California signs practice test
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Eighty sign questions sit in the California bank, drawn from the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which Vehicle Code section 21400 adopts. Shapes carry meaning before words do: the eight-sided sign, the inverted triangle, the diamond, the five-sided school crossing figure. This set runs the full sign shelf, shapes, colours, and the regulatory signs drivers argue about, like no-turn and lane control. Answers cite the manual through the code section that adopts it.
Each topic set draws up to 20 questions from that topic in the California bank and grades against our practice target of 80 percent. The target is our study goal, not the DMV's pass mark.
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Up to 20 questions from the signs topic in this bank, graded against our practice target of 80 percent. The target is our study goal, not the state's pass mark. There's no signup and nothing to pay.
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Shapes first, words second.
Five sample questions, answers hidden until you tap
You are approaching a red sign with eight sides. What must you do?
✓ Correct answer: Stop
The eight-sided shape is used for one sign only, so it can be read from a distance and even from the back. It always means stop, never slow and roll. California MUTCD, adopted by California Vehicle Code section 21400.
California MUTCD, adopted by California Vehicle Code section 21400
You drive past a DO NOT ENTER sign into a roadway. What have you done wrong?
✓ Correct answer: You have entered a roadway set aside for traffic coming the other way
Do Not Enter protects one-way flow at places like freeway off-ramps. Turning around safely at the first chance is the only fix; oncoming drivers are not expecting you. California Vehicle Code section 21461 makes disobeying the sign an offence. California MUTCD, adopted by California Vehicle Code section 21400.
California Vehicle Code section 21461; California MUTCD, adopted by section 21400
Which vehicles must stop at every railroad grade crossing, even when no train is visible?
✓ Correct answer: School buses, passenger buses, and trucks carrying hazardous loads, among others listed in the code
Certain vehicles stop before every grade crossing by rule, because the cost of a mistake with a busload of passengers or a hazardous load is so high: buses and farm labor vehicles carrying passengers, school buses carrying pupils, and specified commercial vehicles including placarded hazardous-load and cargo tank trucks, among others listed in the code. The stop is made 15 to 50 feet from the nearest rail, except where the section excuses it, for example where an officer or signal directs traffic to proceed or an authorised exempt sign is posted. California Vehicle Code section 22452.
California Vehicle Code section 22452
A small plaque under a crossbuck reads 2 TRACKS. Why does it matter?
✓ Correct answer: After one train passes, another may come on the second track; look both ways again before crossing
Multiple tracks mean multiple chances of a train, and a standing train can hide a moving one on the next track. Wait and look in both directions before crossing. California MUTCD, adopted by California Vehicle Code section 21400, and California Vehicle Code section 22451.
California MUTCD, adopted by California Vehicle Code section 21400; California Vehicle Code section 22451
Between your lane and the next lane going the same way there is a broken white line. What may you do?
✓ Correct answer: Change lanes across it when you have signalled and the move is safe
Broken white lines separate same-direction lanes and may be crossed for a lane change made with a signal and a safety check. Solid white lines, by contrast, discourage crossing. California MUTCD, adopted by California Vehicle Code section 21400, and California Vehicle Code section 21658.
California MUTCD, adopted by California Vehicle Code section 21400; California Vehicle Code section 21658
Report a wrong answer. Reports are checked against the cited source within two working days, and a right report is fixed in the open, with the date on this page.
Facts strip
- Pass mark
- 80%, as the DMV publishes it
- Our simulators grade on
- Miss allowances: 30 of 36 (adult), 38 of 46 (under 18)
- Questions on the real test
- The DMV publishes no current count
- Time limit
- None published by the DMV
- Application fee
- $46, covers 3 attempts in 12 months
- Retest wait, under 18
- 7 days. No published wait for adults
Facts checked against California DMV pages, 2026-11-03. Official information: California Department of Motor Vehicles, dmv.ca.gov.
Corrections note
No corrections yet. Last checked 2026-11-03, against the California Vehicle Code and DMV published facts.