Missouri Permit Practice Test 1
This free Missouri practice test has 30 multiple-choice questions covering road signs, right-of-way, speed limits, and safe driving — the same topics the DOR tests. The real DOR Written test (part of the four-part Missouri driver examination, which also includes vision, road sign, and driving tests) has 25 questions, and you need 20 correct (80%) to pass.
Tap an answer. The explanation opens so you can learn it, then go on. Keyboard: A–D or 1–4 to answer, then Enter or Space.
Question 1 of 30
1. How much of a traffic lane is a motorcycle entitled to use?
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Correct answer: D. A motorcycle is entitled to a complete traffic lane, and you may not squeeze past one inside that lane. Riders need the full width to dodge hazards. Treat a motorcycle's lane like a car's lane: whole and off-limits.
2. Which official NHTSA NDR code records a financial-responsibility failure?
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Correct answer: A. Official 23 CFR 1327 Appendix A lists D35 Failure to comply with financial responsibility law and B63 Failed to file future proof of financial responsibility. The leftover insurance-or-keys mnemonic is not on that page; this nearby official national code is.
3. On a two-lane road, the center line nearest your lane is broken yellow, while the line on the far side is solid yellow. When may you cross it to pass?
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Correct answer: C. A broken yellow line on your side means passing is permitted from your direction, but only when oncoming traffic is far enough away to pass safely. Broken means you may cross; solid means stay put.
4. Orange signs, cones, and barrels suddenly appear along the highway. What does the color orange tell you?
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Correct answer: B. Orange is reserved for temporary traffic control, meaning construction and maintenance zones. Workers, machines, and lane shifts may appear with little warning, so slow down and stay alert. When you see orange, think people at work.
5. At a railroad crossing you see a white X-shaped sign reading RAILROAD CROSSING, with no gates or flashing signals. How should you treat it?
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Correct answer: B. The crossbuck is a regulatory sign that legally works like a yield sign at the tracks. Trains cannot swerve or stop quickly, so you must give way every time. At passive crossings, your eyes and ears are the only warning system.
6. How far before a Missouri turn should you signal?
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Correct answer: A. Missouri tells drivers to signal at least 100 feet before they turn so other drivers can be ready. Get into the proper turn lane first, look both ways, and cancel the signal after the move so leftover blinkers do not send a false message.
7. A vehicle in front of you is stalled on railroad tracks and will not restart. The crossing lights start to flash. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. People beat cars. Evacuate at once and run toward the train at an angle so debris is less likely to hit you if the car is struck. Do not stand on the tracks. Restart attempts end when the lights start.
8. Unless a local sign posts a different number, how far must you stay from a fire hydrant when you park?
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Correct answer: B. Most state handbooks use a 15-foot keep-clear zone at hydrants so firefighters can hook up hoses without moving cars. Fifteen is the number social-study threads keep missing. If you can touch the hydrant from the door, you are too close.
9. In Missouri, what is the youngest age at which you can apply for a learner's permit?
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Correct answer: B. Missouri issues learner's permits starting at age 15. The permit opens the first stage of graduated licensing, where you build skills with a supervising adult before earning fuller privileges. Know your state's number; it varies nationwide.
10. A school bus is stopped with red lights flashing on the opposite side of a Missouri highway. When may you continue without stopping?
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Correct answer: D. Missouri lets oncoming drivers proceed only when a median fully divides the roadways or the highway has four or more lanes, because children are not expected to cross there. Everywhere else, flashing red means both directions stop.
11. What is double parking, and why is it against the rules?
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Correct answer: D. Double parking means standing or parking in the roadway alongside a vehicle already parked at the curb. It blocks a travel lane, hides pedestrians, and pins in the parked car, so the practice is prohibited on public streets.
12. What does NHTSA say about over-the-counter and prescription drugs and driving?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA drug-impaired-driving guidance says Some prescription and over-the-counter medicines can cause extreme drowsiness, dizziness, and other side effects. Warnings against operating heavy machinery include driving a vehicle.
13. What space does NHTSA tell you to give a speeding driver?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA speeding guidance says Give speeding drivers plenty of space. Speeding drivers may lose control of their vehicle more easily. The leftover slow-vehicle-blocks-flow sentence is not on that page; this nearby official space rule is.
14. A school bus ahead stops with its red lights flashing on a two-lane road with no median. Which vehicles must stop?
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Correct answer: D. On a road without a dividing median, traffic in both directions must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights and remain stopped until the lights turn off. Children may cross from either side, so every lane freezes.
15. How far from an oncoming vehicle should you switch to low beams in Missouri?
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Correct answer: A. Missouri tells drivers to use low beams when they come within 500 feet, about one block, of an oncoming vehicle, and also when following another vehicle. After dark, high beams help you see deer eyes on rural roads, but they belong off when other traffic is close.
