West Virginia Knowledge Test: A Study and Test-Day Guide

Before you study: how the test is built

According to the handbook, the knowledge exam has at least 25 questions on basic knowledge, rules of the road, regulations, signs and pavement markings, and every location gives it by automated testing. A pass is 19 of 25, or 76 percent, so six misses are allowed.

There is a clock. The DMV does not publish the exact limit, but it does say any question unanswered in the allotted time is scored as wrong. Sign questions are mixed in with everything else rather than set apart as their own pass-or-fail section. By statute (W. Va. Code 17B-2-7) some questions must cover alcohol's effect on drivers.

While you study: what the handbook covers

The handbook runs nine chapters. The first four cover license information, driver responsibilities, driving under the influence, and examination procedures. Chapter V is traffic control devices and VI is traffic laws and rules of the road. The last three are interstates, defensive driving and emergencies. The PDF posted in October 2026 is based on the 2022 update, so look for a newer file before you start.

Most questions on signs, signals, right of way, passing and parking come from Chapters V and VI. Give Chapter III real attention, since alcohol questions are mandatory: the 0.08 percent legal limit, the range of 0.05 to 0.08 where impairment can still be charged, and zero tolerance if you are under 21. Sample questions also touch on funeral processions, inspection stickers and truck blind spots (the No Zones).

A study plan that works for many teens: one or two chapters a night for a week, Chapters V and VI on separate nights, then the 20 sample questions, then a second pass through anything you missed.

If you test at home: Know To Drive

The DMV's Know To Drive page links to a third-party vendor that runs the online exam. Only a computer will do, with a working webcam and a mouse or touchpad. Phones, tablets and touchscreens are refused. You are photographed before the test and checked by facial recognition throughout, so sit in front of a plain wall.

A teen registers with help from an adult over 18, ideally a parent or guardian, who supplies a name, birth date, driver's license number and the final five digits of a Social Security number. Once the exam starts, the adult must be out of the camera's view. A mismatch in the identity check means testing at an office instead.

Keep the cursor inside the red box on screen. Stray outside it and you get a warning; the second stray brings another; the third ends the test and records a fail. You pay online, with no refund for a failed or fraud-terminated test. A pass gives you a Certificate of Completion good for six months, which is not a license to practice; an office has to issue the permit first.

Test rules and what counts as cheating

The online exam is legally part of your license application, which brings in the fraud penalties of W. Va. Code 17B-3-12. Getting help from anyone or anything, whether a person, a gadget, notes or a cheat sheet, is fraud. When an investigation confirms it, you cannot test for at least 90 days and must pay $50 to restore the privilege. The adult who assisted loses their license for 90 days or more and also pays $50.

At a DMV office, cell phones, smart glasses, Bluetooth gear and other electronics are banned from the exam room, and nobody but the test taker may be inside.

On test day: the vision screening

Everyone takes a vision screening alongside the knowledge test at the DMV. The standard is 20/40 or better with both eyes, glasses or contacts allowed, and the examiner can also test side vision, depth perception and color recognition. You cannot pass using bioptic or telescopic lenses.

Below 20/40, the DMV sends you to an eye specialist, who fills in DLAB Form 2. That report can go to the Driver's License Advisory Board for review before any permit, and that review may take weeks, so if you have doubts, get your eyes checked before test day.

If you need an audio test, an interpreter or another accommodation

Applicants who struggle with reading can take an audio version through headphones. Staff are not allowed to read questions aloud, rephrase them or explain them, and there are only so many headsets, so you might wait.

Deaf and hard of hearing applicants can bring a sign language interpreter by appointment, arranged at (800) 642-9066, using form DMV-8-SL, which both of you sign. An independent interpreter reviews the recording afterward, and any coaching leads to revocation of the permit and a six month ban on retesting. No foreign language versions appear on DMV pages; ask at the same number before you book if you need one.

If you fail, or the clock runs out on a pass

In October 2026 the GDL fee schedule charges $7.50 per try, and the online vendor charges separately, shown at registration. The law forbids a retest within a week of a failure, and Know To Drive's notes describe it as a seven day wait.

An online pass expires six months after the test date. If you have not reached a DMV office by then, you test again.

Teens in driver ed, adults and the DUI awareness step

At 15, teens test for Level 1. Certified driver ed instructors are allowed by law to give the DMV exam during class, so check with the school first. Adults take the identical 25 question exam for their regular Class E permit, paying the same fee and waiting the same seven days after a fail.

Later, once the road test is behind you, there is a brief DUI awareness course for every first-time applicant, transfers from other states included, ending in a card or stamp. It sits outside the permit test but is part of the same process.