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

The test

The MVC asks 50 questions and requires 80% correct - at least 40 right answers. That leaves a margin of 10 wrong. Among the 51 jurisdictions, 6 are harder, 4 more are level with it, and 40 are easier.

In most states you can drive solo at 16. New Jersey makes you wait.

A New Jersey teenager picks up a learner's permit at 16, but cannot drive without a supervising adult until 17. The IIHS recommends 17 as the floor for intermediate licensure - New Jersey is one of the only states that meets it.

On New Jersey's roads.

For every 100,000 licensed drivers aged 19 and under in New Jersey, 7.1 die in a crash each year. The U.S. average is 16.8; New Jersey ranks 7th lowest of 51.

The same pattern holds across all drivers. New Jersey's road network sees 0.76 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled - one of the country's lowest rates. The U.S. average is 1.25.

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

New Jersey 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 Jersey's seat-belt law is primary enforcement - an officer may stop a vehicle for an unbuckled driver alone. Self-reported belt use is 95%.

What it costs to insure a car here.

Once you have the license, insurance is the real running cost. In New Jersey, the average driver pays about $1,573 a year, more 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 14.1% of New Jersey drivers carry no insurance at all (the national figure is 15.4%), and the least coverage the state lets a driver carry is $35,000 for injuries to one person, $70,000 total for injuries per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. Roll spend, uninsured drivers, affordability and required coverage together and New Jersey lands 11th of 51 on our insurance-burden score, where 1st is the heaviest.

One way to trim the bill: New Jersey law makes insurers give a discount for finishing an approved defensive-driving course (for drivers all ages), minimum 5%, good for 3 years. The same course can also knock points off your record or help dismiss a ticket.

On two wheels.

New Jersey's motorcyclist fatality rate is 6.16 deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles - below the 6.87 U.S. average. New Jersey is one of 20 jurisdictions with a universal helmet law: every rider, every passenger, no age exemptions.

MVC's motorcycle knowledge test is 50 questions, with a 80% pass mark. Whether a safety course waives the MVC road test is not something we have verified for New Jersey, so check with MVC before you count on it. All riders and passengers must wear a DOT-compliant helmet.

On bigger rigs.

The New Jersey CDL knowledge test is federally standardised - 50 questions, 80 percent to pass, the same content in every state. What varies in New Jersey: third-party testers may administer the CDL skills test; the knowledge-test fee is $125; the intrastate minimum age is 18 (21 interstate).