Texas Permit Test Study Guide (2026)

Cover every topic on the Texas DMV permit test, ranked by how often they show up on the real exam.

Texas first-time drivers study from the Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), published by the Texas DPS. It covers traffic laws, road signs, safe driving habits, alcohol and drug effects on driving, and the rules for new drivers under the Graduated Driver License program. Read it section by section, then take practice tests to check what you remember.

Texas Speed Limits

Speed limits are one of the most-tested topics on the TX permit exam, and the questions usually test Texas's prima facie default limits -- what the speed is when no sign is posted. Under Transportation Code 545.352, Texas's defaults are: 15 mph in an alley, 30 mph on any other street in an urban district, 70 mph on a state- or U.S.-numbered highway outside an urban district (including farm-to-market roads), and 60 mph on other highways outside an urban district. School zones are not a single statewide number -- each one is set locally by a traffic engineering study, capped at 35 mph by state guidance, and most you'll encounter are posted 20 mph. Always obey the basic-speed law: never drive faster than is safe for current conditions, even under the posted or statutory limit.

Alcohol & BAC Limits

Expect at least one alcohol question on the Texas permit test. Memorize the three BAC thresholds: 0.08% is the legal limit for drivers age 21 and older, 0.04% is the limit for anyone driving with a commercial driver license (CDL), and Texas is a zero-tolerance state for drivers under 21 (Tex. Alco. Bev. Code 106.041) -- any detectable amount of alcohol is enough, even 0.01%. This is a separate charge from adult DWI, called Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol by a Minor: a first offense is a Class C misdemeanor with a fine up to $500 and a 60-day license suspension. Texas also has an implied-consent law: by accepting your license, you have already agreed to a breath or blood test if an officer suspects you of impaired driving; refusing triggers its own license suspension.

Right-of-Way Rules

Right-of-way is the single most-missed topic across every state's permit test. The rules are simple once you memorize them. At a 4-way stop, the first vehicle to fully stop goes first; if two arrive together, the driver on the right has the right of way. At an uncontrolled intersection, yield to any vehicle already in the intersection and to the driver on your right. At roundabouts, yield to traffic already circulating and enter only when there is a safe gap. Always yield to pedestrians in any crosswalk, marked or unmarked, and to emergency vehicles with lights and sirens — pull right and stop. When turning left across oncoming traffic, you must yield to oncoming vehicles. Yield does not give you the right of way; it requires you to give it up.

Following Distance & Safety

The Texas Driver Handbook's rule: use a 2-second following distance at 30 mph or below, and 4 seconds at higher speeds. Pick a fixed point on the road -- a sign, tree, or building -- and start counting as the vehicle ahead of you passes it; if you reach the point before you finish counting, you're following too closely. This 2-to-4-second rule assumes ideal conditions -- increase your following time whenever conditions are less than ideal (rain, low visibility, heavy loads, following a motorcycle).

Road Sign Colors & Shapes

Road signs on the TX permit test follow the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, so shapes and colors are consistent across the country. Memorize the shapes first: octagon always means stop, downward triangle means yield, diamond means warning, pentagon marks a school zone, round warns of a railroad crossing, and horizontal rectangle is a guide sign. Then learn the colors: red is stop or prohibition, yellow is general warning, orange is construction, green is directions and exits, blue is driver services, brown is recreation, and fluorescent yellow-green is for schools and pedestrians. Practice identifying signs by shape and color alone — see the full visual cheat sheet on our Texas road-signs page.

Key Texas Numbers to Memorize

If you only remember a handful of facts going into the test, make it these. Every one of them maps to questions that have appeared on the real TX exam.

Parking Rules

Parking questions on the Texas permit test cover two patterns everywhere. For parallel parking, your wheels should be no more than 12 inches from the curb. For hill parking, the kerb rule decides which way your front wheels point: facing downhill (with or without a curb), turn the wheels toward the curb; facing uphill with a curb, turn the wheels away from the curb so they rest against it; facing uphill with no curb, turn the wheels toward the edge of the road. Always set the parking brake and leave the car in park (or in low gear with a manual).

Texas's no-parking zones (Transportation Code 545.302) you must memorize: within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, within 20 feet of a crosswalk, within 30 feet on the approach to a flashing signal, stop sign, yield sign, or traffic-control signal at the side of the road, and never on a railroad track itself or (except briefly to load/unload) within 50 feet of the nearest rail at a railroad crossing. Momentary stops to pick up or drop off a passenger are allowed at the hydrant and crosswalk restrictions.

GDL Restrictions (TX)

Texas's Graduated Driver License program has two phases. Phase I, Learner License: apply at 15 while enrolled in an approved driver education course, supervised at all times by a licensed adult 21 or older. You must hold the learner license at least 6 months and log 30 hours of supervised practice, including 10 hours at night (defined as 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise), at up to 2 hours per day. Phase II, Provisional License: apply at 16+ after finishing the course and your hours. Provisional restrictions last until you turn 18: no more than one passenger under 21 who isn't immediate family, and no driving between midnight and 5 a.m. except for work, school, or an emergency. Expect 1-3 GDL questions on the TX exam.

DUI & Drug Laws

DUI questions go beyond the BAC limits in Section 2. Three concepts you must know: implied consent means refusing a chemical test triggers automatic license suspension on top of any DUI charge. Prescription and over-the-counter drugs can also impair driving — antihistamines, sleep aids, painkillers, and some cold medicines list "do not operate heavy machinery" warnings, and driving impaired by them is a DUI even if you have a valid prescription. Marijuana — even where state-legal — is treated like alcohol for driving: any detectable impairment can result in a DUI, and edibles can take 1–3 hours to peak. The only safe BAC and the only safe THC level for driving is zero. There is no quick way to sober up; only time will lower your BAC.

Now Test What You've Studied

Five questions pulled at random from our Texas question bank — a mix of road signs, traffic laws, and right-of-way. Answer to see the correct choice and a short explanation. For a full timed exam, take the free practice test.

Texas Study Guide FAQ