The MVA driving test (behind-the-wheel test)

Who can take the MVA driving test?

Before you book, the MVA says you must:

• Hold a valid, unexpired learner’s permit
• If you’re a new driver, have done the practice hours for your age, with a signed practice log and certification page
• If you’re a new driver, have finished an approved driver education course, which your school confirms to the MVA

If you hold a license from another country, you also present your Roadway Safety course certificate.

Car requirements for the MVA driving test

You provide the vehicle, and it’s inspected before you drive. It needs:

• A valid registration document and front and rear tags. In a rental car, your name must be on the rental agreement as an authorized driver
• Working headlights, brake lights and turn signals, with no serious dashboard warning lights, such as the Check Engine, anti-lock brake or brake warning light
• Working brakes, and a parking brake the examiner can reach
• Working wipers, washers and washer fluid, and no windshield cracks that block your view
• A working heater and defroster, and windows that roll up fully in wet or cold weather
• A horn, mirrors, door handles and locks, inflated tires with enough tread, and no loose objects inside
• At least half a tank of gas

If the car fails the check, the test doesn’t go ahead. You test in whatever weather there is, unless the MVA closes for safety, and then it contacts you to reschedule.

What the examiner checks

The test has two parts, and you must pass the closed course before you go on the road. On the course you do the reverse two-point turnabout: drive past an area that stands for a driveway or alley, back into it on your right until the front of the car clears the front cones, then pull out to the right. The examiner watches your backing, mirrors and signals, steering, speed control and judgment of space.

On the public road, the examiner looks at how you:

• Obey traffic signs and signals
• Brake, steer and stop
• Keep your lane position
• Turn and change lanes safely
• Use head and traffic checks
• Control your speed, especially on curves
• Watch traffic and intersections

The Driver’s Manual says parallel parking isn’t part of the test; the turnabout covers the same skills. You may keep a backup camera on, but you must use mirrors and head checks, and the Rookie Driver Manual says parking assist isn’t allowed. Pile up too many basic errors and the test stops: you pull over, and the examiner drives back.

Where to take the driving test

In November 2026, the MVA’s branch pages listed non-commercial driver skills testing at these 19 branches:

• Annapolis: 160 Harry S Truman Pkwy.
• Baltimore City: 5425 Reisterstown Rd.
• Bel Air: 501 W. MacPhail Rd.
• Beltsville: 11760 Baltimore Ave.
• Cumberland: 13300 Winchester Rd. SW
• Easton: 9148 Centreville Rd.
• Elkton: 105 Chesapeake Blvd., Suite A
• Essex: 1338A Eastern Blvd.
• Frederick: 1601 Bowmans Farm Rd.
• Gaithersburg: 15 Metropolitan Grove Rd.
• Glen Burnie: 6601 Ritchie Hwy. NE
• Hagerstown: 18306 Col. Henry K. Douglas Dr.
• Largo: 10251 Central Ave.
• Loveville: 27351 Point Lookout Rd.
• Oakland: 400 Weber Rd.
• Salisbury: 251 Tilghman Rd.
• Waldorf: 11 Industrial Park Dr.
• Westminster: 1106 Baltimore Blvd.
• White Oak: 2131 Industrial Pkwy.

Columbia, Kemp Mill, Parkville, Prince Frederick and Walnut Hill give knowledge tests but don’t list driving tests.