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North Carolina driving lesson · Your License

Learner permits & the license tests

A 4-minute lesson from the North Carolina course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

Study this lesson in the app Back to the course
Read time
4 minutes
Course unit
Your License
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
6, 7

In North Carolina you can't drive on streets or highways without a valid license. That also covers sitting in the driver's seat with the engine running, or steering a car that another vehicle is pushing or towing.

Adults 18 and older start with a learner permit. Everyone applying for an original license takes the same set of tests, each passed separately.

Learner permit basics (age 18+):

  • Available to persons age 18 and older
  • Lets you drive the type or class of vehicle named on the permit while you carry it
  • A person licensed for that vehicle must ride seated beside you
  • Required tests: vision, traffic signs, and knowledge of motor vehicle laws
Handbook p. 6 ↗

Tests for an original license of any type:

  • Vision
  • Knowledge of motor vehicle laws
  • Traffic signs
  • Driving skill (on-road test)
Handbook p. 6 ↗

Know the rule

Vision is checked for a learner permit, an original license, and an in-person renewal. If you need corrective lenses to pass, you must wear them whenever you drive; driving without them is punished the same as driving without a license.

Handbook p. 6 ↗

Know the rule

Signs test: identify each sign by its color and shape and explain what it means. Everything on it is in the handbook.

Handbook p. 6 ↗

Know the rule

The knowledge test covers traffic laws and safe driving practices. Audio tests are available on request for people who have difficulty reading.

Handbook p. 6 ↗

Know the rule

The on-road driving test comes after you pass all other tests. It is required the first time you apply for a license, may be required at renewal, and is not required for a learner permit.

Handbook p. 6 ↗

Know the rule

You may not be licensed if a mental or physical condition keeps you from driving safely. A person with a disability may get a restricted license if the condition doesn't keep them from driving safely.

Handbook p. 6 ↗

Skills graded on the road test include:

  • Approaches to intersections, stop signs and traffic signals
  • Quick stops when told, as quickly and safely as possible
  • Backing; stopping, starting and parking
  • Clutch use (standard transmissions); turn signals and horn
  • Turning, use of lanes, following, passing and being passed
  • Yielding to pedestrians and other vehicles; driving posture
  • Three-point turnabout
Handbook p. 7 ↗

Three-point turnabout, step by step:

  • 1. From the extreme right side, check traffic, signal left, go forward slowly turning the wheel left
  • 2. Stop within several inches of the left curb or edge
  • 3. Back slowly while turning the wheel right; stop within several inches of the right curb or edge
  • 4. Go forward slowly while turning the wheel left to finish
Handbook p. 7 ↗

Know the rule

The driving skills test must be taken in a vehicle representative of the license class you want.

Handbook p. 7 ↗

Put it into practice

You're 19 and just got a learner permit. Your 18-year-old friend with a Class C license may ride beside you, because the rule is that your companion is licensed for the vehicle and seated next to you. Riding in the back seat would not count.

Check your understanding

Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.

At what age can a person first apply for a regular (non-GDL) learner permit in North Carolina?
  1. 18
  2. 16
  3. 15
  4. 21

Answer: 18

Learner permits are available to persons age 18 and older; younger applicants use the graduated licensing system instead.

Handbook p. 6 ↗
Which test is NOT required to obtain an original North Carolina learner permit?
  1. The vision test
  2. The on-the-road driving test
  3. The traffic signs test
  4. The knowledge of motor vehicle laws test

Answer: The on-the-road driving test

A learner permit requires vision, signs, and knowledge tests; the driving skills test applies to an original license.

Handbook p. 6 ↗
While driving on a learner permit, who must accompany you?
  1. Any licensed adult, in any seat
  2. A parent or guardian, in the back seat
  3. A person licensed for that vehicle, seated beside you
  4. A driver licensed for at least five years, in any seat

Answer: A person licensed for that vehicle, seated beside you

The permit holder must be accompanied by a person licensed to operate the vehicle being driven who is seated beside the permit holder.

Handbook p. 6 ↗
What does North Carolina's traffic signs test require you to do?
  1. Identify signs by their wording only
  2. Identify signs by their color and shape
  3. Identify signs by where they are posted
  4. Identify signs from 100 feet away

Answer: Identify signs by their color and shape

To pass the signs test, you must identify traffic signs by color and shape and explain what each means.

Handbook p. 6 ↗
An applicant who has difficulty reading may request what accommodation for the knowledge test?
  1. An audio version of the test
  2. A take-home version of the test
  3. A shorter version of the test
  4. A picture-only version of the test

Answer: An audio version of the test

Audio tests are available upon request for those who have difficulty reading.

Handbook p. 6 ↗
You must pass the on-the-road driving test before you can be issued a learner permit.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: False

The driving test is required after other tests are passed and is not a prerequisite for the permit itself; it is not required for a learner permit.

Handbook p. 6 ↗
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