV Driver’s Manual). When they do not, look for a test with parts, a different applicant, a rounded percent or a number nobody can source. The agency is where the number is set, so start there.

Related guides

• How many questions can you miss on the permit test?
• What if the driver handbook and the law disagree?
• Do you have to get every road sign question right on the permit test?
• Can you take the Florida permit test in Spanish?

Keep going

• Virginia permit test guide: question count, pass mark and state rules
• Virginia practice test: ten questions with explanations
• Pennsylvania permit test guide: question count, pass mark and state rules
• Pennsylvania practice test: ten questions with explanations
• California permit test guide: question count, pass mark and state rules
• California practice test: ten questions with explanations
• Indiana permit test guide: question count, pass mark and state rules
• Indiana practice test: ten questions with explanations
• Permit test by state
• Questions and pass mark by state, with sources
• All permit test guides

Sources

Sources checked on November 11, 2026.

1. Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles: The Knowledge Exam (web page, read November 11, 2026).
2. Palm Beach County Tax Collector: Knowledge Exam (web page, read November 11, 2026).
3. Georgia Department of Driver Services: Section 3: Testing Information (DDS Driver’s Manual) (DDS Driver’s Manual 2023-2024, web edition read November 11, 2026).
4. Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles: Apply for a passenger (Class D) learner’s permit (web page, read November 11, 2026).
5. New York State Department of Motor Vehicles: Driver’s Manual, Chapter 1: Driver Licenses (web edition, read November 11, 2026).
6. Washington State Department of Licensing: Do I need to take a test? (web page, read November 11, 2026).
7. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Driver and Vehicle Services: Online Driver’s Manual, Chapter 1: Testing (web edition, read November 11, 2026).
8. Missouri Department of Revenue: Missouri Driver Guide (Driver Guide (PDF), read November 11, 2026).
9. California Department of Motor Vehicles: Learner’s permits (web page, read November 11, 2026).
10. Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles: Knowledge Exam (web page, read November 11, 2026).
11. North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings (N.C. Administrative Code): 19A NCAC 03B .0201, Driver’s License Examination and Online Renewal (readopted effective November 1, 2021, read November 11, 2026).
12. Michigan Secretary of State: New drivers under 18 (web page, read November 11, 2026).
13. Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA): Alabama Driver License Manual (manual (PDF), read November 11, 2026).

Rules change. Check your state’s official handbook before your test. Permito is a private study app, not affiliated with any DMV or government agency. Found a mistake? Write to support@permito.app and we will check it against the source. How we check facts.