Which state has the hardest permit test?
We ranked all 50 states + DC by composite difficulty — factoring in number of questions, passing score threshold, and first-attempt failure rate. See where your state lands.
How we rank difficulty
Our composite difficulty score weighs three factors: question count (more questions = harder to prepare), passing score threshold (higher % required = less margin for error), and first-attempt failure rate (real-world data on how many test-takers fail). States with more questions, higher passing thresholds, and higher failure rates rank as more difficult.
Washington
#1 · 58% fail rate
New Jersey
#2 · 56% fail rate
California
#3 · 55% fail rate
Michigan
#4 · 52% fail rate
Florida
#5 · 50% fail rate
Maryland
#6 · 48% fail rate
Nevada
#7 · 47% fail rate
Indiana
#8 · 45% fail rate
Oklahoma
#9 · 44% fail rate
Illinois
#10 · 43% fail rate
Minnesota
#11 · 43% fail rate
Georgia
#12 · 42% fail rate
Louisiana
#13 · 41% fail rate
Kentucky
#14 · 40% fail rate
Idaho
#15 · 40% fail rate
New Hampshire
#16 · 39% fail rate
Montana
#17 · 38% fail rate
Alabama
#18 · 38% fail rate
Ohio
#19 · 38% fail rate
Iowa
#20 · 37% fail rate
North Carolina
#21 · 37% fail rate
Arizona
#22 · 36% fail rate
Oregon
#23 · 36% fail rate
Mississippi
#24 · 36% fail rate
Connecticut
#25 · 35% fail rate
Delaware
#26 · 35% fail rate
Missouri
#27 · 35% fail rate
Colorado
#28 · 34% fail rate
Massachusetts
#29 · 34% fail rate
Arkansas
#30 · 33% fail rate
Kansas
#31 · 33% fail rate
Hawaii
#32 · 32% fail rate
Pennsylvania
#33 · 32% fail rate
New York
#34 · 31% fail rate
Maine
#35 · 31% fail rate
Nebraska
#36 · 30% fail rate
South Carolina
#37 · 30% fail rate
Tennessee
#38 · 30% fail rate
Texas
#39 · 29% fail rate
New Mexico
#40 · 29% fail rate
North Dakota
#41 · 28% fail rate
Alaska
#42 · 28% fail rate
Rhode Island
#43 · 27% fail rate
South Dakota
#44 · 26% fail rate
Utah
#45 · 25% fail rate
Vermont
#46 · 25% fail rate
Virginia
#47 · 24% fail rate
Washington DC
#48 · 23% fail rate
West Virginia
#49 · 22% fail rate
Wisconsin
#50 · 21% fail rate
Wyoming
#51 · 20% fail rate
My state ranks #3 in difficulty
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