The Colorado Driver Handbook

Where to get it

• English PDF and Spanish PDF on the DMV's Driver Education page.
• Audiobook versions on YouTube, Amazon and PodBean, posted by the DMV.
• Separate manuals for motorcycles (Motorcycle Operator's Handbook, DR 2336) and commercial drivers (CDL Manual, DR 2251).

What to study hardest

The handbook is long, so focus on what's specific to Colorado. The DMV's practice quiz covers railroad crossings, truck blind spots, signs and hand signals, child seats, pavement markings, a stuck accelerator, right on red and anti-lock brakes. Its parent guide adds the newer laws people miss:

• The handheld phone ban for all drivers, from January 1, 2025.
• Child seat stages, up to a booster until age 9.
• The Move Over Law: change lanes, or slow to 20 mph under the limit, for any stopped vehicle with hazards on.
• Large vehicles get the right-of-way in roundabouts.
• Passing horses wide and slow, 6 feet away when you can, from August 2025.
• Mountain driving: lower gears, and downhill traffic yields to uphill on narrow roads.

A study plan that fits the handbook

1. Read the permit and teen driver rules first. They're short and they come up often.
2. Work through signs, signals and pavement markings, then right-of-way.
3. Read the sections on safe driving, weather and mountain roads, then alcohol and penalties.
4. Take the DMV's practice quiz and the 20 questions on this site. Reread whatever you missed.

Is there a cheat sheet or answer key?

No. The DMV doesn't publish the real test's questions or answers, and lists that claim to be the real test aren't official. The questions come from the handbook, so knowing the handbook is what gets you to 80%.