Alabama · Permit test
The best Alabama learner's permit study guide costs nothing: the Alabama Driver Manual, because ALEA takes every knowledge test question from it. ALEA has no online practice test of its own, so pair the manual with practice questions, ours or an app's. If you're under 18, think about driver education now too, since it's one of two ways to qualify for your Stage II license later.
The manual itself. ALEA doesn't publish a separate study guide for the permit, and the knowledge test is taken from the material in the manual. Chapter 5 covers signs and markings, Chapter 6 traffic laws like speed limits and school buses, and Chapters 3 and 4 hold most of the other numbers: parking distances, seat belt ages, alcohol limits and railroad crossings.
If you're 15 to 17, your choice affects more than the permit. Before a Stage II license, ALEA asks for either a form showing at least 50 hours of behind-the-wheel practice, signed by a parent, grandparent, guardian or certified instructor, or a completion form from a State Department of Education approved driver education course. Driver ed costs money, but it replaces the 50-hour log.
For the permit test alone, the free manual is enough for most people. An app is worth paying for only if you want many more questions to drill. Check when it was last updated: the hands-free phone law started in June 2024, and the current manual is dated November 2024.
If English isn't your first language, the test is offered in 11 other languages, and an oral version is available. The manual itself is in English.
The source of every knowledge test question, dated November 2024. Chapter 5 is signs and markings and Chapter 6 traffic laws. The GDL summary at the back is a quick one-page check of the teen rules.
Checked October 2026
Not for the permit test, but worth saving for later. It lists the skills the examiner may ask for on the road test, from backing 50 feet to parking on a hill, and the five ways to fail.
Checked October 2026
Updated in 2024. You need it, not the car manual, for a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle license. It's a large file, so download it on Wi-Fi.
Checked October 2026
Car, motorcycle and CDL practice, a signs test and an Alabama numbers and rules section. 4.7 stars from 3.3K App Store ratings, the most of any Alabama permit app. A private app, not from ALEA.
Checked October 2026
Hundreds of Alabama-labeled questions grouped by difficulty, and the DMV Genie app on Google Play. Its exam simulator is its own format, not ALEA's, since ALEA doesn't publish one.
Checked October 2026
36 questions per test, a road signs list by category and study cards. 4.6 stars from 9 App Store ratings, last updated November 2023, so it predates the current manual. A private app, not from ALEA.
Checked October 2026
Practice questions with answer reviews, a mode for questions you got wrong, and a leaderboard. 5.0 stars, but from only 11 App Store ratings, last updated December 2024. A private app, not from ALEA.
Checked October 2026
Finishing an approved course replaces the 50-hour practice log ALEA asks for before a Stage II license. Private high schools follow ALEA's program: at least 70 hours, with 30 in the classroom and the rest behind the wheel with a certified teacher. Where the program runs, some private high school teachers can also give the driving part of the license exam.
Checked October 2026
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Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.