Headlights — Washington Permit Test
Headlights on the Washington permit test — 5 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
Washington law requires headlights from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise.
The half hour either side is the part people misjudge, because the sky still looks light when the road has gone dark.
Washington law says you need to have your headlights on a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise.
High beams must be switched back to regular headlights within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle.
High beams reach further than low beams do, which is the same reason they blind the driver coming the other way.
500 feet in front of an oncoming vehicle.
High beams must be switched back to regular headlights within 300 feet when following another vehicle.
Your high beams land in their mirrors, and a driver looking at glare is not looking at the road.
300 feet when you’re behind.
Daytime running lights are not as bright as headlights and do not turn on the taillights.
In rain and fog the car looks lit from the front and is invisible from behind, which is where it gets hit.
daytime running lights aren’t as bright as headlights, and they don’t activate your taillights
High beams may be used on open roads without streetlights.
On an unlit road your low beams stop short of where the car will be in three seconds.
You can use your high beams on open roads without streetlights
On the test
When does Washington law require headlights to be on?
From a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise. The half hour either side is the part people misjudge, because the sky still looks light when the road has gone dark. Washington State Driver Guide, p.49: “Washington law says you need to have your headlights on a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise.”
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.
What it costs
- One payment, once — not a subscription. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel, for an exam you sit one time.
- Free to start: a 10-question test and the first section of cards. No sign-up and no account.
- Paying opens the rest of the cards, unlimited full-length practice tests, and retests built from exactly the questions you got wrong.
- Every level up to Prepared — 3 tests passed in a row.
- Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against Washington State Driver Guide, published by the Washington State Department of Licensing, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-14.
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/WA.pdf (Washington State Driver Guide, Washington State Department of Licensing, retrieved 2026-09-14)
- https://dol.wa.gov/driver-licenses-and-permits/driver-training-and-testing/driver-guides
- https://dol.wa.gov/driver-licenses-and-permits/driver-training-and-testing/do-i-need-take-test