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.
- Passing score (%)
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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." Verified Aug 2026
- Number of questions
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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.
- Questions needed to pass
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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.
- Time limit (minutes)
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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.
- Test format
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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.
- Retake wait (days)
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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.
- Per-section minimums?
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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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