Maryland Learner's Permit Practice Test

Free Maryland DMV practice test for your learner's permit — road signs, right-of-way and the rules of the road, with real Maryland knowledge-exam questions.

What's on the Maryland knowledge test

The Maryland knowledge test is a single 25-question exam covering road signs and the rules of the road together. You need 22 correct (88%) to pass.

Questions and exam format researched against Maryland's official driver handbook and state sources. Last verified 18 August 2026.

Topics covered

Sample Maryland permit test questions

In the national sign system used in Maryland, what shape is always used for a STOP sign?

Answer: Octagon

STOP signs use the eight-sided octagon shape, so they're recognizable even from behind.

Road Signs

In Maryland, what is the default speed limit in a business district or an undivided residential highway, unless otherwise posted?

Answer: 30 mph

Maryland sets a default 30 mph limit for business districts and undivided residential highways.

Speed & Spacing

In Maryland, headlights are required any time you cannot clearly see how far ahead?

Answer: 1,000 feet

Maryland requires headlights whenever visibility drops below 1,000 feet, regardless of time of day.

MD Laws

Under Maryland's Rookie Driver program, what is the minimum age to apply for a learner's permit on the standard (under-25) track?

Answer: 15 years, 9 months

The standard-track learner's permit minimum age is 15 years, 9 months.

Rookie Driver Rules

When passing a bicyclist in Maryland, how much clearance must you leave, whether the bike is in a bike lane, on the shoulder, or sharing the travel lane?

Answer: 3 feet

Maryland requires at least 3 feet of clearance when passing a bicyclist, regardless of where the bicycle is positioned.

Sharing the Road

A pentagon-shaped sign on a Maryland road is used for what type of sign?

Answer: School zone or school crossing

The pentagon shape is reserved for school-zone and school-crossing signs.

Road Signs

What is the default speed limit on a divided residential highway in Maryland?

Answer: 35 mph

Divided residential highways default to 35 mph, 5 mph higher than undivided ones.

Speed & Spacing

Within how many feet of an oncoming vehicle must you dim your high beams in Maryland?

Answer: 500 feet

You must dim your high beams within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle.

MD Laws

Ways to practise

Other states

Sources

Questions and exam format researched against Maryland's official driver handbook and state sources. Last verified 18 August 2026.

Full research notes, including what could not be confirmed

docs/batch4-research.md 'MARYLAND' section, sourced from the Maryland Driver's Manual (DL-002, Oct 2025 ed.) and the Rookie Driver Manual (RD-006, Apr 2026 ed.), both mva.maryland.gov, plus the Maryland Transportation Article (§21-901.1 reckless/negligent driving, §21-1124.2 handheld phone, §16-113 under-21 zero tolerance, §16-205.1 administrative suspension, §22-412.2/§22-412.3 child passenger safety/seat belts, §21-1003/§21-1004 parking, §21-310(b)/§21-706 points) — researched and verified 2026-08-18/19. Exam format (unified, 25 questions, 88% / 22-25 pass) is officially confirmed on two independent MVA sources. Deliberately excluded per the research doc's flag: MVA point-schedule values for reckless driving, negligent driving, and speeding brackets, which were garbled by PDF-table extraction from the MD Judiciary Uniform Traffic Citation schedule and could not be reliably confirmed — commonly cited elsewhere as 6 and 2 points respectively, but NOT used here since they remain unverified; only the cleanly-sourced DUI (12 pts), DWI (8 pts), following-too-closely (2/3 pts), and school-bus (3 pts) point values are included. Other known gaps deliberately not invented: curb-color parking conventions and hill-parking wheel direction (not found in any official MD source, and this module includes a question testing that absence rather than inventing colors); a codified numeric following distance behind an emergency vehicle; an MVA-published distracted-driving crash statistic; and a numeric stopping-distance chart. Re-verify periodically, as MVA manual content, fees, and point thresholds change over time.

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