Connecticut permit test cheat sheet

Connecticut-specific rules from our question bank, condensed to one line each with the handbook page. Read it the night before; don’t use it instead of practicing.

Study sheet for before your test. Notes aren’t allowed in the DMV test room. See the study sheets to print.

Test format
25 questions
Passing score
20 of 25 correct (80%)
Permit and test fees
$59 total
Minimum age for a permit
16 years
Supervised driving
40 hours
Hold your permit
4 months minimum

Permits & licensing

  • You must be at least 16 to get a Connecticut learner's permit, and you must pass both a vision test and a 25-question knowledge test. p. 7
  • The knowledge test has 25 questions and you need 20 right, which is 80%. p. 7
  • A home instructor must be at least 20 and must have held a license for four or more years with no suspension during that time. p. 8
  • Teens who finish driver education through a commercial driving school or a high school program may take the road test 120 days after getting the permit. p. 8
  • Home-trained teens must wait 180 days after the permit is issued before taking the driver's exam. p. 8
  • Applicants 18 and older must hold a learner's permit for at least 90 days before the road test. p. 9
  • Connecticut teens need at least 40 hours of behind-the-wheel training, from a driving school, home training or any mix of the two. p. 9
  • For the entire time a 16- or 17-year-old holds a permit, the only passengers allowed are the qualified instructor and, with that instructor, the teen's parents or guardian. p. 8
  • In the first six months a newly licensed teen may carry only a driving instructor, a parent or guardian, or one qualified adult. p. 10
  • Teen drivers may not drive from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. unless they are traveling for work, school, religious activities, a medical need, or as an assigned Safe Ride driver. p. 10
  • The 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew has exceptions only for employment, school, religious activities, medical necessity, and assigned Safe Ride drivers. p. 10
  • Connecticut requires at least 20/40 vision for all license classes, and you may wear glasses or contact lenses to reach it. p. 7
  • If you are blind in one eye, your other eye must see at least 20/40 and have a visual field of at least 100 degrees. p. 7
  • A first conviction for a graduated license violation, such as breaking the curfew or passenger limits, brings a 30-day suspension plus a $175 restoration fee and court fines. p. 36

Sharing the road

  • When passing a bicyclist, slow down and give at least three feet of space. p. 19
  • Connecticut doubles the fines for failing to yield to a bicyclist. p. 19
  • Connecticut requires bicyclists under 16 to wear a helmet, and riders 16 and older should consider one. p. 19
  • In Connecticut you may turn across a bicycle lane, but you may not drive in it when approaching a turn. p. 19
  • Connecticut law requires you to stop at least 10 feet from the front or back of an ice cream truck that is showing flashing lights and its stop and crossing arms. p. 20
  • After stopping, you may pass the ice cream truck at a reasonable speed of up to 5 mph, and you must yield to anyone crossing to or from it. p. 20
  • It is illegal to sound your horn or make loud or unusual noises when approaching or passing a horse. p. 20
  • Vulnerable users include pedestrians, bicyclists, wheelchair users, people riding or driving an animal, highway workers, and some service vehicles. p. 18
  • Connecticut drivers must yield the right of way to a bus traveling in the same direction when the bus signals properly. p. 39