Tennessee · Permit testWhat’s in the TN drivers handbook?
Three sections, each with its own job:
- Section A: the kinds of license, documents, the graduated license for drivers under 18 and how the tests work
- Section B: what new drivers study for the knowledge and road tests, from vehicle basics, belts and signs to rules of the road, interstates, night and weather, alcohol and driving responsibility
- Section C: defensive driving, special conditions, sharing the road, and a chapter for parents teaching teens
Which chapters to study
The knowledge test is based on sections B and C, so those are the chapters to study for it. Each chapter of section B ends with a few sample questions, and the manual says these are actual questions from the test. Read section A for the steps on your own route to a license.
How up to date is the manual?
Its first page says a misprint or an outdated detail never overrides a later change in the law, the rules or the Department’s policy. Where a Department web page gives a different figure, go by the web page: the fees, for example, differ from the manual’s fee table, so go by the fee page.
Other manuals
Riding a motorcycle or driving a commercial vehicle takes its own book as well: the Motorcycle Operator Manual for a Class M license, and the Commercial Driver License Manual for classes A, B and C. The main manual says the commercial one is at every center and online.
Sources: Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security and 1 more. Checked November 2026.
- Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security: Comprehensive Driver License Manual (PDF, information as of July 1, 2022) ↗
- Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security: Teen and graduated driver license ↗
Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.
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