Studying for the Vermont Online Permit Test

Before you study: how the online test works

According to the Vermont Driver's Manual (VN-007), DMV offices no longer give the learner permit test. It lives on MyDMV: 20 questions, four choices, one right answer each, and at least 16 correct (80 percent) to pass.

DMV does not publish a time limit or a list of test languages. One practical tip: DMV checks your application electronically rather than looking at documents first, so type your name, date of birth, Social Security number and address exactly as your records show them. A mismatch holds up the permit until you fix it.

While you study: the manual chapters that matter

Spend most of your time in Chapter 7. Its topics range from parking and rotaries to what to do when police pull you over, moving over for stopped vehicles, signals, signs, lane markings, people and vehicles you share the road with, bad weather and other hazards, the interstate, and the twin dangers of impairment and distraction.

Expect a mix: sign meanings, right-of-way and other road rules, sensible habits, what Vermont law says about drinking and drugs, and how to handle trucks, walkers and bikes. Read Chapter 8 (the point system) and Chapter 5 (the graduated license program) too; they describe the rules you will live under once the permit arrives.

• Signs: what each shape and color tells you, and what every warning sign means
• Roundabouts: yielding as you enter and picking a lane
• The move over law near stopped emergency and service vehicles
• Bicyclists, pedestrians, motorcycles and big trucks
• Vermont's impairment limits and phone rules

A few days before: the DriveVermont practice exam

DriveVermont is the state's own study tool, linked from both the manual and DMV's site. It teaches the rules of the road with images, video and quick quizzes, and when you finish there is a practice exam DMV describes as very similar to the real thing.

With only 20 questions, every one is worth five points of your score, and five misses is a fail. Keep taking the practice exam until you pass with room to spare, and for each miss, go back to the manual section behind it.

If you fail: retakes and the cost

As of October 2026, a test attempt is $39 and the permit $24, so passing the first time costs $63. Each extra attempt adds another $39. Example: a teen who passes on the third try has spent $117 on tests plus $24 for the permit, $141 in all.

DMV puts no limit on attempts; you can keep going until you pass. The only rule is a one day wait after a failed knowledge test, which is different from the seven day wait after a failed road test.

If you need help: accommodations and language

For a student with an Individualized Education Program, a parent may read the questions aloud but may not supply answers. If a disability makes reading hard, use the audio and interactive versions of the manual on DMV's site, and ask DMV for reasonable accommodations.

For language help or an accommodation, call DMV at 802-828-2000. Hearing-impaired applicants can request an interpreter when booking an office appointment, and Vermont Relay (TTY) is at 711. If you believe DMV failed to accommodate you, the Vermont Human Rights Commission takes complaints at 800-416-2010.

Who may test, and when

The test opens on the 15th birthday. Minors also need two spotless years on the record; if your teen lost driving privileges at some point (an off-road vehicle mishap is one way that happens), check with DMV before spending $39. Out-of-state students taking a Vermont course qualify too, once the school supplies an enrollment letter.

Grown-ups get exactly the same 20 questions. Afterward, adults and teens alike may drive only beside a qualified companion: a parent, guardian or instructor, or any licensed person aged 25 or older, sober in every case.

After the test: vision and permit expiry

There is no eye check online. The manual describes a screening by an examiner using a device, with 20/40 as the standard, and anyone who falls short is referred to an optometrist or ophthalmologist of their choosing. If you are unsure about your eyesight, ask DMV when the screening will happen.

Permit expired? Renew it and you can go straight to the road test, as long as fewer than three years have passed. Wait longer than that and the knowledge test has to be retaken first.