California Passing Score & Test Length
How many questions are on the knowledge test, how many you need to pass, and whether there is a time limit.
- Passing score (%)
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80
- Number of questions
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The current handbook and the DMV pages do not state a count. Older DMV research reports put the adult Class C test at 36 questions and the under-18 test at 46, but those date from 1999 and 2006 and the answer format has changed since, so treat them as history rather than as a description of the test you will sit. Prepare for the whole manual rather than budgeting a number of misses.
- Num To Pass
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The DMV publishes a passing standard of 80% rather than a number of correct answers, and it does not print a question count on any of its consumer pages, so there is no fixed "answers needed" figure to give. Work to the standard instead: miss more than one question in five and you have failed. You get three attempts on one application fee, so a first-attempt failure costs you time, not money.
- Time Limit Minutes
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California publishes no time limit for the knowledge test. The one clock that does exist is the office's: the DMV will not start a knowledge test within 30 minutes of closing, so arriving late in the day can cost you the appointment rather than the test.
- Test Format
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Every question gives you three choices, not four. That matters more than it sounds: a blind guess is a one-in-three shot, and eliminating a single obviously wrong option leaves you at even odds. The DMV's own advice is that one choice is correct and the other two are "either obviously wrong or not appropriate for the question asked," which is a fair description of how the traps are built. Questions are drawn from the California Driver's Handbook and are taken at a DMV field office.
- Retake wait (days)
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Minors (under 18) must wait seven days to retake a failed knowledge test, not counting the day of the failure. No waiting period is published for adults. All applicants get three attempts on the application; after a third failure the application is void and you must reapply (and pay the application fee again).
- Per-section minimums?
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California does not break its knowledge test into scored subsections with per-category minimums. You need the overall passing score on the multiple-choice test; there is no separate signs section or road-rules section you can fail independently.
Source: California Driver's Handbook (Rev. 6/2025), Section 3: The Testing Process
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