North Carolina Practice Permit Test

To obtain a Class C license (which is suitable for most personal vehicles) in North Carolina you must pass all the required tests—vision, written, and driving.

You will also need to provide required documents that prove your identity, citizenship, and residency in North Carolina.

For the full-fledged class C license you must be at least 18 years old. However, North Carolina, like many other states, utilizes a graduated licensing program that allows residents under the age of 18 to drive with a restricted license.

You must be at least 15 years old to participate in this graduated licensing program.

When applying for a Class C license, you will have to provide several documents that establish your identity. These documents are broken up into four different categories—documents establishing age and identity, documents establishing your social security number, and documents establishing your residency in North Carolina.

Documents that establish your age and identity can include a state issued ID card, a government issued birth certificate, a social security card (no copies), a W-2 or 1099 form, a North Carolina school transcript (high school or college), a valid passport from any country, or court documents such as a divorce decree or adoption papers. You will need two documents from this category.

Documents that establish your social security number include a social security card, military records, a Medicaid or Medicare card, and a W-2 or 1099 form. You will need only one document from this category.

Documents that establish your residency in North Carolina can include any government issued correspondence, a mortgage statement, a lease or rental agreement, a North Carolina voter’s card, a utility or cable bill, a note from a homeless shelter, school records, or financial statements. You will need only one document from this category.

Before receiving your Class C driver’s license you will need to pass a vision test, a written test, and a driving skills test. The written test is actually a combination of two different tests—a traffic sign identification test and traffic laws and safe driving test.

If you are under the age of 18 you will need to provide proof of successful completion of an approved driver’s education course. This course should include at least 30 hours of classroom instruction and at least 6 hours of behind-the-wheel driving instruction.

Driver’s education is not required for applicants over the age of 18 but is still strongly encouraged for first-time drivers.

The two steps in the graduated licensing system before the Class C license are the Limited Learner’s Permit and the Provisional License. With the Limited Learner’s Permit you are only permitted to drive between the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 p.m., and you must always be accompanied by a supervising driver.

North Carolina defines “supervising driver” as a parent, guardian, or approved adult that has been licensed for at least 5 years. With a Provisional License you may drive unaccompanied any time between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m.

However, you may not have more than one passenger under the age of 21, unless they are part of your immediate family.

There are twenty questions on the written driver’s test. For the driving skills test, you will be evaluated based on your performance of 13 vehicle maneuvers.

For the written part of your driver’s test you will need to score at least a 80% to pass—this means you will need to answer at least 20 questions correctly.

It will be up to the discretion of the test administrator to determine whether or not you pass your driving skills test.

When you pay your application fee, this entitles you to three attempts at the North Carolina driving test.

If you fail the test on all three attempts or wait longer than 90 days to pass the test you will have to start over by paying another fee.

The best way to prepare for the North Carolina driver’s test is to study the information provided in the North Carolina Driver’s Handbook. This guide is published by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles and is free to download online.

To prepare for the driving skills test you should practice the maneuvers outlined in the Driver’s Handbook—you will need to log at least 60 practice hours before you will be allowed to take the skills test.

The application fee is $20. This entitles you to three attempts at the driver’s test within a 90 day period.

If you exceed your attempts or the time period you will be required to pay another $20 fee.

To be eligible for the North Carolina Limited Learner’s Permit you must be at least 15 years old, establish your identity and residency (same requirements as the Class C license), and pass the vision and written tests.

You can take both the written and driving skills test at any driver’s license office in North Carolina. You will need to schedule an appointment for your road skills test with the North Carolina DMV beforehand.