California car practice test 1, adult
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Thirty-six questions drawn from the full California bank, graded on the adult miss allowance: 30 right passes, and the run stops early once the result is settled, at 30 right or 7 wrong. The questions lean the way the real test leans, heavy on signs, speed, and right of way, with the sharing-the-road rules that catch experienced drivers out: the three-foot pass for bicycles, the school bus stop, and the move-over duty that widened for 2026. Every answer carries its Vehicle Code section, so a miss tells you the rule, not just the answer.
Start this test
36 questions, drawn from the full bank. Graded on the adult miss allowance: 30 right passes, and the run stops early at 30 right or 7 wrong. The DMV publishes no time limit for the real test, so the timer in timed mode is a study device. There's no signup and nothing to pay.
Start timed test Study without a timer
Thirty-six questions. Settle in.
Five sample questions, answers hidden until you tap
You are approaching a red sign with eight sides. What must you do?
✓ Correct answer: Stop
The eight-sided shape is used for one sign only, so it can be read from a distance and even from the back. It always means stop, never slow and roll. California MUTCD, adopted by California Vehicle Code section 21400.
California MUTCD, adopted by California Vehicle Code section 21400
It is a Sunday afternoon in July and no children are around. You pass a school at 30 mph in a 25 school zone. A friend says the school limit counts only on school days. Who is right in law?
✓ Correct answer: The limit is written to apply while children are going to or from school, or are outside; with no children present the prima facie school limit is not triggered, but the basic speed law and any posted limit still apply
The school prima facie limit is conditional on children travelling or outside, which is why school signs often carry a condition plaque. A posted limit at the school would bind at all times, and care near schools is required either way. California Vehicle Code section 22352.
California Vehicle Code section 22352
A corner has no painted crosswalk and no red kerb. A driver parks right up to the corner where people cross. Has the daylighting rule been broken?
✓ Correct answer: Yes; the rule covers marked and unmarked crosswalks, and applies whether or not the kerb is painted or signed
Section 22500(n) is written to work without street furniture: unmarked crosswalks count, and paint is not a condition. That is what makes it enforceable at ordinary corners. California Vehicle Code section 22500(n).
California Vehicle Code section 22500(n)
How does a DUI that injures someone differ in law from a simple DUI?
✓ Correct answer: It is a separate, more serious offence that can be charged as a felony
Section 23153 adds an unlawful act or neglect of a traffic duty, plus injury, to the DUI base. The injury is what lifts the charge out of the misdemeanour track. California Vehicle Code section 23153.
California Vehicle Code section 23153
A rider argues that a motorised skateboard should follow the motorised scooter rules and use the bicycle lane. What does the code say?
✓ Correct answer: The skateboard is treated separately and is barred from the roadway altogether, bicycle lane included
Scooters get conditional road use under section 21235. The motorised skateboard gets none under section 21968; the two machines are not interchangeable in law. California Vehicle Code sections 21235 and 21968.
California Vehicle Code sections 21235 and 21968
Report a wrong answer. Reports are checked against the cited source within two working days, and a right report is fixed in the open, with the date on this page.
Facts strip
- Pass mark
- 80%, as the DMV publishes it
- Our simulators grade on
- Miss allowances: 30 of 36 (adult), 38 of 46 (under 18)
- Questions on the real test
- The DMV publishes no current count
- Time limit
- None published by the DMV
- Application fee
- $46, covers 3 attempts in 12 months
- Retest wait, under 18
- 7 days. No published wait for adults
Facts checked against California DMV pages, 2026-11-03. Official information: California Department of Motor Vehicles, dmv.ca.gov.
Corrections note
No corrections yet. Last checked 2026-11-03, against the California Vehicle Code and DMV published facts.