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Study the treatise and question pool

California permit test practice, chapter by chapter.

10 chapters, a scenario question pool for every chapter, and real sample questions below — free, unlimited retakes, no account required to read them.

Always freeContent reviewed July 21, 2026Not affiliated with the California DMV

California Driver Knowledge Test Prep: The Complete Study Treatise & Practice System

Original 0-hour Exam Prep Free course for California professionals. Course status and credit eligibility are shown before enrollment.

Chapter map

Chapter 1 — The License and the Test: How California Licenses Drivers

  • How to use this treatise
  • §1.1 Who needs a California license
  • §1.2 Getting licensed: the application path
  • §1.3 Minors: permits, provisional licenses, and the graduated rules
  • §1.4 The license as an ongoing deal: renewals, updates, and the contract underneath
  • §1.5 When DMV takes licenses back: the preview
  • §1.6 Chapter 1 self-check (drill the pool after reading)

Chapter 2 — Signals, Signs, and Markings: Reading the Road's Language

  • §2.1 Traffic signals: every light, every meaning
  • §2.2 The sign system: shape and color carry the message
  • §2.3 Pavement markings: the paint is law too
  • §2.4 The people directing traffic outrank the hardware
  • §2.5 Work zones and the orange world
  • §2.6 Chapter 2 self-check

Chapter 3 — Right-of-Way and Intersections: Who Goes First, and Why

  • §3.1 The doctrine before the rules
  • §3.2 Uncontrolled and stop-sign intersections
  • §3.3 Left turns, U-turns, and the oncoming-traffic rule
  • §3.4 Pedestrians: the always-yield family
  • §3.5 Roundabouts: the modern intersection
  • §3.6 Emergency vehicles and the pull-right rule
  • §3.7 Mountain roads, narrow roads, and the uphill rule
  • §3.8 Chapter 3 self-check

Chapter 4 — Speed Laws: The Basic Rule and the Numbers Around It

  • §4.1 The Basic Speed Law: the rule that outranks every number
  • §4.2 The maximums: the numbers to memorize
  • §4.3 Prima facie limits: the presumed speeds where signs are absent
  • §4.4 Too slow, too aggressive: the band's other edges
  • §4.5 Speed and space: stopping distance doctrine
  • §4.6 Chapter 4 self-check

Chapter 5 — Turns, Lanes, and Freeways: Position Is the Skill

  • §5.1 Signaling: the numbers and the duty
  • §5.2 Turn position: the lane-to-lane geometry
  • §5.3 Lane discipline and passing
  • §5.4 Freeway entrances and exits
  • §5.5 Freeway flow: HOV lanes, trucks, and the choreography
  • §5.6 Chapter 5 self-check

Chapter 6 — Parking, Stopping, and Roadside Rules

  • §6.1 Curb parking mechanics: the 18-inch rule and the hill code
  • §6.2 Where you may never stop or park
  • §6.3 Leaving and entering the parked position
  • §6.4 Special zones and the tow-away realities
  • §6.5 Chapter 6 self-check

Chapter 7 — Sharing the Road: Bicycles, Motorcycles, Trucks, Buses, and Everyone Walking

  • §7.1 Bicycles: full vehicles, extra physics
  • §7.2 Motorcycles: the visibility problem with a person attached
  • §7.3 Large trucks and buses: mass, blind spots, and patience
  • §7.4 School buses: the red-light absolute
  • §7.5 Pedestrians revisited, plus the special populations
  • §7.6 Slow vehicles and the rural cast
  • §7.7 Chapter 7 self-check

Chapter 8 — Alcohol, Drugs, and DUI Law: The Numbers, the Machinery, the Stakes

  • §8.1 The BAC grid: four numbers, memorized forever
  • §8.2 Drugs count: the full substance doctrine
  • §8.3 The stop and the machinery: implied consent, PAS, and the two tracks
  • §8.4 Consequences: the sober math
  • §8.5 The practical protocols
  • §8.6 Chapter 8 self-check

Chapter 9 — Occupant Safety and Attention: Belts, Child Seats, Phones, and the Driver's Mind

