Take a free, untimed North Carolina DMV practice test in the real exam format: 37 questions, 20 correct to pass. Fresh random questions every attempt.
The North Carolina exam is graded in two parts: 12 road-sign questions, of which you must answer 9 of 12 correctly, and 25 rules-of-the-road questions, of which you need 20 (80%). Both parts must be passed.
Answer: The vehicle already in the intersection
A vehicle already in the intersection has the right-of-way over one that has not entered yet.
Right-of-Way
Answer: Come to a complete stop and wait — no turn is allowed until the signal changes
A solid red arrow prohibits turning until it changes, unlike a plain red light which sometimes allows a turn after stopping.
Traffic Signals
Answer: 5 points
Passing a stopped school bus adds 5 DMV points — tied for the highest single-violation value on the DMV scale.
License & Insurance Points
Answer: At an intersection or in front of a driveway
NC prohibits stopping or parking at an intersection or in front of a driveway.
Parking Rules
Answer: The driver transporting the child
NC law places the restraint responsibility on the driver transporting a passenger under 16.
Child Passenger Safety
Answer: The vehicle on the right
On simultaneous arrival at an uncontrolled intersection, the vehicle to the right has the right-of-way.
Right-of-Way
Answer: Prepare to stop — the protected turn phase is ending
A solid yellow arrow warns that the protected turn phase is ending — prepare to stop.
Traffic Signals
Answer: 5 points
Aggressive driving adds 5 DMV points, matching passing a stopped school bus as the highest tier.
License & Insurance Points
Back to the full North Carolina study route
Questions and exam format researched against North Carolina's official driver handbook and state sources. Last verified 22 August 2026.
NC Driver Handbook (official, revised May 2025, ncdot.gov); North Carolina General Statutes via ncleg.gov (GS 20-140 reckless driving, GS 20-141.6 aggressive driving, GS 20-141(j2) work-zone speeding, GS 20-217 school bus stop law, GS 20-157 Move Over, GS 20-135.2A seat belts, GS 20-137.4A texting, GS 20-137.3 under-18 cell phone ban, GS 20-149(a) general passing clearance, GS 20-150(e) bicycle passing exception, GS 20-137.1 child restraint, GS 20-135.2B open pickup-bed law); NC Department of Insurance SDIP (Safe Driver Incentive Plan) page (ncdoi.gov) for the insurance-points schedule, which is administratively distinct from the DMV driver-license point schedule. Researched and verified 2026-08-18. IMPORTANT — mock exam numbers are a third-party estimate, NOT officially confirmed: NC's real exam is structurally a split format (a separate Traffic Signs test plus a separate Knowledge Test), confirmed on ncdot.gov, but neither test's exact question count nor passing score is published on any official ncdot.gov page located during research, including the dedicated 'Driver License Tests' subpage (ncdot.gov/dmv/license-id/driver-licenses/new-drivers/Pages/driver-license-tests.aspx), which describes what each test covers but not question counts or scores. Re-verification attempted again 2026-08-20 (direct fetch of ncdot.gov new-drivers and driver-license-tests pages) confirms the same gap persists — still not published. The signCount:20/signPassCount:18/ruleCount:25/rulePassPct:0.80 configured here reflects third-party aggregator consensus only (commonly cited as 'knowledge test 25 questions/80%, signs test miss no more than 2') — before treating these as final, confirm with NCDMV Customer Service at (919) 715-7000 or a current in-person/official practice test. Other gaps worked around rather than guessed: NC's child-restraint law is age-AND-weight banded (GS 20-137.1), not a single discrete rear-facing-age cutoff like some states use — content reflects that banding. No official curb-color chart or hill-parking wheel-turn-direction rule was found for NC. No numeric 'how many feet behind a MOVING emergency vehicle' rule was found (only stopped-vehicle Move Over distances). No statewide distracted-driving crash statistic was found in the handbook — the handbook's confirmed alcohol-fatality statistic (~38%) was used instead. Liability insurance minimums ($30,000/$60,000/$25,000 bodily injury/property) are confirmed but were not built into a dedicated question in this pass. EXAM FORMAT CORRECTED 2026-08-22: the sign section was 20 questions / 18 to pass, which no official source supports. NC administrative rule 19A NCAC 03B .0201 (ncdot.gov) states that applicants for a regular Class C license shall correctly identify nine of twelve road signs, and that eighty percent of the questions shall be answered correctly in order to pass. signCount/signPassCount are now 12/9. NCDMV does NOT publish a question count for the separate knowledge examination, so ruleCount 25 remains an UNCONFIRMED ESTIMATE; only its 80% threshold is official. Re-verify periodically, as NC handbook figures, fines, and point schedules change over time.
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