16. A 30-year-old driver in Missouri takes a chemical test after a crash. Prosecutors can prove DUI from the test result alone once the BAC is at least which value?
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Correct answer: D. A test showing 0.08% or higher proves per-se DUI in Missouri without any other evidence of impairment. Lawmakers chose that threshold because crash risk climbs sharply near it, though alcohol degrades driving skills at lower levels too.
17. What does official NHTSA Move Over guidance tell you to do when flashing lights are stopped on the shoulder?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA Move Over guidance says All states require drivers to move over and slow down for emergency vehicles with flashing lights. Drivers approaching the vehicle should change into a lane not immediately adjacent to the vehicle, or slow down to a reasonable speed if you’re unable to safely make a lane change.
18. In which situations should you add extra following distance behind the vehicle ahead?
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Correct answer: C. Add following distance whenever stopping gets harder or seeing gets worse: slick roads, tailgaters behind you, big trucks blocking your view, or motorcycles that can stop quickly. More risk calls for more room ahead of you.
19. For a driver 21 or older in Missouri, the per-se BAC limit is:
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Correct answer: A. Missouri sets the adult per-se limit at 0.08%. That is a legal line, not a recommendation to drink up to it. Impairment starts earlier, and Missouri can still charge you for unsafe driving below the number.
20. You are driving through a residential district in Missouri and see no speed limit signs. What is the default speed limit?
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Correct answer: C. Where no sign is posted, Missouri's default residential limit is 25 mph. Homes mean driveways, pets, and kids near the road, so the default stays low. A posted sign overrides the default, so watch for one.
21. You are delivering food to a house on an unposted residential street in Missouri. Unless a sign changes it, what speed limit applies?
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Correct answer: A. Unposted residential streets in Missouri carry a default limit of 25 mph. The rule exists so drivers can stop for the unexpected, like a car backing out of a driveway. When a sign is posted, obey the sign instead.
22. While planning a road trip across Missouri, you look up the fastest speed any of its highways allow. What is that statewide maximum?
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Correct answer: A. Missouri's top speed limit is 70 mph, found only on its fastest designated highways. Expect lower posted limits on most stretches, and remember signs control: the maximum applies only where a sign actually posts it.
23. Traffic around you on a Missouri highway posted at the state maximum starts flowing faster than the signs allow. Your personal legal limit remains which speed?
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Correct answer: C. Other drivers speeding does not raise your limit; on Missouri's fastest highways it stays 70 mph. Move right and let them pass instead of matching them. Speed limits bind each driver individually, whatever the surrounding traffic does.
24. The signal shows a green arrow for your left turn. What does having a 'protected' turn mean?
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Correct answer: B. A green arrow gives you a protected turn: conflicting traffic is held by a red signal. Still glance for people or vehicles already in the intersection, because protected means favored, not guaranteed safe.
25. A diamond-shaped orange sign with black markings is posted ahead of a lane shift. What class of message is that?
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Correct answer: B. Orange diamonds are reserved for temporary traffic-control in work zones. They warn that the road, lanes, or workers ahead are not in their usual place. When the background turns orange, expect cones, narrowed lanes, and people on foot.
26. Which shape is used only for yield signs, so you can recognize the sign even when you cannot read its face?
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Correct answer: D. Only yield signs use the downward-pointing triangle, just as only stop signs use the octagon. Unique shapes let drivers react from the outline alone in fog or darkness. Picture the point aiming down, telling you to back off and give way.
27. A 19-year-old is pulled over in Missouri after a party. Under the zero-tolerance law, what BAC is enough for an underage drinking-and-driving violation?
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Correct answer: D. For drivers under 21 in Missouri, a violation begins at 0.02%. Zero-tolerance laws exist because young, inexperienced drivers face high crash risk with any alcohol. If you are underage, the only legal amount is none.
28. What license penalty does NHTSA list among impaired-driving consequences?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA drunk-driving guidance says penalties for impaired driving can include driver’s license revocation, fines, and jail time. The leftover implied-consent wording is not on that page; this nearby official penalty list is.
29. A teen walks into a Department of Revenue (DOR) office in Missouri to apply for a first learner's permit. The office can accept the application once the teen is what age?
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Correct answer: B. The DOR accepts learner's permit applications at age 15 in Missouri. Bring proof of identity, residency, and usually a parent's signature, then pass the knowledge and vision screenings. Age is simply the first box to check.
30. Which pair of official NHTSA NDR codes records driving while a license is revoked versus suspended?
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Correct answer: A. Official 23 CFR 1327 Appendix A (NHTSA NDR) lists B25 Driving while license revoked and B26 Driving while license suspended as separate codes. The leftover temporary-versus-erased definition is state terminology; this nearby official national code pair is.
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