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Alaska DMV · 20 questions · 16 to pass

Alaska permit test you can start at 14

Alaska lets you earn an instruction permit at 14 and take the written test from home. The test is short — 20 questions in 25 minutes — so every missed question counts. Practice with 25 questions written from the October 2025 Alaska Driver Manual.

Last reviewed October 30, 2026 · Alaska Driver Manual REV. 10/2025

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Alaska DMV practice test

Questions
25
To pass
80%
About
17 min

Instant feedback and an explanation after every answer.

Preview the 25 free questions

  1. What is the youngest age at which you can get an Alaska instruction permit?

    • 14
    • 15
    • 15½
    • 16

  2. Your permit supervisor must be a licensed driver at least how old?

    • 18
    • 19
    • 21
    • 25

  3. How many questions are on Alaska's general knowledge test?

    • 20
    • 25
    • 30
    • 40

  4. How many of the 20 questions must you answer correctly?

    • 14
    • 15
    • 16
    • 18

  5. How much time do you get for the knowledge test?

    • 15 minutes
    • 20 minutes
    • 25 minutes
    • 30 minutes

  6. If you fail the knowledge test, when can you try again?

    • The same day
    • The following day
    • After 7 days
    • After 30 days

  7. What does the Alaska instruction permit cost?

    • $10
    • $15
    • $20
    • $25

  8. If you're 16 or 17, how long must you hold a permit before getting a license?

    • 3 months
    • 6 months
    • 9 months
    • 12 months

  9. How many hours of supervised driving must a parent, guardian or employer certify?

    • 30
    • 40
    • 50
    • 60

  10. Of the certified hours, how many must be in progressively challenging conditions such as night or bad weather?

    • 5
    • 8
    • 10
    • 15

  11. What is the curfew for a provisional license holder?

    • 11 p.m.–5 a.m.
    • Midnight–5 a.m.
    • 1 a.m.–5 a.m.
    • 10 p.m.–6 a.m.

  12. Without an adult 21+ in the car, a provisional driver may carry:

    • Friends under 21
    • Siblings
    • Any two passengers
    • No one ever

  13. What vision standard does the Alaska DMV require?

    • 20/20
    • 20/30
    • 20/40
    • 20/50

  14. How long is an Alaska instruction permit valid?

    • 1 year
    • 2 years
    • 4 years
    • 5 years

  15. Who is NOT allowed to sign the parental consent form for an Alaska permit?

    • A natural parent
    • A legal guardian
    • A step-parent
    • An adoptive parent

  16. On a two-lane road outside an urban area, you must pull over safely when how many vehicles are lined up behind you?

    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 10

  17. What following interval does the Alaska manual recommend?

    • 2 seconds
    • 3 seconds
    • 4 seconds
    • 6 seconds

  18. What minimum following time does Alaska regulation 13 AAC 02.090 require?

    • 1 second
    • 2 seconds
    • 3 seconds
    • 4 seconds

  19. At what BAC is an adult driver presumed to be under the influence?

    • .02
    • .04
    • .05
    • .08

  20. What is the BAC limit for driving a commercial vehicle?

    • .02
    • .04
    • .06
    • .08

  21. How many points for failing to stop for a school bus that is loading or unloading?

    • 2
    • 4
    • 6
    • 8

  22. Speeding 10–19 mph over the limit adds how many points?

    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 6

  23. Failing to restrain a passenger under 16 can cost up to:

    • $15
    • $50
    • $100
    • $250

  24. Driving while a visual screen device is operating in view of the driver is:

    • Allowed under 25 mph
    • Illegal
    • Allowed if it's a passenger's
    • Allowed with headphones

  25. On a separated highway with two or more lanes each way, a school bus stops on the opposite side. You:

    • Must stop
    • Need not stop
    • Stop only for amber lights
    • Should honk

Scored at the real pass mark: 80%, the same as 16 of 20. The DMV also runs its own official practice knowledge test, which is worth taking too.

The test at a glance

Questions20
To pass16 correct (80%) — you can miss four
Time limit25 minutes
TopicsTraffic laws, safe driving practices, highway sign recognition
RetakeThe following day
WhereOnline at ak.knowtodrive.com, or at a DMV office
Permit fee$15

With only 20 questions, the margin is thin: a fifth wrong answer fails you. If English is your language but reading is hard, the manual allows someone to read the questions to you, as long as you choose the answers yourself. The online version offers audio and several languages. We could not confirm which languages are available in person, so ask your local office.

