How many questions are on the Minnesota DMV written test?

Minnesota does not publish a figure we could verify against an official handbook, so the practice exam here uses a common 25-question format with 20 correct to pass. Check the Minnesota DMV before your appointment.

Is the Minnesota written test available in Spanish?

Most states offer the knowledge test in Spanish. Confirm with the Minnesota DMV, and practise in Spanish here.

Are these the real DMV questions?

No — and nobody who has them is allowed to publish them. Every question here is written from the official driver handbook and the federal MUTCD sign standard, which is what the real test is written from too.

Is this Minnesota practice test free?

Yes. Every question on this page is free, with no account and no email.

You have signalled and begun to change lanes when you see a vehicle in your blind spot. Your signal:

Does not give you the right to take the lane — you must abort the change

Obliges the other driver to make room

Transfers responsibility to the other driver

Is sufficient if you signalled early enough

A smaller sign is mounted directly beneath a larger one on the same post. How should that smaller sign be read?

As a plaque that modifies the sign above it and has no meaning on its own

As a separate rule that takes effect at the next intersection

As a restriction that applies only to trucks and buses

As a replacement for the sign above it wherever the two disagree

You need to enter a destination into a navigation app during a journey. You should:

Pull over somewhere safe and stop before using it

Enter it while driving on a quiet straight road

Ask a passenger only if one is present

Traffic ahead is backed up past a railroad crossing. What does this sign require of you?

Wait before the tracks until there is room for your whole vehicle on the far side

Cross the tracks and stop as close to the car ahead as possible

Cross quickly and stop on the tracks only briefly

Stop on the tracks only if a train is not visible

This sign governs the lane you are in. Its colours are black on white rather than black on yellow. What does that tell you about the arrow?

It is regulatory: the movement it shows is required by law, not merely suggested

It is a warning that traffic in this lane usually turns right at busy times

It is a guide sign showing where the road beyond the intersection leads

It applies only when a police officer is directing traffic at the intersection

A steady white downward-pointing arrow is displayed on the lane-use signal above a lane. It tells you that:

You are permitted to drive in the lane beneath the arrow

You must leave that lane at the next opportunity

The lane ahead is closed to through traffic

The lane is open only to high-occupancy vehicles

Your vehicle is taller than the height shown on this sign. You should:

Find another route — the structure ahead will not clear your vehicle

Proceed slowly in the centre of the roadway

Deflate your tyres slightly and proceed

Proceed if no other traffic is present

A steady yellow arrow means:

The protected turn is ending and you should prepare to stop

The turn is permanently prohibited

You may turn only from the left lane

You are waiting to turn left. The green left arrow goes out, but the circular green for your direction stays lit. You may now:

Still turn left, but you must now yield to oncoming traffic

Wait only — you must have the arrow back before turning

Complete the turn without yielding, since the arrow has only just ended

Not turn left here at all until the next arrow phase

You are merging onto a freeway from an on-ramp. On the acceleration lane you should:

Match the speed of freeway traffic and merge into a gap

Stop at the end of the ramp and wait for a gap

Merge at whatever speed you reach the end at

Signal and merge immediately regardless of gaps

A car is following you far too closely. The safest response is to:

Increase your own following distance to the vehicle ahead

Speed up to open a gap behind you

Move onto the shoulder and let them pass

A flashing red arrow is displayed for your turn. What does it require?

Stop first, then make the turn when it can be done safely

Make the turn without stopping if the way is clear

Wait — the turn is prohibited until a green arrow appears

Treat the signal as failed and the intersection as uncontrolled

Minnesota DMV Practice Test 2026

Take a free Minnesota DMV practice test built on the state's real written exam: 25 questions, 20 correct to pass. Every answer explained. No sign-up.

General practice exam

25
Questions on the test: 20
Correct answers to pass: 5
Wrong answers allowed: 216
question bank

The real exam

This state's exact question count and passing score are not published in a form we could verify, so this is a general practice exam rather than a replica of the state test.

Questions on the test	25
Correct answers to pass	20
Wrong answers allowed	5
Time limit	None published

Practice questions

20 questions, answered right here. Tap an option to see why.

