How Many Questions Are in the Driver Knowledge Test?

The short answer: it depends on your state

Australia doesn't run one national driver knowledge test. Each state and territory sets its own test, writes its own road-rules handbook, and decides how many questions the test contains. So the honest answer to "how many questions are in the DKT?" is: it depends on where you sit it.

Here are the counts we can confirm for the standard car learner permit knowledge test:

• Victoria (VIC): 32 questions
• Queensland (QLD): 30 questions
• Western Australia (WA): 30 questions
• Tasmania (TAS): 35 questions
• Northern Territory (NT): 30 questions
• Australian Capital Territory (ACT): 35 questions

Two jurisdictions are deliberately missing from that list. New South Wales (NSW) and South Australia (SA) don't publish a fixed, guaranteed question count in the same way, so we won't print a number as fact — you should confirm the current count with the relevant authority (Service NSW / Transport for NSW, and Service SA) when you book. Guessing a number here would be worse than useless: if it's wrong, you walk in with the wrong expectation.

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Why the number is different in every state

The reason the count varies is structural, not random. Road law in Australia is administered at the state and territory level. Each jurisdiction has its own licensing authority — VicRoads, Transport for NSW, the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, and so on — and each maintains its own road-rules handbook and its own question bank.

Because the handbooks differ slightly (speed defaults, specific signage, local rules), the tests built from them differ too. A test with 30 questions in one state and 35 in another isn't harder or easier by the count alone — it's just a different exam, drawn from a different rule set, marked to a different threshold. That's also why practising against the right state's material matters far more than chasing a magic question count. Studying NSW rules for a Queensland test will leave gaps exactly where the two states disagree.

How the pass mark actually works

Knowing the question count is only half the picture — what matters is how many you need to get right. Most Australian knowledge tests are marked as a percentage, and the pass mark is set high on purpose, because these are safety-critical road rules, not trivia.

In practice that means you can usually only afford a small handful of wrong answers. On a 30-question test, missing a few is often the difference between a pass and a fail; the exact allowance depends on your state's pass percentage. Many tests also weight certain "critical" road-safety questions more heavily, or require you to get those specific questions correct regardless of your overall score.

We won't quote a single pass percentage as though it applied everywhere, because it doesn't — it's set per jurisdiction and can be revised. The safe way to read it: aim to know the material well enough that a couple of slips still leave you comfortably above the line. If you're scraping a bare pass in practice, you're not ready. Confirm the current pass mark for your state on the official booking page.

Why you should always confirm on the official booking page

Question counts, pass marks, test formats and fees are all set by the authorities and they do change — handbooks get updated, question banks get refreshed, and formats get modernised (many tests are now touchscreen at a service centre or, in some states, available online).

We keep this page honest and current, but we are not a government authority and not affiliated with one. The final word always sits with the official source. Before you book or sit the test:

• Go to your state or territory's licensing authority website.
• Confirm the current question count, pass mark and test format for the car learner permit test (or the class you're after).
• Download the latest version of that state's road-rules handbook — the test is written directly from it.

Not sure which authority is yours or what your state's test looks like? Our driving tests by state guide points you to the right authority and the specifics for each jurisdiction.

How to prepare — and it's free

The count barely matters once you actually know the rules. Preparation is what passes the test, and you don't need to pay for it. All of our DKT practice is completely free.

A preparation plan that works:

• Read your state's handbook first — cover to cover, at least once. Every question comes from it.
• Practise with real-style questions until you're scoring well clear of the pass mark, not just over it. Our free practice tests let you work through questions by topic and by full mock test, with explanations so you learn why an answer is right — not just which letter.
• Target your weak areas. If you keep missing questions on give-way rules or roundabouts, drill those specifically rather than re-doing the topics you've already mastered.
• Do full timed runs at your state's question count so the real test format feels familiar.

Beyond the knowledge test, hazard perception is the other hurdle on the path to your licence in most states. Our hazard perception test (HPT) course is the one paid product we offer — a one-time A$9.90, no subscription and nothing to cancel, with a money-back guarantee. But the knowledge-test practice itself stays free, always.

Last verified 4 September 2026 against the Australian Road Rules and the relevant state road authority. Rules, fees and figures change. Always confirm current details before you rely on them.

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