Free Hawaii DMV Car / Permit Practice Test 2026
The Hawaii Car / Permit knowledge test has ~25 questions, and you need ~20 correct (~80%) to pass. Practice free with questions written from the official Hawaii driver handbook — every one has a clear explanation, and you can retake as often as you like with no sign-up.
Content reviewed against official driver handbooks · August 12, 2026
What's on the Hawaii written test
The Hawaii Car / Permit knowledge test has ~25 questions; you need ~20 correct (~80%) to pass.
Based on the official Hawaii exam format — always confirm current details with your state DMV.
Practice by topic
Focus on one area at a time — each topic has its own set of Hawaii practice questions.
Learn the shapes, colors, and meanings of regulatory, warning, and guide signs — from stop and yield to construction and school-zone signs.
Speed limits, turning and signaling rules, headlight and seat-belt requirements, and the everyday laws every driver must follow.
How to read traffic signals, lane lines, and pavement markings — including yellow and white lines, arrows, and flashing lights.
Who goes first at intersections, four-way stops, roundabouts, and crosswalks, and how to yield to pedestrians and emergency vehicles.
Following distance, scanning, blind spots, using your lights, and the habits that prevent crashes and keep you in control.
Driving safely around motorcycles, bicycles, large trucks, pedestrians, and school buses — and knowing who has the right of way.
Blood alcohol limits, zero-tolerance and implied-consent laws, and how alcohol and drugs — legal or not — affect your driving.
Legal and illegal parking, colored curbs, distances from hydrants and crossings, and how to park safely on hills.
Choosing a safe speed, keeping a space cushion, adjusting for weather and traffic, and understanding stopping distance.
What to do when things go wrong — brake failure, tire blowouts, skids, and stalling on railroad tracks.
The point system, license suspension, provisional-license rules, insurance requirements, and other licensing basics.
How to pass the first time
- Read the official Hawaii driver handbook at least once before test day.
- Practice by topic to find your weak spots, then fix them.
- Take full-length practice tests until you pass comfortably every time.
- Read every explanation — understanding beats memorizing.
Hawaii Car / Permit test — frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the Hawaii Car / Permit test?
The Hawaii Car / Permit knowledge test has ~25 questions, and you need ~20 correct (~80%) to pass. Our practice tests mirror that format.
How many questions can I miss on the Hawaii Car / Permit test?
You can miss up to ~5 of the ~25 questions and still pass — you need ~20 correct, which is ~80%.
Can I retake the practice test?
Yes — practice as often as you like, completely free. The questions and answer choices are shuffled each time.
Can I take the Hawaii practice test in Spanish?
Yes. Every question here is available in English and Spanish — switch languages anytime. Many states also offer the real knowledge test in languages other than English; confirm what Hawaii offers with your DMV.
Can I practice on my phone?
Yes. The practice tests work in any mobile or desktop browser — no app or sign-up needed — so you can study anywhere.
Are these the real DMV test questions?
No. Our questions are original, written from the current official Hawaii driver handbook to match the real test's topics and style. We are not affiliated with any DMV or government agency.
What's the best way to study?
Read the Hawaii driver handbook, practice by topic to target weak areas, and finish with full-length tests until you consistently pass.
Other Hawaii practice tests
Take the Car / Permit test in another state
Every Hawaii question is written from the official Hawaii driver handbook and checked against its current edition. DMV Test Free is a free, independent study resource — not affiliated with any DMV or government agency. About DMV Test Free
Hawaii Car / Permit questions with answers
20 sample questions from the Hawaii Car / Permit question bank — each with the correct answer, a short explanation, and the section of the official handbook it comes from.
Show all 20 questions with answers
1. A rectangular sign printed only in black and white tells a driver what?
Correct answer: Something the law requires you to do
Black-and-white lettering signals that something is required of you by law, and signs carrying that pairing are always rectangles. Guide and information messages use green, blue or brown instead.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter VI, Colors and Shapes
2. You cannot keep up with the traffic around you. What does the manual tell you to do?
Correct answer: Pull off the roadway and let the traffic past, or take another route
Driving so slowly that you hold traffic back is against the rules. Pull off the roadway and let the queue by, or take a different route.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter V, Speed Restrictions
3. How long must an instruction permit be held before applying for a provisional license?
Correct answer: 180 days
A valid permit has to be held for 180 days before the provisional stage can be applied for.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter I, Driving by Minors
4. Which way do you look for traffic as you enter a roundabout, and which way do you drive round it?
Correct answer: Look left, then drive anticlockwise round the central island
You check to your left for vehicles and bicycles already circulating, then pass to the right of the central island so that you travel anticlockwise.