0 of 20 answeredScore: 0/2016 to pass

1.
You have signalled and begun to change lanes when you see a vehicle in your blind spot. Your signal:
Not quiteCorrect answer: D — Does not give you the right to take the lane — you must abort the change
A signal announces an intention. It does not create right-of-way, and traffic already in the lane keeps it.
Signal-and-move is treated as a claim on the lane. It is a request, and it never replaces the shoulder check.
2.
A smaller sign is mounted directly beneath a larger one on the same post. How should that smaller sign be read?
Not quiteCorrect answer: A — As a plaque that modifies the sign above it and has no meaning on its own
A plaque never stands alone: it qualifies the sign it hangs under. ALL WAY under a STOP sign, FINES HIGHER under a speed limit, an advisory speed under a curve warning — each pair has to be read as a single message.
Reading the plaque as an instruction in its own right. On its own, wording such as FINES HIGHER or AHEAD tells you nothing about what to do.
3.
You need to enter a destination into a navigation app during a journey. You should:
Not quiteCorrect answer: C — Pull over somewhere safe and stop before using it
Programming a device takes eyes and attention off the road for many seconds. Stopping is the only version of this that is not a distraction offence.
A red light feels like free time, but the light changes and the vehicle behind expects you to move.
4.
Traffic ahead is backed up past a railroad crossing. What does this sign require of you?
Not quiteCorrect answer: C — Wait before the tracks until there is room for your whole vehicle on the far side
You must not enter a crossing unless you can clear it completely. A train cannot stop or swerve, and a car trapped on the tracks has no escape.
The instinct in stopped traffic is to close the gap. That instinct is what puts vehicles on the tracks when the queue does not move.
5.
This sign governs the lane you are in. Its colours are black on white rather than black on yellow. What does that tell you about the arrow?
Not quiteCorrect answer: A — It is regulatory: the movement it shows is required by law, not merely suggested
Colour tells you the category before you read a word. Black on white is the regulatory pair, so the arrow is an order: drivers in that lane must make the movement shown. The same arrow on a yellow background would only warn that the road ahead bends.
Treating lane arrows as advice about where the road goes. On a white sign the arrow decides what you are allowed to do from that lane.
6.
A steady white downward-pointing arrow is displayed on the lane-use signal above a lane. It tells you that:
Not quiteCorrect answer: B — You are permitted to drive in the lane beneath the arrow
The white downward arrow is the lane-use signal's version of a green light: it points at the lane it opens, and the permission lasts until a yellow or red X replaces it.
The downward arrow is read as an instruction to move down or across. It points at the lane it refers to; it is not a direction of travel.
7.
Your vehicle is taller than the height shown on this sign. You should:
Not quiteCorrect answer: B — Find another route — the structure ahead will not clear your vehicle
The figure is the lowest clearance of the structure ahead. Anything taller strikes it, and the sign exists because that keeps happening.
Drivers assume the posted figure includes a safety margin and that the centre is always higher. Neither is a safe assumption.
8.
A steady yellow arrow means:
Not quiteCorrect answer: A — The protected turn is ending and you should prepare to stop
Like a steady yellow ball, the steady yellow arrow is the end of a phase. The arrow is about to go red for that movement.
Drivers who read every yellow arrow as "yield and go" enter the intersection just as oncoming traffic gets its green.
9.
You are waiting to turn left. The green left arrow goes out, but the circular green for your direction stays lit. You may now:
Not quiteCorrect answer: D — Still turn left, but you must now yield to oncoming traffic
The end of the arrow ends the protection, not the permission. The circular green leaves the turn allowed but unprotected, and oncoming traffic has just been released.
The changeover feels like the tail end of your own phase. It is the opposite: the moment the arrow dies is the moment oncoming traffic starts moving toward the space you are about to cross.
10.
You are merging onto a freeway from an on-ramp. On the acceleration lane you should:
Not quiteCorrect answer: B — Match the speed of freeway traffic and merge into a gap
The acceleration lane exists to let you arrive at traffic speed. Merging slowly forces everyone behind to brake and is a common cause of freeway collisions.
Stopping at the end of an on-ramp leaves you with no run-up and traffic arriving at 65 mph behind you.
11.
A car is following you far too closely. The safest response is to:
Not quiteCorrect answer: A — Increase your own following distance to the vehicle ahead
You cannot control the gap behind you, but a larger gap in front means you can brake gently instead of hard — which is what a tailgater needs.
Brake-checking is the instinctive response and converts a near miss into a rear-end collision you are partly liable for.
12.
A flashing red arrow is displayed for your turn. What does it require?
Not quiteCorrect answer: C — Stop first, then make the turn when it can be done safely
A flashing red arrow is a stop sign for that one movement: come to a full stop, then complete the turn yielding to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians.
The two flashing arrows get swapped. A flashing yellow arrow means yield and go without stopping; a flashing red arrow requires the stop first, and rolling it is the same offence as rolling a stop sign.
13.
This sign warns that:
Not quiteCorrect answer: B — Traffic from another roadway will join yours and both must adjust
A merge means two streams become one. Neither driver has an automatic right-of-way; both are expected to adjust speed and position.
Many drivers believe the merging vehicle must always yield. The sign warns both roadways; cooperating beats insisting.
14.
Yellow lines on a roadway separate:
Not quiteCorrect answer: B — Traffic moving in opposite directions
Yellow always means opposing traffic. White separates lanes going the same way. This one distinction answers a large share of marking questions.
Drivers memorise individual line patterns without the colour rule, then cannot reason about an unfamiliar combination.
15.
You are already moving and this sign appears ahead of you. What should you do?
Not quiteCorrect answer: C — Stop, pull over as safely as you can and turn around
This sign means you have already entered against traffic and did not see, or passed, the DO NOT ENTER sign. Stopping and turning around is the only safe response.
Continuing to "the next exit" is exactly wrong here — on a divided road the next exit may be miles away, into oncoming traffic.
16.
Your light turns green, but two vehicles from the cross street are still finishing their movement inside the intersection. You should:
Not quiteCorrect answer: A — Wait until they have cleared the intersection, then go
A green light gives permission to enter an intersection that is clear. Vehicles already lawfully inside keep the right-of-way until they are out, whatever your signal now shows.
The green is treated as an instant transfer of priority. Signal timing deliberately leaves a gap for the intersection to empty, and a driver who launches on the green closes that gap themselves.
17.
At a red light with this sign posted, you may:
Not quiteCorrect answer: B — Not turn at all until the light turns green
This sign removes the general permission to turn on red. Until the signal changes, no turn is allowed in that direction regardless of how clear the road looks.
The right-on-red rule is so habitual that drivers execute it without reading the sign that cancels it. This is a common ticket and a common test question.
18.
In dense fog, the correct headlight setting is:
Not quiteCorrect answer: B — Low beams
High beams reflect off the water droplets and throw the light back at you, reducing what you can see. Low beams throw light under the fog.
More light feels like better visibility. In fog, snow and heavy rain, more light means more glare.
19.
You have been driving on a divided highway and pass this sign. What changes ahead?
Not quiteCorrect answer: A — Traffic will come toward you, with no median separating the two directions
The median that has been keeping the two directions apart stops here. From this point the lane to your left carries oncoming vehicles, so keep right and treat the centre line, not a strip of grass, as your protection.
Staying in the left lane out of habit from the divided section. Past this sign that lane belongs to traffic coming the other way.
20.
Green signs on a highway are used for:
Not quiteCorrect answer: D — Directions, distances and destinations
Green is the guide colour: where a road goes, how far it is, and which exit to take. It never carries a legal requirement.
Because they are large and prominent, green signs get read as instructions. Nothing on a green sign can be violated.