  • §9.1 Seat belts: everyone, everywhere, properly
  • §9.2 Children: the seat ladder and its numbers
  • §9.3 Phones and screens: the hands-free architecture
  • §9.4 The rest of the cabin: the distraction inventory
  • §9.5 Chapter 9 self-check

Chapter 10 — Registration, Insurance, Points, and Special Situations: The Owner's Law

  • §10.1 The vehicle's paperwork: registration, transfer, and the notification clocks
  • §10.2 Financial responsibility: the insurance floor
  • §10.3 Collisions: the on-scene law
  • §10.4 The point system: NOTS and the license's health bar
  • §10.5 Special situations: the final round-up
  • §10.6 Chapter 10 self-check

Sample questions from the practice pool

Real questions pulled from the imported 101PD question pool — the same pool used inside the free-practice player. Expand any question to see the answer and explanation.

1. Maya moved from Texas to Sacramento on June 1 and started her new job. By when must she get a California driver's license?
  • A. Within 10 days of establishing residency ✓
  • B. Within 30 days of her first paycheck
  • C. Only when her Texas license expires

New residents have 10 days from establishing residency to get a CA license. (Book §1.1)

2. Dev, 17, has a provisional license he received 4 months ago. At 9:30 p.m. he drives his 18-year-old teammate home. Legal?
  • A. Yes — it's before 11 p.m.
  • B. No — passengers under 20 are prohibited in the first 12 months unless a licensed driver 25+ is aboard ✓
  • C. Yes — teammates are exempt

Both provisional limits matter: hours (11 p.m.-5 a.m.) AND under-20 passengers. The hour was fine; the passenger wasn't. (Book §1.3)

3. Same driver, same license: Dev drives ALONE to his 4:45 a.m. swim practice. Legal?
  • A. Yes — driving alone is always allowed
  • B. No — provisional holders may not drive 11 p.m.-5 a.m. in the first year absent an exception ✓
  • C. Yes — sports count automatically

The night restriction runs to 5 a.m.; exceptions (school/work/medical/family necessity) require the proper documentation, not assumptions. (Book §1.3)

4. Lena, 15½, passed driver education and got her instruction permit today. Who may sit beside her while she practices?
  • A. Any licensed driver 18+
  • B. A licensed parent/guardian, instructor, or licensed adult 25 or older ✓
  • C. Nobody — permits allow solo practice

Permit holders always drive supervised — by a qualifying licensed adult (25+ for the general category). (Book §1.3)

5. Lena later drives herself alone to the DMV for her behind-the-wheel test. Problem?
  • A. No — the test trip is exempt
  • B. Yes — a permit is never valid for solo driving, even to the road test ✓
  • C. No — it's under 5 miles

There is no solo-driving exception for permits; an examiner finding a solo arrival can refuse the test. (Book §1.3)

6. Before getting a provisional license at 16, an applicant must certify how much supervised practice?
  • A. 50 hours, including 10 at night ✓
  • B. 25 hours, all daytime
  • C. 100 hours, including 20 at night

The graduated system requires 50 supervised hours with 10 after dark, certified by a parent/guardian. (Book §1.3)

7. Sam wants a license he can use at airport security for domestic flights. He should apply for:
  • A. A standard license — all licenses work for flights
  • B. A REAL ID, which requires the fuller identity/residency document set ✓
  • C. A passport card only; licenses never work

REAL ID is the federally accepted card; the standard card says 'Federal Limits Apply.' (Book §1.2)

8. Ana fails her knowledge test Tuesday morning. She may retest:
  • A. The same afternoon
  • B. No sooner than the DMV's waiting period (at least the next day for noncommercial), with limited attempts per application ✓
  • C. Only after 30 days

Failed knowledge tests carry a short waiting period and per-application attempt limits — the reason to practice past comfort first. (Book §1.2)

Full treatise PDF

The compiled, watermarked treatise PDF is finalized and awaiting the standard 101PD admin book upload — the same one-step process every course uses. Until then, read every chapter's content in the sample questions and chapter map above.

Free practice tests — not official DMV exams. Not affiliated with the California DMV.