Idaho Driving Test 2026: Skills Test Examiners and Scoring

Who needs the Idaho driving test?

ITD requires a skills test if you:

Have never been licensed
Are under 17 and have finished driver training and the supervised instruction permit (SIP). Your test eligibility date is strictly enforced
Are 17 or older and driving on an instruction permit
Have a foreign license from a country with no reciprocity agreement
Hold an Idaho or out-of-state license that expired 25 months ago or more
Don’t meet the vision standard, or a medical or vision professional requires it

A county agent can also require one if they have concerns about your ability to drive safely, whatever your age or experience. ITD’s test guide says to pass the knowledge test first, unless you’re under 17 on a SIP; the July 2026 handbook says the tests may be taken in either order. Ask your examiner if you haven’t passed the knowledge test yet.

Booking an Idaho driving test with an examiner

Call the examiner of your choice between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. If nobody answers, leave a voicemail with your name and phone number; the handbook says examiners won’t call back otherwise. Tests are only scheduled in daylight and acceptable weather. ITD posts a list of Class D and motorcycle examiners for each region:

North Idaho: Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties
North central Idaho: Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis and Nez Perce counties
Southwest Idaho, including Boise: Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, Valley and Washington counties
South central Idaho: Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka and Twin Falls counties
Southeast Idaho: Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Caribou, Franklin, Oneida and Power counties
East Idaho: Bonneville, Butte, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison and Teton counties

You pay $6.50 at the county office for a skills test receipt and up to $28.50 to the examiner. ITD’s southwest Idaho examiner list asks for the examiner’s part in cash, with correct change.

ITD’s examiner lists ask you to book with one examiner at a time, cancel any other booking, and give at least 30 minutes’ notice if you can’t make it. Tell the examiner beforehand if you want a restricted skills test, for a license limited to certain places or conditions. Without one, you drive the whole route.

What to bring, and the car you test in

Bring these to the skills test, in a car that passes the examiner’s check:

Photo ID, such as your license, permit, SIP, passport, school ID or yearbook
The owner’s permission to use the car, in writing or in person. Permission by phone doesn’t count
Proof of insurance that hasn’t expired, on paper or digital. An SR22 isn’t accepted
The original registration, signed by the registrant and not expired
Your skills test receipt, if you don’t have a state-issued license or ID
A car with working doors, seat belts, mirrors and lights, an uncracked windshield, tires with at least 2/32 inch of tread and no warning lights on the dashboard

Studded tires aren’t allowed from May 1 to September 30. A car with dealer plates only works if you’re a dealer or full-time salesperson, and a rental car can’t be used if you’re unlicensed or under 25. You can’t drive yourself to the test without a valid license. If the car fails the examiner’s check, the test is rescheduled once you bring a safe one.

The vehicle check

First you show the examiner your car’s controls. ITD marks nine items that must work and be shown, or the test stops:

Driver door
Seat belt
Brake lights
Front and rear turn signals
Headlights
Wipers
Hazard lights
Driver window
Horn

You also show the arm signals, the defroster and the parking brake, and the handbook says you can miss three or fewer items and go on.

How the skills test is scored

After the vehicle check, you drive commercial and residential streets, curves, intersections (including railroad crossings and roundabouts), the interstate, lane changes, a parking lot, turns and U-turns, and stall and curb parking. More than 12 errors fails, and five errors on the same skill counts as a critical driving error. Any critical driving error ends the test at once:

A dangerous action, or striking an object
Disobeying an emergency vehicle, police, a traffic sign or signal, or the examiner
Driving onto a curb or sidewalk, or a lane violation
Speeding more than 10 mph over, or an unsafe speed
Curb parking more than 18 inches from the curb
The examiner having to intervene, or a passenger interfering

Passengers, phones and results

Passengers aren’t allowed, except one parent or guardian with a driver 17 or younger, a translator, a missionary companion, or an officer with an inmate. Each must be 18 or older, show ID and sign a liability waiver. A service dog may come along. Phones and other devices are turned off.

If you pass, the examiner gives you your results in a sealed envelope. Take it unopened to the county office and pay your license fee. Your new driving privileges start only once the passing result is recorded and your license is issued. If you fail, wait three days, pay the county fee for a new skills test receipt and pay the examiner again, with the same examiner or a different one.

Idaho driver’s license fees →

Sources: Idaho Transportation Department · Idaho Legislature and 3 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

Explore

Everything else, in one place

Overview Where to learn Drivers manual Driving permit Drivers ed Driver’s license CDL

The Idaho driving test (Class D skills test)