New Mexico Permit Practice Test
A free New Mexico permit practice test: 10 questions written from the New Mexico Driver Manual (English), each with the right answer and the reason. The real test needs 70% right to pass.
10 questions. Pick an answer to see if you are right.
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Answer: C. 15
New Mexico issues instructional permits starting at age 15. You must also pass the vision and knowledge tests and be enrolled in an approved driver education course.
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Answer: A. A driver 21 or older with at least 3 years of licensed driving
Your supervisor must be at least 21 and must have held a license for at least three years, in New Mexico or another state. In a car, that person sits in the front passenger seat.
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Answer: B. 6 months
The permit must be kept for at least six months before you can apply for a provisional license. Use that time to build up your supervised practice hours.
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Answer: D. 50 hours, with 10 at night
Teens need at least 50 hours of practice driving, and at least 10 of those hours must be at night. A parent or guardian signs off on the hours.
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Answer: C. 15 1/2
You can get a provisional license at 15 years and 6 months, as long as you have held your instructional permit for six months.
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Answer: A. Midnight to 5 a.m.
Provisional drivers are kept off the road from midnight to 5 a.m. Exceptions include driving with a licensed adult 21 or older, or going to work, school or a religious activity with a signed statement.
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Answer: B. One
A provisional driver may have no more than one passenger under 21 from outside the immediate family, unless a licensed driver 21 or older is also in the vehicle.
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Answer: D. The car on the right
At a four-way stop the first car to arrive goes first. If two arrive together, the car on the right goes first.
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Answer: C. 90 days
Your record must show no traffic conviction during the 90 days before you apply for a provisional license. The unrestricted license has the same 90-day rule.
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Answer: D. 12 or more
Many violations, such as speeding, add points to your record. If you reach 12 or more points within 12 months, your license is suspended for one year.
Ready for the real New Mexico test?
The free test shows 10 of the 71 questions for New Mexico. The Pass Pack opens all of them, with full 25-question practice exams marked against the real test’s pass mark (70% to pass).
- Every question for your state. All 71, each with the reason and the source it comes from.
- Full practice exams. 25 questions, no hints until the end, then your score against the pass mark and every mistake explained.
- Your mistakes, saved. Every question you miss, in practice or in an exam, comes back until you get it right, on this device.
- Every state, one price. Moving, or helping a teen in another state? Every state we cover is included, plus the road signs test.
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Your Pass Pack
All 71 questions are open on this device.
Take a full exam
25 questions drawn at random, no answers shown until you finish, then your score against the real pass mark (70% to pass).
Questions you missed before
Every other question
How the New Mexico knowledge test works
- Questions
- Not published
- To pass
- 70%
- Learner permit from
- age 15
The car and motorcycle (Class D and M) written knowledge test needs a score of 70 percent or better to pass; the MVD's own pages do not publish how many questions it has, and they give no different rule by age. Source.
You can get a New Mexico instructional permit at 15 if you are enrolled in an approved driver education course and pass the vision and knowledge tests (a parent or guardian signs if you are under 18). Teens must hold it at least six months and log 50 hours of supervised practice, 10 at night, before a provisional license, which is available from 15 1/2. Source.
The questions come from the New Mexico Driver Manual (English) (version 11.19.19 (from the file name; no edition date is printed in the manual); PDF last modified 15 Aug 2026, read 2026-10-12), which is what the real test is written from. Read it alongside these questions: every answer above names the section it comes from.
New Mexico rules worth knowing before the test
- For each traffic violation conviction while on an instructional permit, the six-month holding period is extended by 30 days; the same 30-day extension applies to the 12-month provisional period. Source
- A provisional driver may drive between midnight and 5 a.m. only with a licensed driver 21 or older, for a medical emergency, or with a signed statement for work, school, a religious activity, or a family or medical need. Source
- Teens must be enrolled in a Traffic Safety Bureau-approved driver education course, with DWI education and practice driving, before they can get an instructional permit. Source
- If you are 18 to 24 and getting your first New Mexico license, you must also complete the "None for the Road" DWI awareness course. Source
- If you fail the regular knowledge test you may retake it, even the same day, but no more than twice in one week; after three failures you must wait six months to test again. Source
- After a full stop you may turn right on red unless a sign forbids it, and you may turn left on red from a one-way street onto another one-way street unless prohibited. Source
- Watch for deer, elk, pronghorn, black bears and cougars, especially at dawn, at dusk and in the first hours after dark, and expect more animals where one is crossing. Source
- Everyone who drives in New Mexico must have motor vehicle liability insurance and carry proof of it in the vehicle at all times. Source
Signs, markings and signals
Every state’s test asks about road signs, which follow one national standard. Practise them with pictures on the road signs test.
Questions about the New Mexico permit test
How many questions are on the New Mexico permit test?
The car and motorcycle (Class D and M) written knowledge test needs a score of 70 percent or better to pass; the MVD's own pages do not publish how many questions it has, and they give no different rule by age. Source: New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division (Taxation and Revenue Department).
What score do I need to pass?
70% of the questions. New Mexico does not publish how many questions the test has; this practice test marks you against the same 70%.
How old do I have to be for a learner’s permit in New Mexico?
You can get a New Mexico instructional permit at 15 if you are enrolled in an approved driver education course and pass the vision and knowledge tests (a parent or guardian signs if you are under 18). Teens must hold it at least six months and log 50 hours of supervised practice, 10 at night, before a provisional license, which is available from 15 1/2. Source: New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division (Taxation and Revenue Department).
Is this the official New Mexico test?
No. This is an independent practice test, not part of the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division (Taxation and Revenue Department). Every question is written in our own words from the New Mexico Driver Manual (English) or the state’s other official pages, and each answer names the section it comes from. The real test is taken with the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division (Taxation and Revenue Department).
What does the Pass Pack add?
All 71 questions for New Mexico (the 30 written from the handbook and 41 road signs, markings and signals), full 25-question practice exams (New Mexico does not publish its test’s length, so the exams use 25) marked against the pass mark, and your missed questions kept on this device. It costs US$9.99 once and covers every state we cover. See the Pass Pack.