To obtain a Hawaii instruction permit so you can practice driving under supervision, you must meet a series of requirements. First, you must complete and submit an application. (If you’re under 18, your parent or guardian must sign it.) Next, you must provide documents proving your legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, legal presence in the United States, and principal residence in Hawaii.
You must also pass two official tests: a vision test and a 30-question knowledge (permit) test on the topics covered in the official driver’s manual (Hawaii DMV Handbook (HI Driver's Manual) 2026). The passing score is 80%. However, passing the knowledge test isn’t as easy as you may think. In 2020 – 2023, about half of applicants failed the Hawaii DMV knowledge test on their first attempt. (The failure rates ranged from 45% in 2020 to 53% in 2019.) Evidently, just reading the official driver’s manual a couple of times before the knowledge test did not prepare them well enough to pass.
To make sure you pass, we’ve created a test preparation program with interactive test preparation tools to help you learn and memorize all the information you need to pass the permit test. Our premier tool is a comprehensive series of practice tests covering the information in the manual, accompanied by an AI-based assistant that can provide you with hints and explanations to help you answer the practice test questions.