NSW DKT practice test: the Driver Knowledge Test explained

How many questions are in the NSW DKT, and what is the pass mark?

The in-person DKT is a computer test with questions drawn at random from a question bank. It has two parts, and you must pass both. In the 15-question general knowledge part you can afford 3 mistakes. In the 30-question road safety part you can afford only 1. That makes road safety the part to take most seriously: two slips and the test is over, however well the rest went.

The NSW Government sets out this 45-question structure on its knowledge test pages (it is spelled out on the rider knowledge test page), and the car DKT is reported to use the same structure. Check the official DKT page when you book.

Can you do the DKT online?

Yes. Since 2024 NSW has offered the DKT online: a course of about 4 to 6 hours with a final test at the end, open from 15 years and 11 months. The NSW Government does not publish the number of questions or the pass mark for the online final test. Both versions are built on the Road User Handbook, so the same study covers either route.

How old do you need to be?

• DKT online: from 15 years and 11 months.
• DKT in person, and the learner licence itself: from 16.
• Driving test for your P1 licence: from 17.

What topics are in the NSW DKT?

The DKT covers the Road User Handbook: licences, safe driving (speed, alcohol, drugs, seatbelts, phones and fatigue), sharing the road with pedestrians, cyclists and heavy vehicles, stopping, giving way and turning, overtaking and merging, lanes and markings, parking, hazards, vehicle safety and penalties. In the NSW Government's published 2018 question list, the topics with the most questions were pedestrians, intersections and giving way, traffic signs, safe following and stopping distances, and traffic lights.

A few NSW rules that learners often get wrong:

• Learner, P1 and P2 drivers must have a zero blood alcohol concentration.
• Learner, P1 and P2 drivers may not use a phone at all while driving, not even hands-free or when stopped at lights.
• Learner and P1 drivers may not go faster than 90 km/h, and P2 drivers 100 km/h, even where signs allow more.
• L plates go on the outside of the car, front and back (or on a roof sign), with the whole letter visible.
• Learners may not drive in Sydney's Moore Park, Centennial Park or Parramatta Park.
• In good conditions, keep at least a 3-second gap to the vehicle ahead.

What happens after you pass the DKT?

You get a learner licence, valid for 5 years (if it expires, you must pass the DKT again). If you are under 25, you need to hold it for at least 12 months and log at least 120 hours of supervised driving, 20 of them at night, before the driving test. The Safer Drivers Course earns 20 bonus hours, and each hour-long lesson with a licensed instructor can be logged as 3 hours. Your supervisor must hold a full Australian licence and sit beside you.

Next comes the Hazard Perception Test: if you are under 25, you can sit it only after at least 10 months on your Ls, and a pass stays valid for 15 months for the driving test. Our hazard perception guide explains what it tests.

How to practise for the NSW DKT with Learners Test Australia

• Mock DKTs in the 15 + 30 format, ending where the real test would once passing is no longer possible.
• More than 400 original NSW questions, checked against the Road User Handbook (edition 02/2026).
• Every answer explained, with the handbook page and road rule it comes from.
• A daily plan of reviews and mistakes, so road safety questions become second nature before test day.

For a deeper walk-through, read how the NSW Driver Knowledge Test works and the give way rules every learner must know.