To pass the Missouri chauffeur’s license test, you need to score at least 80% on a 25-question written exam given at a Missouri State Highway Patrol examination station, and clear the vision and road sign screenings on the same visit. The chauffeur’s credential is officially the Class E driver license. If you already hold a standard Class F license, there’s no behind-the-wheel driving test — the written exam is the main hurdle.1Missouri Department of Revenue. Missouri Driver Guide
What the Written Exam Covers
Twenty-five questions, computer-administered, closed book. You can miss up to five and still pass.2Missouri State Highway Patrol. Driver Examination FAQs
Questions come from the full Missouri Driver Guide, but the exam leans heavily on Chapter 15, which covers commercial vehicles. Expect items on weight distribution for smaller trucks, bridge clearance heights, proper cargo loading to prevent shifting, and the legal responsibilities that come with hauling freight or carrying passengers for hire. Space management and stopping distances for heavier vehicles show up regularly, along with rules for railroad crossings and handling breakdowns on highways.3Missouri Department of Revenue. Missouri Driver Guide
The remaining questions cover standard driving knowledge: right-of-way rules, traffic signals, speed limits, alcohol-related laws, and safe driving practices. Don’t study only Chapter 15. The general driving questions are mixed in with the commercial material, and skipping the basics is how people miss their fifth question.
If You Fail
You can retake the written exam the same day. The Highway Patrol allows up to two attempts per day, so a failed first try doesn’t necessarily mean a wasted trip.2Missouri State Highway Patrol. Driver Examination FAQs
Vision and Road Sign Screenings
Before the written test, you’ll complete two physical screenings. The vision test checks that you can see at least 20/40 with either eye. The statutory standard is “either eye,” not both, so if one eye meets the threshold, you pass even if the other doesn’t.4Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 302.175 – Vision Requirements
If you need glasses or contacts to reach 20/40, wear them during the screening. Your license will then carry a corrective lens restriction. Applicants whose corrected vision falls between 20/41 and 20/59 may still qualify but will be restricted to daylight driving only. Vision between 20/60 and 20/74 with correction adds both a daylight restriction and a 45 mph speed limit, which would sharply limit commercial driving usefulness. Bring your prescription eyewear. Showing up without it and failing the vision screening wastes a trip.5Missouri Department of Revenue. 12 CSR 10-24.090 Missouri Driver License or Permit Vision Test Guidelines
The road sign recognition test checks whether you can identify standard traffic signs by their shape and color from a safe distance — regulatory signs, warning signs, and guide signs. This section trips up fewer people than the written exam, but it’s worth a quick review if you’ve never paid close attention to sign shapes.
Where the Test Is Given
All testing happens at a Missouri State Highway Patrol examination station, not at the Department of Revenue office where you’ll eventually pick up your license. Examination stations operate in every county, but hours vary. Check the Highway Patrol’s station locator before you drive out — some rural stations have limited hours or test only on certain days.6Missouri State Highway Patrol. Driver Examination
The order at the station is straightforward: check in, do the vision and road sign screenings, then sit down at a computer terminal for the 25 questions. If you pass everything, the examiner issues a formal examination record. That paper document proves you’ve qualified. It is not your license. You bring it to a DOR office to get the license itself.
Who Can Sit for the Exam
You must be at least 18 years old to apply for a Class E license.7Missouri Department of Revenue. Missouri Driver License and Nondriver License If you already hold a Class F license, you skip the road test entirely and only need to pass the written knowledge exam, vision screening, and road sign test. Applicants who don’t yet have a Class F will need to complete a driving skills test as well.1Missouri Department of Revenue. Missouri Driver Guide
Missouri law requires every applicant to submit verified documentation to the Department of Revenue, including full name, Social Security number, driving history, and answers to questions about physical fitness for operating commercial vehicles.8Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 302.171 – Application for License
You’ll also need proof of lawful presence in the United States (a birth certificate, passport, or immigration document) and two separate documents verifying your Missouri residential address. Those residency documents must come from different sources, such as a utility bill and a bank statement rather than two utility bills from the same provider. All documents must be originals or certified copies, and they generally need to be dated within the past year.9Missouri Department of Revenue. List of Acceptable Documents for REAL ID-Compliant Document Processing
After You Pass
Take the examination record to a local Missouri Department of Revenue license office. Current fees are $24 for a three-year Class E license or $33 for a six-year license.7Missouri Department of Revenue. Missouri Driver License and Nondriver License
The clerk processes your application and issues a temporary paper permit on the spot. Your permanent card arrives by mail at your residential address. The temporary permit is valid for driving in the meantime, so you don’t have to put commercial work on hold until the card shows up.
What a Class E Does and Doesn’t Cover
A Class E license authorizes everything a standard Class F covers, plus the right to receive wages, salary, commissions, or fares for transporting people or property. That includes delivery drivers, for-hire shuttle operators, non-emergency medical transport, and employees whose employers occasionally ask them to drive a commercial vehicle as part of their job.10Legal Information Institute. 12 CSR 10-24.200 – Driver License Classes
Class E stops where CDL territory begins. A commercial driver license is required once a single vehicle’s gross vehicle weight rating reaches 26,001 pounds, or the vehicle is designed for 16 or more occupants including the driver, or it carries placarded hazardous materials. If your driving job involves any of those, the Class E test isn’t the exam you need.11Missouri Department of Revenue. Missouri Commercial Driver License Manual