5. Where do collisions between cars and motorcycles most often happen?
Correct answer: At intersections
Intersections are named as the likeliest place, and the usual cause is a driver who never saw the motorcycle before turning into its path.
6. How does the manual classify alcohol's effect on the body?
Correct answer: A depressant
Alcohol is a depressant. It slows the reflexes, clouds judgment, cuts alertness and harms vision, even though a drinker may feel livelier at first.
7. Another car is already parked at the edge of the road and you stop alongside it. What is wrong with that?
Correct answer: It is double parking, which is prohibited even if you stay in the car
Stopping on the roadway side of a vehicle already parked at the edge is double parking, and it is prohibited whether or not you stay behind the wheel.
8. You are unwell, upset or taking medication. What does the manual advise?
Correct answer: Do not drive, and take your doctor's advice about medication
A poor physical or mental state limits what you can do behind the wheel. The advice is not to drive, and to follow a physician's guidance if you are on medication.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter X, Driver's Condition
9. What information must drivers exchange after a crash?
Correct answer: Name, address and vehicle registration details, plus the license if asked
Each driver gives their name, address and vehicle registration details, and produces the driver's license on request, to anyone injured and to the driver, occupant or attendant of any damaged vehicle or property.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter VII, Crash Procedures
10. Yellow obstruction markings are painted around a bridge support in your lane. How must you get past?
Correct answer: On the right side only
You may go by either side of white obstruction markings, but yellow ones must be passed on the right side only.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter VI, Pavement Markings
11. How much clear road ahead does the manual say you need before passing on a hill or a curve?
Correct answer: About 700 to 1,000 feet
The no-passing rules put the figure at roughly 700 to 1,000 feet of clear distance. With less than that visible on a rise or a bend, you must not attempt the pass.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter V, No Passing Rules
12. A diamond-shaped sign with a yellow background is telling you what?
Correct answer: Conditions ahead could be dangerous, so be ready to react
Yellow warns of hazardous or possibly hazardous conditions, and that warning is nearly always carried on a diamond. Orange, not yellow, is the color used for roadwork warnings.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter VI, Colors and Shapes
13. What is the smallest following interval the manual says you should ever accept?
Correct answer: Two seconds
Two seconds is the floor, and the manual adds that you should never have less than that behind another vehicle.
14. How many passengers under 18 may a provisional license holder carry?
Correct answer: One, provided that person is not a household member
Only one person under the age of 18 who does not live in the same household may be carried under a provisional license.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter I, Driving by Minors
15. Your light goes green but a car is still stranded in the middle of the junction. What should you do?
Correct answer: Let it clear the junction before you enter
A green light does not clear the intersection for you. Vehicles and pedestrians caught inside when the light changes must be allowed to get out before you move in.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter V, The Rules of Right-of-Way
16. You are overtaking a motorcycle. How much room must you give it?
Correct answer: A full lane
Give the rider an entire lane and do not crowd in alongside. Pulling back in too early can force a rider to swerve toward traffic or off the road.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter XI, Passing and Being Passed
17. What does Hawaii law say about carrying an opened container of alcohol in a car?
Correct answer: It is banned in the area where driver and passengers sit
Storing an opened alcoholic container in the part of the vehicle where the driver and passengers normally sit is prohibited on any public road.
18. When may you park in a space marked with the international symbol of accessibility?
Correct answer: Only when the proper placard or plate is displayed for the person being carried
Only when the placard or plate issued to the disabled person is displayed and that person is being carried in the vehicle.
19. Where should your speed be reduced when a curve lies ahead?
Correct answer: Before you enter the bend
Slow to a suitable speed before you reach the bend and hold it steady through the curve. Braking or an abrupt change of speed part-way round can cost you control.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter X, Turns and Curves
20. Your wheels drop off the edge of the pavement onto loose gravel. What must you avoid doing?
Correct answer: Jerking the steering wheel to get back on the pavement
Wrenching the wheel to force the car back up onto the surface is the danger. Keep going off the edge, slow down gently, then steer back once the speed is safe.
Source: Hawaii Driver's Manual - Chapter X, Wheels Off Pavement