Passing the North Dakota Rules of the Road Permit Test

Before you register: office or home?

At a driver license office the test is $5 a try, one try per day. Online through KnowTo Drive it is $10 a try, and you pay with a credit card or a debit card that does not need a PIN. You are paying extra for convenience; it is the same Class D test.

Any North Dakota resident 14 or older can test online. You need a desktop or laptop, internet, keyboard, mouse and webcam. A phone or tablet will not do, so borrow a computer if you need to.

During an online session

Once you register, you have 72 hours to use the session, and an emailed link from KnowTo Drive lets you return to it. If you are 18 or older you will be quizzed on your own history, such as old addresses, vehicles or relatives, to confirm who you are. A teen does not answer those; the parent or guardian registering alongside does, and that person has to be at least 18 and live in North Dakota.

The 60 minute clock starts when the test does, and the camera snaps pictures throughout. You are disqualified if the cursor wanders outside the red border, if a later picture does not look like the first one or if another person appears on camera. Pick a quiet, well lit room, wipe the lens and close other programs before you begin.

If you fail or get disqualified

After an online fail you can try again in 24 hours. After five fails, the online option closes to you for a year. Disqualifications run on a separate clock: a 7 day wait each time, and five of them also mean a year away from online testing.

Those online limits never block you from the office. If you are locked out or cannot get through the identity questions, a driver license site will still test you at $5 an attempt, once a day.

What NDDOT does not tell you about the format

NDDOT publishes the fees, languages, online time limit and retake rules. It does not publish how many questions the Class D test has or what score passes. Some practice sites say 25 questions and 80 percent. Treat that as unofficial and study until you would pass with room to spare.

For the precise format, the examiner can tell you when you arrive, or your KnowTo Drive registration email will describe it.

While you study: what is in the manual

Today's manual runs 56 pages as a PDF, revised in 2025 for the 2025 to 2027 period. For listeners, NDDOT has put up audio of the previous 2023-2025 guide in chapters (one is called Signs, Signals, and Road Markings) and promises audio of the new edition later.

Put most of your time into the rules of the road. Also read the alcohol and drug pages closely, especially implied consent and the .02 alcohol limit that applies under age 21. A practical way to study: read one chapter a night, then explain it to a parent as if they were the student.

• Road signs, traffic signals and pavement markings
• Right of way, changing lanes and passing
• Following distance and stopping distance
• Interstates, interchanges and driving at night
• Parking, parallel parking and parking on hills
• Alcohol, drugs, implied consent and distraction

If you need another language or an accommodation

Besides English, the test comes in Spanish, Arabic, Somali, Nepali, Vietnamese, Swahili, Russian, Turkish, French, Serbo-Croatian, Dari, Pashto and Chinese. Automated ASL and audio testing is available in Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, Jamestown, Dickinson, Williston and Devils Lake, and KnowTo Drive has audio playback online.

Every driver license office is ADA accessible, and people with limited English can get interpretation for general business. For another testing accommodation, the starting point is form SFN 60135, NDDOT's Request for Reasonable Accommodations.

Who else takes this test

Teens can sit it from 14, and a sponsor signature is required for everyone under 18, from a parent, a legal guardian or a designated person; guardians bring their guardianship papers. Adults take the identical test without the sponsor step.

A 14 or 15 year old who has no permit but wants to ride a motorized bicycle also sits this written traffic law test. Under NDCC 39-06-14.1, that separate operator's permit adds an eye check and costs $10 to apply for. Anyone already holding an instruction permit or license can skip it.