The Kansas driving test

What to bring to the Kansas driving test

The handbook says to show the examiner these before the test:

• Your valid instruction permit
• Proof of Kansas residence
• If you're under 18, a parent or legal guardian to sign for your 50 hours of supervised driving, and under 17, to sign permission to issue the license

KDOR's page for first-time applicants says you provide the vehicle.

When your car won't qualify

The handbook lists what the car used for the test must have:

• All signals working
• Tires in safe condition
• Working brake lights
• An intact windshield and mirrors
• A working horn
• A valid tag
• A safe temperature inside: working air conditioning above 85°F, air conditioning or a passenger window that rolls down from 75°F to 85°F, and a working heater below 45°F

How is the Kansas driving test scored?

In the inspection, you walk around the car, point to or touch each item and say what you're checking and why. You won't open the hood or crawl under the car.

The control skills test uses two or more of five exercises: a forward two-point turnabout, a reverse two-point turnabout, a three-point turnabout, and parallel parking on the left or right. Each reversal of direction, each touch of a line or cone, each missed or wrong signal, missing head checks and a poor final position count against you.

On the drive, the examiner scores turns, intersections, lane changes, urban and rural driving, curves and expressway or limited-access roads, and may ask you to name signs you've passed.

• Not wearing your safety belt
• Not checking your blind spots
• A moving violation, such as speeding, rolling through a stop or ignoring a sign or signal
• Not yielding to pedestrians or other road users
• An avoidable crash or touching another vehicle, object or person
• Any unsafe act, or forcing another driver to swerve or brake to avoid a crash
• Driving over a sidewalk or curb when you didn't need to
• The examiner having to take control of the car

Those eight are automatic failures, according to Section 11 of the handbook.

If you fail

The handbook gives you four chances to pass the driving test, the same as the written one. You can try again the next working day after paying a $1.50 re-exam fee. After the fourth failure, you wait at least six months from the last one.