Practice by topic

See all 84 road signs and what they mean

Questions people ask

How many questions are on the Minnesota DMV written test?: Minnesota does not publish a figure we could verify against an official handbook, so the practice exam here uses a common 25-question format with 20 correct to pass. Check the Minnesota DMV before your appointment.
What score do you need to pass in Minnesota?: 20 out of 25 — 80%.
Is the Minnesota written test available in Spanish?: Most states offer the knowledge test in Spanish. Confirm with the Minnesota DMV, and practise in Spanish here.
Are these the real DMV questions?: No — and nobody who has them is allowed to publish them. Every question here is written from the official driver handbook and the federal MUTCD sign standard, which is what the real test is written from too.
Is this Minnesota practice test free?: Yes. Every question on this page is free, with no account and no email.

Where this comes from

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), 11th Edition — U.S. Federal Highway Administration
MUTCD sign artwork on Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons — files created by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration
California Driver Handbook — California DMV
Texas Driver Handbook — Texas Department of Public Safety
Florida Driver License Handbook — Florida HSMV
New York State Driver's Manual — New York State DMV
Illinois Rules of the Road — Illinois Secretary of State
Pennsylvania Driver's Manual — PennDOT

Independent study aid. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any Department of Motor Vehicles or government agency. Questions are written from the official handbooks listed above; no exam result is guaranteed.

The real exam

Practice questions

You have signalled and begun to change lanes when you see a vehicle in your blind spot. Your signal:

A smaller sign is mounted directly beneath a larger one on the same post. How should that smaller sign be read?

You need to enter a destination into a navigation app during a journey. You should:

Traffic ahead is backed up past a railroad crossing. What does this sign require of you?

This sign governs the lane you are in. Its colours are black on white rather than black on yellow. What does that tell you about the arrow?

A steady white downward-pointing arrow is displayed on the lane-use signal above a lane. It tells you that:

Your vehicle is taller than the height shown on this sign. You should:

A steady yellow arrow means:

You are waiting to turn left. The green left arrow goes out, but the circular green for your direction stays lit. You may now:

You are merging onto a freeway from an on-ramp. On the acceleration lane you should:

A car is following you far too closely. The safest response is to:

A flashing red arrow is displayed for your turn. What does it require?

This sign warns that:

Yellow lines on a roadway separate:

You are already moving and this sign appears ahead of you. What should you do?

Your light turns green, but two vehicles from the cross street are still finishing their movement inside the intersection. You should:

At a red light with this sign posted, you may:

In dense fog, the correct headlight setting is:

You have been driving on a divided highway and pass this sign. What changes ahead?

Green signs on a highway are used for:

Practice by topic

Questions people ask

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Where this comes from