Skills test — Idaho Permit Test

Twelve or fewer errors is a passing score on the Idaho skills test.

The skills test is scored on errors rather than on questions, so the number to know is a ceiling and not a target.

Twelve or fewer errors is a passing score

Skills tests may only be scheduled during daylight hours and in acceptable weather conditions.

The examiner is scoring driving, not eyesight in the dark or nerve in a storm.

Skills tests may only be scheduled during daylight hours and during acceptable weather conditions

The knowledge test and the skills test may be taken in either order, though passing the knowledge test first is recommended.

The order is yours to choose, but a driver who has not read the law tends to break it in front of the examiner.

tests may be taken in either order

If you fail a skills test you must wait three days to retest, and you pay both test fees again.

Both fees are charged again because both the county and the examiner have to be paid for the second attempt.

IF YOU FAIL A SKILLS TEST, YOU MUST WAIT THREE (3) DAYS TO RETEST

Idaho's Class D skills tests are administered by third party contractors, and applicants contact a skills test examiner themselves.

The county issues the license but does not drive with you, so the appointment is made with somebody else.

Idaho has third party contractors who administer all Class D skills tests

A skills test examiner will not return a call unless a voicemail with your name and phone number has been left.

The examiner has no way to tell a missed call from a wrong number, so the message is what gets a call back.

They will not return calls unless a voicemail with your information is provided

A restricted skills test is for an applicant who cannot drive outside their restrictions or wants to drive only to and from certain places, and it gives some mobility within their abilities.

It trades range for a license. A driver who wants no restriction has to drive the whole route.

Restricted skills tests are for applicants who are unable to drive outside of their specific restrictions or proposed restrictions or only want to drive to and from certain locations.

An applicant who does not want a restricted license must complete the entire skills test route without any modifications.

The route is what the license is issued against. Change the route and the license changes with it.

If you do not want a restricted driver's license, you must complete the entire skills test route without any modifications

Permission to use a vehicle you do not own must be given to the examiner in writing or in person; permission over the phone is not acceptable.

A voice on a phone is nobody in particular, and the examiner has to be able to show whose permission it was.

(Permission over the phone is not acceptable.)

Valid proof of insurance must be in the vehicle during the skills test, on paper or digitally, and an SR22 is not valid proof of insurance.

An SR22 is a promise filed with the state that insurance exists, not the insurance itself.

An SR22 is not valid proof of insurance

The vehicle registration must be valid, not a photocopy, in the vehicle during the test, and signed by the registrant.

The examiner is checking the vehicle is legally on the road before driving it, and a copy proves nothing about that.

Valid, not a photo copy, must be in the vehicle during the skills test, and signed by the registrant

Passengers are not allowed during the skills test, and the few exceptions must be 18 or older, carry valid identification and sign the liability waiver.

Anyone in the car is a distraction the examiner did not plan for, so the list of exceptions is short and the conditions are firm.

These specific passengers must be 18 years of age or older with valid identification and must sign the liability waiver

Only one parent or legal guardian may accompany an applicant who is 17 years of age or younger during the skills test.

One adult is allowed so a minor is not sent off alone; two would turn the car into an audience.

Only one (1) parent or legal guardian may accompany a minor

A translator at the skills test does not have to be certified or hold a driver's license, and the applicant is responsible for finding one.

The examiner supplies the route and the scoring, not the language, so the arrangement is the applicant's to make.

Translators are not required to be certified or have a valid driver's license

A vehicle with dealer plates may not be used for a skills test unless the applicant is a dealer or a full-time salesperson, proven with a state-issued dealer's ID card.

A dealer plate belongs to a business, not to the driver, and the examiner has to know whose vehicle they are sitting in.

Vehicles with dealer plates cannot be used for skills tests unless the applicant is a dealer or a full-time salesperson

A rental car may not be used for a skills test if the applicant is not a licensed driver or is under the age of 25.

Most rental agreements do not cover an unlicensed driver, which is exactly who is taking the test.

Rental cars are not allowed to be used for taking a skills test if the applicant is not a licensed driver or is under the age of 25

You may miss 3 or fewer items on the vehicle knowledge and inspection before continuing to the driving portion of the skills test.

The inspection is a test of knowing your own car, and missing four of its controls ends the attempt before the drive.

You can miss 3 or fewer to continue to the driving portion of the skills test

A critical driving error is an automatic fail, and the skills test ends immediately.

These are the errors that would have been a crash, so the examiner stops rather than counting them.

If a CDE occurs, the error constitutes an automatic FAIL and the skills test ends immediately

Street parking more than 18 inches from the curb while impeding traffic is a critical driving error.

A car left that far out is still in the lane, and the examiner treats it as the hazard it is.

street parking (more than 18” from the curb & impeding traffic)

Missing 5 or more of the same scored skill is a habitual violation, which counts as a critical driving error.

One mistake is a mistake. The fifth of the same kind is a habit, and a habit is what the examiner is scoring.

habitual violation (missing 5 or more of same scored skill)

A passing skills test is given to you in a sealed envelope to take to the county DMV, and it must not be opened.

An opened envelope cannot be told from an altered one, so the result is held until ITD has checked it.

your results will be held pending ITD verification and approval

You do not have driving privileges until the passing skills test result is recorded on your driving record and a license is issued.

Passing the test and being licensed are two different days, and driving between them is driving unlicensed.

You do not have driving privileges until the passing skills test results are recorded on your driving record and a driver's license is issued

What is a passing score on the Idaho skills test?

Twelve or fewer errors. The skills test is scored on errors rather than on questions, so the number to know is a ceiling and not a target. July 2026 Idaho Driver's Handbook, p.33: “Twelve or fewer errors is a passing score”