Tennessee Learner's Permit Practice Test

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

What's on the Tennessee knowledge test

The Tennessee knowledge test is a single 30-question exam covering road signs and the rules of the road together. You need 24 correct (80%) to pass.

Questions and exam format researched against Tennessee's official driver handbook and state sources. Last verified 20 August 2026.

Topics covered

Sample Tennessee permit test questions

In Tennessee, as throughout the U.S. sign system, what shape is always used for a STOP sign?

Answer: Octagon

STOP signs are always the eight-sided octagon shape nationwide, including Tennessee, which follows the federal MUTCD standard.

Road Signs

Absent a posted sign, what is the default speed limit on Tennessee's primary and secondary state and federal highways?

Answer: 55 mph

Tennessee's default limit on primary/secondary state and federal highways is 55 mph absent a posted sign.

Speed & Spacing

When are headlights required in Tennessee?

Answer: 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise, any time visibility drops below 200 feet, or any time wipers run constantly for precipitation

Tennessee law requires headlights from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise, any time visibility is under 200 feet, and any time wipers run constantly for precipitation.

TN Laws

At what minimum age can you apply for a Tennessee learner's permit (Class PD)?

Answer: 15 years

Tennessee's minimum age for a Class PD learner's permit is 15.

Teen & Permit Rules

How much clearance does Tennessee law require when passing a bicyclist?

Answer: 3 feet

Tennessee's manual states passing a bicyclist requires "not less than 3 feet. It's the law!"

Sharing the Road

A pentagon-shaped sign (like home plate) on a Tennessee 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 maximum speed limit on rural sections of Tennessee interstates?

Answer: 70 mph

Rural interstate sections in Tennessee can be posted up to 70 mph (some sections are posted lower).

Speed & Spacing

Within how many feet of an oncoming vehicle, or a vehicle you are following, must you dim your high beams in Tennessee?

Answer: 500 feet

Tennessee requires dimming high beams within 500 feet whether the other vehicle is oncoming or one you're following — the same distance either way.

TN Laws

Ways to practise

Other states

Sources

Questions and exam format researched against Tennessee's official driver handbook and state sources. Last verified 20 August 2026.

Full research notes, including what could not be confirmed

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual (Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security / TDOSHS, tn.gov), full 135-page manual text-extracted and researched, cross-checked against dl.safety.tn.gov and the GDL FAQ pages — researched and verified 2026-08-18. EXAM FORMAT WARNING: the knowledge test is confirmed structurally as one unified pool weighted approximately 25% Traffic signs and signals / 25% Safe driving principles / 25% Rules of the road / 25% Drugs and alcohol (the alcohol/drugs share is stated by law), but NEITHER the total question count NOR the passing percentage is published anywhere official — checked the full manual, the GDL FAQ page, dl.safety.tn.gov, and several tn.gov subpages with no result. Re-verification attempted again 2026-08-20 (direct fetch of tn.gov/safety/driver-services subpages, including classd.html and classd/new-drivers.html) again found no published figure — the new-drivers page confirms only that applicants must "pass the Regular (Class D) Driver License knowledge test," with no count or score given, corroborating the original finding. This module uses signCount: 0, ruleCount: 30, rulePassPct: 0.80 as a third-party-consensus ESTIMATE ONLY — call TDOSHS at 866-903-7357 to confirm the real numbers before treating this as final. Failing the real test requires a mandatory 1-day wait before retesting, plus a $2 fee per failed attempt. CONTENT AUDIT 2026-08-20: former r11 (speed) was removed rather than replaced — it tested whether the manual's "Basic Speed Rule" is codified as an actual statute (a fact about the manual's own legal framing, not a driving/traffic-law fact), and this session could not reach a live official TN source to source a genuine, independently-verifiable replacement speed-category fact for that same sub-topic; the speed category still carries 11 well-sourced questions. KNOWN GAPS deliberately NOT invented: Tennessee's minimum liability insurance dollar figures are not stated anywhere in the 135-page manual (a commonly-cited $25,000/$50,000/$15,000 figure via TCA 55-12-102 could not be verified against an official TN source this pass, so it is omitted rather than asserted); truck/bus no-zone footage figures (image-only in the source PDF); a numeric following-distance rule for emergency vehicles (the manual uses "within the block," not a specific foot figure); the painted-curb color-to-rule mapping (only "yellow curb = no-parking zone" is confirmed in prose — the rest is a graphic legend, not extractable text); a standalone statutory definition of "reckless driving" beyond its cited triggers and points value; and a mandatory statewide classroom-hour or behind-the-wheel driver's-ed requirement for the standard GDL pathway (only triggered as a corrective step after a 2nd moving violation on Intermediate Restricted). Re-verify periodically, as DOSHS manual content, fees, and thresholds change over time.

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