By the ChowChow Labs editorial team · Updated November 6, 2026 · How we check our content
- Read the handbook, not just practice tests. The California Driver Handbook is where every test question comes from. Practice questions show you what to reread.
- Learn signs by shape and color. You can tell a warning sign from a regulatory one before you can read it. Start with the signs lesson.
- Know the numbers. Following distance, how close you can park to things, when to dim high beams and how much room to give bicyclists come up often.
- Memorize curb colors and hill parking. They’re easy marks once learned. See parking and backing.
- Read every answer. Wrong answers are often almost right, or right in a different situation.
- Watch for “always” and “never”. They’re sometimes correct, but check that the rule really has no exceptions.
- Take full mock exams. Aim for at least 16 of 20 on several different exams before test day. Retaking the same one teaches you the answers, not the rules.
- Review what you missed. After each exam, read the explanation for every miss, then practice that topic.
Next: About the California permit test. What it covers, what to bring and where to check the DMV’s current rules.