Driver's License Test Prep

Texas 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.

Number of questions

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. Verified Aug 2026

Questions needed to pass

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. Verified Sep 2026

Test format

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. Verified Sep 2026

Retake wait (days)

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. Verified Sep 2026

Per-section minimums?

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 Verified Sep 2026

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