North Carolina permit test flashcards

320 cards for the North Carolina DMV knowledge test. Read the question, say your answer, then flip: every answer comes with a one-line reason and the handbook page it comes from.

Choose a deck

Each deck starts with 20 free cards. Swipe right if you knew it, left to see it again.

What’s in each deck

Practice test 121 cards

Every question in our North Carolina bank as a card. The front is the question (with its diagram where there is one); the back is the correct answer, why, and the page of the North Carolina Driver Handbook. Diagrams that would give the answer away appear only after you flip.

Topics: Road signs, Traffic signals, Pavement markings, Right of way & intersections, Turning & signaling, Lanes, passing & merging, Speed limits & control, Following distance & space, Parking & stopping, Highways & freeways, Sharing the road, School buses & emergency vehicles, Railroad crossings, Work zones, Night, weather & hazards, Emergencies & crashes, Alcohol & drugs, Distracted & drowsy driving, Permits & licensing, Laws, points & insurance, Seat belts & equipment.

Road signs 118 cards · free

The sign on the front; its name, what it means and what to do on the back. Regulatory, warning, school, railroad, work zone and guide signs, all from the federal MUTCD, which North Carolina follows.

Road-sign flashcards on their own

North Carolina rules 21 cards

Permit and test facts (age, fees, passing score, supervised hours) and North Carolina’s laws on phones, DUI, seat belts, school buses, Move Over and more. Each card links to the official source it was checked against.

Read the full North Carolina traffic laws page

A few of the cards

Front on top, back below. In the player you see one side at a time.

  • North Carolina rules · Permit and test facts

    How old must you be to get a learner’s permit in North Carolina?

    15 years

    Level 1 limited learner permit at 15 (must be under 18) after completing an approved driver education course (30 hours classroom + 6 hours behind the wheel).

    ncdot.gov

  • North Carolina rules · Traffic laws

    What must you do after a crash in North Carolina?

    If a crash causes death, injury or $1,000 or more in total property damage, you must immediately notify the police (in a city or town) or the Highway Patrol or sheriff (outside one).

    If you hit an unattended parked vehicle, you must also notify its owner within 48 hours.

    ncleg.gov

  • Practice test · Road signs

    Road sign shown with this question

    A stop sign has no stop line or crosswalk painted in front of it. Where must you stop?

    Before entering the intersection, where you can see the cross street

    Stop at the marked stop line if there is one. If there is no stop line or crosswalk, stop before entering the intersection at a point where you can see the intersecting street.

    North Carolina Driver Handbook, page 85

  • Practice test · Traffic signals

    The light turns steady yellow as you approach an intersection. What should you do?

    Stop, unless you are too close to stop safely

    A steady yellow means the light is about to turn red. Stop unless you are too close to stop safely, and then drive through with caution.

    North Carolina Driver Handbook, page 82

  • Practice test · Lanes, passing & merging

    When you pass another vehicle in North Carolina, how far to its left does the law require you to stay?

    At least 2 feet

    The law requires the passing driver to pass at least two feet to the left of the vehicle being passed.

    North Carolina Driver Handbook, page 57

  • Road signs · Regulatory signs

    Stop sign

    What does this sign mean?

    Stop

    Come to a complete stop at the stop line (or before the crosswalk or intersection), then go only when it is safe and you have yielded to traffic and pedestrians.

    MUTCD 11th ed., page 6

How to study with flashcards

  1. Answer before you flip. Say the answer out loud or in your head. Recalling it yourself is what makes it stick; recognizing it among four options is easier than the real test.
  2. Grade yourself honestly. Swipe right (or press “Got it”) only if you had the answer, not if it looked familiar. Swipe left for “Again”.
  3. Review your misses straight away. At the end of a round you can go through just the cards you missed.
  4. Come back over several days. Short sessions spread out beat one long night.
  5. Finish with a real-format test. When most cards are known, take the North Carolina exam simulator to practice under test conditions.

Questions about the flashcards

How many North Carolina permit test flashcards are there?

320 in all: 121 practice-test cards from the North Carolina question bank, 118 road-sign cards, 21 North Carolina rules and permit facts and 60 motorcycle cards.

Are the flashcards free?

The road-signs deck is free for everyone, with no sign-up. The first 20 cards of each North Carolina deck are free too, and every practice test on this site is free.

Where do the answers come from?

Practice cards come from questions written from the North Carolina Driver Handbook, and each answer names the handbook page. Rule cards come from North Carolina’s statutes and DMV pages, checked and quoted on our traffic-laws page. Road-sign cards follow the federal MUTCD, which every state uses.

Do the flashcards work on a phone?

Yes. They open full screen, you tap a card to flip it and swipe right if you knew it, left to see it again, or up to skip. Turn your phone sideways for a wider card. There are buttons for every action, and on a computer you can use the keyboard.

Are these the real test questions?

No. States keep their test questions confidential, and no practice site has them. These cards cover the same rules the real North Carolina test is based on, with a source for every answer.

North Carolina practice test 1North Carolina permit test overview