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Massachusetts · Permit test

The Massachusetts permit test study guide: the Driver’s Manual

The Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) bases its learner’s permit exam on one book, the Massachusetts Driver’s Manual, and its permit page tells you to study it, which makes it the Massachusetts permit test study guide to start with. It’s free to download, and the RMV also sells printed copies. The Class D manual is for car drivers; riders and commercial drivers have manuals of their own.

  • 5Chapters in the Class D manual
  • 16Languages it comes in, English included
  • April 2026Revision date printed in the manual
Download the Driver’s ManualFree practice test

Updated November 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

What’s in the Massachusetts permit test study guide?

Its chapters, with their pages:

  • Chapter 1, Obtaining Your License, pages 1 to 32: license classes, the Junior Operator License (JOL) law, ID rules, the permit, the road test and fees
  • Chapter 2, Safety First, pages 33 to 54: seat belts, the hands-free law, defensive driving, bad weather and vulnerable road users
  • Chapter 3, Keeping Your License, pages 55 to 76: violations, suspensions and the alcohol and drug laws
  • Chapter 4, Rules of the Road, pages 77 to 118: speed limits, signals, signs, pavement markings, rotaries, right-of-way and parking
  • Chapter 5, Special Driving Situations, pages 119 to 132: emergency vehicles, police stops, driving emergencies and crashes

Charts and pages worth marking

The manual puts a lot into charts. These pages match the exam’s topics:

  • The mandatory suspension charts for JOL holders, pages 63 and 64
  • Penalties for operating under the influence, page 68, and for failing or refusing a chemical test, pages 69 and 70
  • The default speed limits, page 79
  • The sign colors, page 83, and the sign pictures, pages 84 and 85
  • The hand signals, page 93
  • Where you may not park, pages 109 and 110

The fines page gathers the chapter 3 penalties in one place.

Fines and penalties →A study plan for the exam →20 free permit practice test questions for MA →

Getting a copy in your language

Besides English, the RMV posts the Class D manual as a PDF in these languages:

  • Arabic
  • Cape Verdean Creole
  • Chinese, Simplified
  • Chinese, Traditional
  • French
  • Haitian Creole
  • Hindi
  • Khmer
  • Korean
  • Pashto
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Spanish
  • Tagalog
  • Vietnamese

Printed copies cost $5 at RMV Service Centers. Online, the RMV sells printed Class D manuals in English and Spanish, up to 2 at a time.

See the manual editions ↗

Other RMV manuals

For a Class M permit, the RMV sends you to its Motorcycle Manual, which carries 2015 on its cover. For a commercial learner’s permit, it’s the Commercial Driver’s License Manual, in its March 2025 version. School pupil transport drivers have a 7D manual in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole.

Motorcycle permit and license →Commercial permit exams →
Sources: Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles and 4 more. Checked November 2026.

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

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