Phones and texting — Maryland Permit Test

Phones and texting on the Maryland permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Using a handheld cell phone while driving is illegal for all drivers and is a primary offense, meaning police may stop a vehicle for it alone. The maximum fines are $75 for a first offense, $125 for a second, and $175 for a third or subsequent.

Holding a phone takes a hand off the wheel and attention off the road, which is why police can stop you for it on its own.

Writing, sending, or reading a text or electronic message while driving is prohibited for all drivers.

Texting takes eyes, hands and mind off the road at once, which is why it is banned outright rather than merely limited.

Under Jake's Law, a driver who causes serious injury or death while using a handheld cell phone faces up to 1 year in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The penalty rises sharply once someone is hurt, because the harm was foreseeable and the distraction was chosen.

Drivers under 18 may not use a cell phone or other wireless device at all while driving — even hands-free — except to call 911.

A new driver has no spare attention to give a phone, so for them even hands-free is too much.

On the test

Using a handheld cell phone while driving in Maryland is...

illegal for all drivers and a primary offense. Holding a phone takes a hand off the wheel and attention off the road, which is why police can stop you for it on its own.

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Maryland Driver's Manual, published by the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-08-29.