North Dakota DOT Handbook 2025

In North Dakota, if you’re under 18, you must obtain an instruction permit before taking or waiving the road test for a driver’s license. (There is one exception: If you’re taking a high school driver’s education course whose school district has enough insurance to cover you, you don’t need a permit to practice driving under the supervision of your driving instructor.) Your parent, guardian, or designated person must give their signed consent on your application. If you’re at least 18 years of age, a permit is also required.
You must be at least 14 years old to be eligible for a permit. Regardless of your age, you must also pass a vision exam and an official knowledge (permit) test. You may take the permit test online or at a DOT Driver License office. If you’re aged 14 or 15, you must hold the permit for 12 months or until you turn 16. If you’re 16 or 17, you must hold the permit for 6 months or until you turn 18. If you’re at least 18 years old, you don’t have to hold the permit for any length of time; you may take the road test for a license as soon as you feel ready.
If you’re under 16, before applying for a restricted license (the next step in graduated driver licensing), you must also successfully complete an approved driver’s education course and 50 additional hours of supervised driving practice under varying conditions.
Normally, you must pass a road test to be eligible for a license. However, in North Dakota, a driver who has successfully completed an approved driver education course is allowed to skip the road test.
All questions on the official knowledge test are based on the official North Dakota DOT driver’s 2025 handbook (North Dakota DMV Handbook (ND Driver's Manual) 2025). This manual is available in English and Spanish versions and can be easily downloaded from this webpage in PDF format.
We have also created an audiobook of the English version of the official driver’s handbook. It’s formatted as a downloadable series of MP3 files roughly corresponding to the sections of the manual: Introduction/Driver’s License Requirements; Classes of Licenses; Signs, Signals, and Road Markings; and so on. The audiobook has a total running time of about 2 hours, 30 minutes, and 14 seconds, so you should be able to go through it in a couple of days.
In addition to the official handbook, we also offer our own permit test study guide to help you prevent any slip-ups on the big test day. It covers how to prepare your mind and body for the test, what documents to have with you, what fees you may have to pay, and frequently missed test questions.