Passing the Idaho Knowledge (Permit) Test

Before you study: what is on it

Idaho's class D written test has 40 questions, and the handbook lets you miss six before failing. That is 34 right, an 85 percent pass mark, tougher than the 80 percent used in many states.

Every item is lifted from the handbook. Topics to expect: who yields to whom, speed limits, signs and lane lines, how points and suspensions work, open containers, and what implied consent means if police ask for an alcohol test. Idaho also tests local knowledge, like cattle on open range, deer and elk country, steep mountain grades and snow and ice.

Before you study: when you take it

For teens, Idaho runs things in an unusual order. The training permit is bought before the first class and sent to the program, not the student. Next comes the course (80 percent to pass) and half a year of supervised driving with 50 logged hours, ten at night. The written test arrives only at the end, at the DMV, followed by the driving test with a private examiner.

Adults (17 and older) can skip drivers ed: they take the written test first at the county and then buy a class D permit to practice. Two other groups sit the test too: people moving in with a license from elsewhere, and anyone whose Idaho license lapsed 25 or more months ago. Per the handbook, nobody under 15 may take the written or driving test.

Study plan: using ITD's material

Two free resources come from ITD itself: online sample tests (English or Spanish) and a set of practice questions toward the back of the handbook, whose answers are printed up front. The handbook says third-party practice sites online give a misleading picture, so measure yourself against ITD's versions.

Read one handbook section a day, try the ITD sample test, then reread the section behind each miss. Give extra time to the chapters on your driving privilege and record, which cover points, GDL penalties and administrative license suspension.

Worked example: two weeks out, read two sections a night for a week. In week two, take the sample test every other day and reread only what you missed. By test day, the sample should feel easy.

On test day: where and the room rules

The test is given at county driver's license offices. ITD's test page tells you to find the nearest one, and the Department of Education notes some counties require you to schedule the written test, so call first.

Every county now enforces one set of room rules. Leave behind anything electronic, whether a phone, watch, tablet, laptop, camera, headphones or earbuds, and bring no notes or manual. Once seated, you stay in the testing area unless you are walking to an examiner.

On test day: the eye screening

Everyone gets an eye check. You need 20/40 in at least one eye, with or without lenses. Wear glasses or contacts if you use them; a lens restriction will go on the license.

Have a health issue that might affect your driving? The county can hold off on issuing anything until your physician completes a medical form.

If English is not your first language

Besides English, the handbook says you can test in Spanish, Vietnamese, Swahili, Serbo-Croatian, Russian, Korean, French, Farsi, Chinese or Arabic, and there is an American Sign Language version. A modified test in either English or Spanish keeps the questions but rewrites them in plainer language.

Bringing your own translator is allowed in just two situations: your language is not on the list, or you have tried and failed at least three times in a listed one. The translator reads neutrally, with no hints by gesture or tone, and every answer must be yours. A translator you pay must complete a State of Idaho W9. Questions go to ITD's Driver's License Unit on 208-584-4343, option 3.

Certain offices offer a separate quiet room. Certain offices can also have a staff member read each question exactly as written, with no explanation; that is the only form of read-aloud Idaho permits. Call your county or the Driver's License Unit ahead of time to set either one up.

If you fail, and what it all costs

As of October 2026 the class D written test costs $5, no fees are refunded, and a retest costs the same. After a fail, Idaho makes you wait three days.

Do not confuse the test fee with permit prices. On ITD's 2026 fee table, a class D instruction permit is $20. The drivers ed training permit is $21.50 and the parent-taught version $16.50, and each of those two already includes $6.50 toward the skills test, collected in advance.