Is the Kansas Driving Test Hard? (2026 Statistics)

The test

The DOR asks 25 questions and requires 80% correct - at least 20 right answers. That leaves a margin of 5 wrong. Most other jurisdictions set a harder pass-fail line.

Kansas hands out permits earlier than most

Kansas permits driving instruction as early as 14 - earlier than the 16-year-old norm most states use. The intermediate license follows at 16, with a full unrestricted license at 17.

On Kansas's roads.

For every 100,000 licensed drivers aged 19 and under in Kansas, 26.1 die in a crash each year. The U.S. average is 16.8; Kansas ranks 46th lowest of 51.

Across all drivers, Kansas's road network sees 1.22 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. The U.S. average is 1.25.

What Kansas bans behind the wheel.

Kansas scores 4.0 of 6 on our distracted-driving rubric (rank 27th of 51). The state prohibits texting and manual data entry for all drivers and applies a total cellphone ban to teen and novice drivers. Kansas's seat-belt law is primary enforcement - an officer may stop a vehicle for an unbuckled driver alone. Self-reported belt use is 93%.

What it costs to insure a car here.

Once you have the license, insurance is the real running cost. In Kansas, the average driver pays about $973 a year, less than the $1,282 a typical American pays. Here is where that sits next to the national average and the cheapest and priciest states.

About 12% of Kansas drivers carry no insurance at all (the national figure is 15.4%), and the least coverage the state lets a driver carry is $25,000 for injuries to one person, $50,000 total for injuries per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. Roll spend, uninsured drivers, affordability and required coverage together and Kansas lands 37th of 51 on our insurance-burden score, where 1st is the heaviest.

One way to trim the bill: Kansas law makes insurers give a discount for finishing an approved defensive-driving course (for drivers all ages), good for 3 years.

On two wheels.

Kansas's motorcyclist fatality rate is 4.44 deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles - well below the 6.87 U.S. average. Kansas's helmet law is partial - typically required only for younger riders.

DOR's motorcycle knowledge test is 25 questions, with a 80% pass mark. Whether a safety course waives the DOR road test is not something we have verified for Kansas, so check with DOR before you count on it. Required for riders under 18.

On bigger rigs.

The Kansas CDL knowledge test is federally standardised - 50 questions, 80 percent to pass, the same content in every state. The CDL knowledge-test fee in Kansas is $13. Other fees and endorsement processing run through the DOR.