Two routes to the same permit

Route A — test online first

  1. Take the knowledge test at ak.knowtodrive.com.
  2. Fill out application form D1. If you're under 18, a parent or guardian completes consent form 433 (433M for a motorcycle).
  3. Go to a DMV office with your documents, pass the vision screening and pay $15.

Route B — do it all at the office

Bring the same forms and documents, take the vision test, then sit the knowledge test on site. If you fail, come back the next day.

Documents (from the DMV permit page): a primary ID such as a birth certificate or passport, proof of your residential address, your Social Security number, and proof of relationship to the adult who signs. Step-parents and foster parents can't sign the consent form.

Vision: 20/40

The DMV uses a telebinocular machine. You need at least 20/40 in each eye, or both eyes together. If you can't pass it, a statement from your physician or optometrist can be used instead.

From permit to full license

Age 14

Instruction permit (IP)

Valid 2 years, renewable once. Supervisor 21+ with 1 year of experience, seated beside you.

Age 16, after 6 months

Provisional license

40 certified hours (10 in challenging conditions) and no traffic convictions in the last 6 months.

Age 18

Restrictions end

Removing the provisional status costs $15.

Provisional drivers carry no passengers unless one of them is a parent, guardian or adult 21+, though siblings are allowed. They don't drive between 1 and 5 a.m. unless accompanied or driving for work. Those limits don't apply to "off system" licenses issued in remote areas. Alaska also issues IM permits for motorcycles and IE permits for driver training school use only.

Rules that are distinctly Alaskan

The five-car rule

On a two-lane road outside an urban area, if five or more vehicles are stacked up behind you, state law (AS 28.35.140) requires you to pull over where it's safe and let them pass. On long highways with few passing zones, this matters — and it's exactly the kind of fact the test likes.

Four seconds, not two

Regulation 13 AAC 02.090 sets a two-second legal minimum, but the manual tells you to leave four. Leave six or more when towing or when the road is slick, which in Alaska is a lot of the year.

Screens and phones

Driving with a visual screen device operating is illegal, and so is texting (AS 28.35.161).

The point system

ViolationPoints
Speeding 3–9 mph over2
Speeding 10–19 mph over4
Speeding 20+ mph over6
Failing to stop for a loading or unloading school bus6
Failing to yield to an emergency vehicle6
Unrestrained passenger under 16 (plus up to $50)2

On school buses, stop for red lights and an extended stop arm until it retracts. The one exception is a separated highway with two or more lanes in each direction, where traffic on the opposite side doesn't have to stop. On alcohol: .08 is presumed DUI (.04 in a commercial vehicle), and drivers under 21 who drive after drinking any alcohol face a suspension. Driving while suspended or revoked means at least 10 days in jail.

We couldn't verify the in-office test languages, any retake limit beyond "the following day," or the details of Alaska's Move Over law from the sources reviewed.

Elsewhere in the region

Alaska has no land neighbors among US states. The closest comparisons are Washington and Hawaii, or see how Montana and South Dakota also license drivers at 14 to 14½.

Alaska DMV permit test questions

How many questions are on the Alaska permit test?

The Alaska DMV's general knowledge test has 20 questions. You need 16 correct (80%) and you have 25 minutes.

Can I take the Alaska permit test online?

Yes. The manual and the DMV's permit page point to ak.knowtodrive.com, where you can take the written permit test online with audio and multiple languages. You still visit a DMV office for the vision test, documents and the $15 fee.

What if I fail the Alaska knowledge test?

The Driver Manual says you may retake it the following day.

Who can supervise me with an Alaska instruction permit?

A licensed driver who is at least 21, has at least one year of experience driving that class of vehicle, and sits in the seat beside you.

Can my step-parent sign my permit consent form?

No. The DMV's permit page says step-parents and foster parents may not sign form 433. A parent or legal guardian must sign, and you bring proof of the relationship.

What are the provisional license rules in Alaska?

For at least six months and until 18: no passengers unless one is a parent, guardian or adult 21+ (siblings are allowed), and no driving 1–5 a.m. unless with a parent, guardian or adult 21+, or for work.

Keep studying

Sources: Alaska Driver Manual (REV. 10/2025), DMV instruction permit page, DMV practice knowledge test. Independent study site; not affiliated with the Alaska DMV.