Illinois permit test cheat sheet

Illinois-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
35 questions
Passing score
28 of 35 correct (80%)
Permit and test fees
$20 total
Minimum age for a permit
15 years
Supervised driving
50 hours (10 at night)
Hold your permit
9 months minimum

Permits & licensing

  • Teens aged 15 to 17 can get an instruction permit if their driver education provider confirms they are enrolled (or will start within 30 days). p. 19
  • Illinois requires drivers aged 15-17 to hold the instruction permit for at least nine consecutive months. p. 19
  • Under-18 drivers must log at least 50 hours of supervised driving, 10 of them at night, on top of driver education. p. 19
  • Your supervisor must be a parent, legal guardian or responsible adult who is at least 21, holds a valid license and has at least one year of driving experience. p. 19
  • Permit and initial-phase drivers may not drive from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. p. 21
  • For the first 12 months of licensing or until age 18, whichever comes first, you may carry only one passenger under 20 unless they are your sibling, stepsibling, child or stepchild. p. 21
  • In the permit phase, passengers are limited to one in the front seat (normally your supervisor) and, in the back, the number of safety belts. p. 21
  • First-time applicants aged 18, 19 or 20 who have never been licensed or taken driver education must complete a six-hour Adult Driver Education Course. p. 21
  • Teens 17 years and 3 months or older may apply for a permit without a driver education course. p. 19
  • Illinois requires at least 20/40 acuity (with or without lenses) and 140 degrees of peripheral vision. p. 16
  • Illinois' administrative rules require a Class D written test of at least 35 questions, and you must answer 80% correctly, which is 28 of 35. source
  • A 16- or 17-year-old needs a parent's or guardian's written consent for a license. p. 22

Alcohol & drugs

  • It is illegal to drive with a BAC of .08% or more. p. 51
  • .08% is the level at which driving is automatically illegal, but it is not a safe limit. p. 51
  • Refusing a chemical test brings a longer suspension (one year) than failing it (six months). p. 52
  • A test showing .08% or more (or a THC level over the legal limit) brings a six-month statutory summary suspension for a first offender. p. 52
  • A first DUI conviction brings at least a one-year revocation, a second within 20 years at least five years, a third at least 10 years, and a fourth a lifetime revocation. p. 53
  • Drivers under 21 convicted of DUI face at least a two-year revocation for a first conviction, double the adult minimum. p. 55
  • Drivers under 21 may not drive with any alcohol in their system. p. 55
  • It is illegal to drive with 5 or more nanograms of THC per milliliter of whole blood, or 10 or more per milliliter of another bodily substance. p. 51
  • Cannabis may be transported only in a sealed, odor-proof, child-resistant container, and no driver or passenger may use it in the vehicle. p. 51