Texas Permit Test at Home: What Is Allowed

Not through the state. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) does not offer its own online or at-home knowledge test, so there is no official Texas permit test at home run by DPS. Most teens, though, never take the test at a DPS office: DPS says the knowledge exam is usually passed during the classroom portion of driver education, and many driver education courses are taken online. If you did not test in your course, you take it at a DPS driver license office.

So the real question is which course you take and what it includes. Here is how it works for teens, for adults, and what to ask before you pay for a course.

Can I take my permit test online in Texas?

DPS's Texas Learner License as a Teen page lists "evidence of passing the driver knowledge exam, if taken during driver education" as one of the things you bring. It also says that if you have not taken the test during the classroom portion of driver education, you will take it at the driver license office. DPS's own pages do not describe any online test that DPS gives.

Whether your course gives the exam, and whether you can take it online as part of the course, depends on the course. Some do and some do not, so ask the provider before you enroll. Choose a course licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), which approves driver education courses.

How the Texas permit test online route works for teens

DPS describes two ways to take teen driver education, and the timing of the knowledge exam differs:

1. Enroll in a TDLR-approved teen driver education course and ask whether it includes the knowledge exam.
2. Complete the classroom hours required before the exam, then take the exam through your course if it is offered.
3. Get your Texas Driver Education Certificate showing classroom completion.
4. Book an appointment at a DPS driver license office.
5. Bring your certificate, proof you passed the exam, your documents and the $16 fee. If you did not pass the exam in your course, you take it there.

Parent-taught driver education

Texas also allows parent-taught driver education, where a parent or guardian with a valid Texas license teaches the course. DPS's course page does not say how the knowledge exam is handled in parent-taught courses, so ask the course provider whether it includes the exam before you buy, and plan for a DPS office test if it does not.

Adults: no Texas permit test at home

If you are 18 or older, plan to take the knowledge test in person. DPS's Apply for a Texas Driver License page lists passing the written knowledge test as a step, and first-time applicants aged 18 to 24 must first complete a 6-hour adult driver education course. There are no driver education requirements for applicants 25 and older.

Some adult courses may cover the knowledge exam. DPS's pages do not say which ones, so ask your provider directly and keep any completion paperwork it gives you.

Be careful with "official" online test ads

Search for a Texas permit test online and you will see ads for courses and practice tests. Practice tests, including ours, are for study only. If a site says its test replaces the DPS exam, check that the course is TDLR-approved and ask in writing how the exam result reaches DPS.

What you need to pass

The Texas Driver Handbook sets the pass mark at 70 percent or better. DPS does not publish how many questions are on the test, so study the whole handbook rather than aiming for a number. If you fail, the handbook says your application is held for 90 days, and after 90 days or three failed exams you need a new application and fee.

• Road signs by shape, color and meaning.
• Right of way, speed, passing and parking rules.
• Alcohol laws, including zero tolerance for drivers under 21.
• Learner license limits, such as no phone use while driving.