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Is the New Hampshire Driving Test Hard? (2026 Statistics)

New Hampshire ranks 14th of 51 on knowledge-test difficulty. The state has the country's strictest distracted-driving law and one of the country's highest shares of unbuckled occupant deaths.

The 51 jurisdictions cluster along a clear line: stricter knowledge tests tend to pair with safer roads. New Hampshire sits close to the middle of both axes.

02550751000255075100Knowledge-test difficulty (0–100, higher is harder)Road-safety composite (0–100, higher is safer)New Hampshire14th in road safety14th-hardest test

Source: DMV IQ Driving Index. FARS 2023 · FHWA 2024 · CDC BRFSS 2023 · IIHS 2025.

The test

The DMV asks 40 questions and requires 80% correct — at least 32 right answers. That leaves a margin of 8 wrong. That places New Hampshire near the middle of the national distribution on test difficulty.

New Hampshire's path from permit to full license

In New Hampshire, a new driver picks up a learner's permit at 15½, holds it for 6 months, qualifies for an intermediate license at 16, and earns a full unrestricted license at 18.

  1. Learner's permit
    Age 15½
    held 6 months, 40 hours (10 at night)
  2. Probationary license
    Age 16
    night ban 1 AM - 4 AM
  3. Full license
    Age 18
    all restrictions lift

40 hours behind the wheel, with a parent watching.

New Hampshire requires only 40 supervised hours before the road test — below the 45.2-hour national mean and well short of the IIHS-recommended 70.

0 hr25 hr50 hr75 hrNew Hampshire40 hrNational mean45.2 hrIIHS recommended70 hr
Supervised-driving hours required before unrestricted licensure. Source: IIHS state-laws table, 2025.

On New Hampshire's roads.

For every 100,000 licensed drivers aged 19 and under in New Hampshire, 8.0 die in a crash each year. The U.S. average is 16.8; New Hampshire ranks 8th lowest of 51.

U.S. avg 16.8New Hampshire8.0 deaths8th-lowest of 5101020304050← betterworse →Teen-driver deaths per 100,000 licensed drivers ≤19

Source: NHTSA FARS 2023 ÷ FHWA DL-22 2024.

Across all drivers, New Hampshire's road network sees 0.92 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles travelled. The U.S. average is 1.25.

U.S. avg 1.25New Hampshire0.92 deaths8th-lowest of 5100.511.52← betterworse →Deaths per 100 million vehicle miles travelled

Source: NHTSA FARS 2023 ÷ FHWA VM-2 2024.

The country's strictest law on driving with a phone in your hand.

New Hampshire 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. New Hampshire has no statewide adult seat-belt requirement. Self-reported belt use is 87%.

On two wheels.

New Hampshire's motorcyclist fatality rate is 4.76 deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles — well below the 6.87 U.S. average. New Hampshire has no statewide adult helmet requirement.

U.S. avg 6.87New Hampshire4.76 deaths14th-lowest of 5105101520← betterworse →Motorcyclist deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles

Source: NHTSA FARS 2023 · FHWA MV-1 2024.

DMV's motorcycle knowledge test is 25 questions, with a 80% pass mark. Completion of the New Hampshire Motorcycle Safety Education Program waives the DMV road test. No statewide adult helmet requirement.

Source: IIHS — Motorcycle helmet use laws by state.

On bigger rigs.

The New Hampshire CDL knowledge test is federally standardised — 50 questions, 80 percent to pass, the same content in every state. The CDL knowledge-test fee in New Hampshire is $20. Other fees and endorsement processing run through the DMV.

Pass the DMV test before you take it.

Free New Hampshire practice questions with instant explanations. Score 90 percent on three runs in a row and the real thing tends to look familiar.

Free New Hampshire practice test

Nearby in the index.

Six more state pages — neighbours first, then the closest matches on road safety.

Is the New Hampshire Driving Test Hard? (2026 Statistics) | DMV IQ