Introduction to Missouri Driver’s Exam

The whole point of learning to drive is to develop the right skills to be a safe driver for life. An important step in earning your license is taking – and passing – the Missouri driver’s exam. Reaching the point where you can take the driver’s exam requires two steps: getting your learner’s permit, then learning to drive.

You will need to get your learner’s permit before you can get behind the wheel of a car to learn how to drive. Once you have your learner’s permit, our professional instructors can give you private lessons between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and pick you up from your house, work or school for the two-hour lessons. When you have learned how to drive, you can take the Missouri driver’s exam. Our instructors will help you understand your level of preparedness for driving on your own, and by extension for taking the exam.

Missouri’s Driving Exam Parts

The driver’s exam has four parts to it. They are:

• A written test (at a Missouri testing location)
• A vision test (at a Missouri testing location)
• A road sign test (at a Missouri testing location)
• A driving skills test (this is the actual road test)

Even though the test is broken into four parts, the overall test is treated like one test, meaning you can expect to take each part in succession, as long as you pass each part, all in the same day.

The written portion of the driver’s exam has 25 multiple-choice questions. The Missouri Department of Revenue provides a Missouri Driver Guide to study for the written test. The guide covers the exam and Missouri traffic laws. You need to answer at least 20 questions correctly to pass the written exam. There are no trick questions. You can read and download the official Missouri Driver’s Guide.

The vision test has two parts: an acuity vision test, where you need to have a minimum of 20/40 acuity in one or both eyes, and a peripheral vision test, where you need to have a minimum of 55 degrees of peripheral vision in both eyes or 85 degrees in one eye.

The road sign test is a test of your knowledge of road signs. It is to verify that you recognize and understand traffic signs. This, like the written test, is straightforward and does not have trick questions.

The Road Test

Finally, the fourth part of the driver’s exam is the driving test. The first three parts of the driver’s exam are conducted in a DMV office, but the driving test is a practical test, meaning you drive while an examiner checks to see if you are a safe driver, follow the rules of the road and understand driving situations. While every driving test is unique because it requires you to drive on roads with licensed drivers at whatever time you choose to take the test (meaning you do not take the test in a controlled environment), you need to score at least a 70 out of 100 to receive your license.

For the driving skills test, our professional, experienced driving instructors give practical driving lessons that will best prepare you for safe, confident driving, which also prepare you for the driving skills test. Our instructors also review the written test with you before you take the driver’s test and allow you to use the instructor’s car to take the test. This is useful since you will have become comfortable with the car from your driving lessons. At any point during your driving lessons you are encouraged to ask questions about safe and confident driving, and this knowledge will help you drive safely and confidently for your driver’s test and for any time you drive after you have earned your driver’s license.