Is the Connecticut Driving Test Hard? (2026 Statistics)
Connecticut ranks 14th of 51 on knowledge-test difficulty. The state has the country's strictest distracted-driving law and some of the country's safest roads.
Across the 51 jurisdictions, stricter knowledge tests tend to pair with safer roads. Connecticut sits on the safer side, near the top of the chart.
Source: DMV IQ Driving Index. FARS 2023 · FHWA 2024 · CDC BRFSS 2023 · IIHS 2025.
The test
The DMV asks 25 questions and requires 80% correct — at least 20 right answers. That leaves a margin of 5 wrong. That places Connecticut near the middle of the national distribution on test difficulty.
Connecticut's path from permit to full license
In Connecticut, a new driver picks up a learner's permit at 16, holds it for 4 months, qualifies for an intermediate license at 16 + 4 months, and earns a full unrestricted license at 18.
- Learner's permitAge 16held 4 months, 40 hours (including some at night)
- Probationary licenseAge 16 + 4 monthsnight ban 11 PM - 5 AM
- Full licenseAge 18all restrictions lift
- Learner's permitAge 16held 4 months, 40 hours (including some at night)
- Probationary licenseAge 16 + 4 monthsnight ban 11 PM - 5 AM
- Full licenseAge 18all restrictions lift
40 hours behind the wheel, with a parent watching.
Connecticut requires only 40 supervised hours before the road test — below the 45.2-hour national mean and well short of the IIHS-recommended 70.
On Connecticut's roads.
For every 100,000 licensed drivers aged 19 and under in Connecticut, 6.6 die in a crash each year — one of the lowest rates in the country (the U.S. average is 16.8). In Mississippi the figure is 44; in Montana, 34.
Source: NHTSA FARS 2023 ÷ FHWA DL-22 2024.
Across all drivers, Connecticut's road network sees 1.00 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles travelled. The U.S. average is 1.25.
Source: NHTSA FARS 2023 ÷ FHWA VM-2 2024.
The country's strictest law on driving with a phone in your hand.
Connecticut scores a full 6.0 of 6 on our distracted-driving rubric — the only state to do so. The law bans handheld phones for all drivers, prohibits texting and manual data entry for all drivers, and applies a total cellphone ban to teen and novice drivers. Connecticut's seat-belt law is primary enforcement — an officer may stop a vehicle for an unbuckled driver alone. Self-reported belt use is 95%.
On two wheels.
Connecticut's motorcyclist fatality rate is 7.32 deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles — above the 6.87 U.S. average. Connecticut's helmet law is partial — typically required only for younger riders.
Source: NHTSA FARS 2023 · FHWA MV-1 2024.
DMV's motorcycle knowledge test is 16 questions, with a 75% pass mark. Completion of the Connecticut Motorcycle Safety Education Program waives the DMV road test. Required for riders under 18.
On bigger rigs.
The Connecticut CDL knowledge test is federally standardised — 50 questions, 80 percent to pass, the same content in every state. The CDL knowledge-test fee in Connecticut is $16. Other fees and endorsement processing run through the DMV.
Pass the DMV test before you take it.
Free Connecticut practice questions with instant explanations. Score 90 percent on three runs in a row and the real thing tends to look familiar.
Free Connecticut practice testNearby in the index.
Six more state pages — neighbours first, then the closest matches on road safety.
- Massachusetts4th of 51 on road safety46th-hardest test
- Rhode Island13th of 51 on road safety44th-hardest test
- New York3rd of 51 on road safety40th-hardest test
- Minnesota6th of 51 on road safety29th-hardest test
- Utah7th of 51 on road safety29th-hardest test
- Delaware8th of 51 on road safety19th-hardest test