The North Carolina Driver Handbook: your permit test study guide

What’s inside

• Chapter 1, Your License: the tests, graduated licensing for teens, documents and fees
• Chapter 2, Alcohol and the Law: DWI rules and the under-21 rules
• Chapter 3, Your Driving Privilege: points and suspensions
• Chapter 4, Your Driving: speed, passing, right-of-way, school buses, weather and emergencies
• Chapter 5, Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings
• Chapter 6, Sharing the Road: bicycles, pedestrians, trucks and motorcycles
• Chapter 7, How DMV Serves You: records and vehicle registration

What to study hardest

• Chapter 5 for the signs test. Learn each sign by shape and color, because that’s how you’ll be asked
• The numbers in Chapter 4: 35 mph in towns, 55 outside, 15 feet from a hydrant, two seconds behind the car ahead
• School bus rules, and when traffic in both directions has to stop
• Graduated licensing in Chapter 1, if you’re under 18: 9 months on the permit and 60 hours of driving, 10 at night
• The under-21 alcohol and cell phone rules

Which edition to use

Use the PDF on the NCDMV website, which is updated as laws change. The edition online in October 2026 is signed by Governor Josh Stein. Old printed copies may have out-of-date rules and fees.

One example: since October 1, 2026, teens no longer need a Driving Eligibility Certificate. Check NCDMV’s teen drivers page for changes like this.

Using it with driver education

If you’re under 18, your driver education course covers the same material in its 30 classroom hours. The handbook is still worth reading on its own, because it’s exactly what the test is based on. Read a chapter, then try practice questions on it.