Texas Road Test Checklist: Documents, Vehicle, and Scoring

The Texas road test checklist comes down to three things: the right paperwork, a vehicle that passes the examiner’s safety check, and the driving skills to stay under 30 points in deductions without triggering an automatic failure. Get all three right and you leave with a temporary license the same day.

Documents to Bring

Before you ever start the engine, a License and Permit Specialist checks your paperwork. Bring one valid form of identification and your learner license (called a “restricted driver license” if you’re 18 or older).¹

You also need a printed Impact Texas Drivers (ITD) certificate. Applicants under 18 complete Impact Texas Teen Drivers; those 18 and older complete Impact Texas Adult Drivers. The certificate expires 90 days after you finish the program, so don’t complete it too early. If it lapses before your test date, you have to retake the program.² Print it on paper. DPS will not accept the certificate on a phone screen.³

Driver education proof depends on your age. Applicants under 18 need documentation of a full minor’s driver education course, usually a DE-964.⁴ Applicants between 18 and 24 must show proof of completing a six-hour adult driver education course. If you’re 25 or older, no driver education is required.⁵

Insurance and the Test Vehicle

This is where a surprising number of people get turned away. The vehicle you bring must carry unexpired liability insurance, and you cannot be listed as an “excluded driver” on the policy.¹ The examiner verifies proof of financial responsibility during the pre-test inspection. If you can’t produce acceptable proof, the test doesn’t happen.⁶

Before you leave the house, check with whoever owns the car that the insurance card in the glove box is current and that your name isn’t on any excluded-driver list. Also remember: no one else can ride along. Only you and the examiner are in the car during the test, with a narrow exception for a genuinely needed language interpreter.⁷

Vehicle Inspection Checklist

The examiner walks around your vehicle before the drive begins. Anything that fails means rescheduling. According to the DPS preparation guide, these are the items being checked:¹

Two license plates permanently attached front and rear, unless the vehicle has a single out-of-state or temporary plate. Dealership plates are not accepted.
Working turn signals on both the front and rear of the vehicle.
Functional brake lights when the pedal is pressed.
An operational horn loud enough to be heard.
Windshield wipers, headlights, and taillights, checked according to weather and time of day.
A working speedometer.
Functioning seatbelts for the driver and front passenger.
Driver and front passenger doors that open normally from inside and outside.
At least one rearview mirror, inside or outside.
Current, unexpired registration.
Current insurance with the applicant not excluded from coverage.

Texas ended its vehicle safety inspection program for non-commercial vehicles on January 1, 2025, so there’s no sticker requirement anymore.⁸ The examiner can still refuse any vehicle they consider unsafe for the roadway.⁷

A note on driver-assist features. Glance at a backup camera the way you’d glance at a mirror, but don’t rely on it. During any reversing maneuver, the examiner expects a full visual scan around the vehicle before you move and continuous looks through the rear window while you back up. Turn off self-parking and parking sensors entirely, because the examiner is grading your control of the car.

What the Examiner Scores

The drive itself typically lasts 15 to 20 minutes on public roads. The examiner sits in the passenger seat and gives you directions.

Required Maneuvers

Two maneuvers come up on nearly every test. First, parallel parking: park within the designated space without hitting the curb or markers. Second, backing in a straight line for roughly 60 feet at a steady speed while looking out the rear window. Both test low-speed control, which gets harder under pressure. Practice each until it’s automatic.

General Driving

Throughout the route, the examiner is scoring:

Turn signals activated at least 100 feet before every turn or lane change.
Obedience to every stop sign, traffic light, and posted speed limit on the route.
Complete stops behind limit lines, not rolling stops.
Centered lane position and a safe following distance.
Proper hand position and smooth, controlled steering.
Smooth acceleration and braking, matching traffic flow without exceeding the limit.

Small errors cost points. Passing means finishing with 30 points or fewer in deductions, so there’s some room for minor mistakes but not many.

What Causes an Automatic Failure

Some errors end the test on the spot no matter how well the rest went. Dangerous actions include forcing another vehicle or pedestrian to take evasive action, losing control of the vehicle, turning from the wrong lane when other traffic is present, changing lanes without checking behind you, and failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. If the examiner has to grab the wheel, tell you to stop, or otherwise intervene, the test is over.

Traffic violations that trigger automatic failure include running a stop sign or red light, driving on the wrong side of the road, exceeding the speed limit by more than five miles per hour, and failing to buckle your seatbelt before entering the roadway. Not wearing required corrective lenses is also an automatic failure. Refusing to follow the examiner’s instructions ends the test as well.

A combination rule applies too: four or more weighted offenses in any mix cause a failure. Those weighted offenses include failing to signal, coasting downhill in neutral, entering an intersection on a yellow light when you could have safely stopped, and consistently exceeding the speed limit.

If You Don’t Pass

DPS holds your application at the office for 90 days. You can attempt the test up to three times during that window without submitting a new application or paying another application fee.¹ Fail three times, or let the 90 days lapse, and you’ll start the application process again with a new fee.

Ask the examiner exactly which items cost you points and drill those. Most failures come down to a small set of mistakes: incomplete stops, missed signals, weak mirror checks before lane changes, and shaky parallel parking.

After You Pass

You’ll get your score in the car as soon as the drive ends, then move to the counter for a photo and payment. The license fee is $16 for applicants under 18, $33 for adults 18 through 84, and $9 for applicants 85 and older.⁹ You’ll walk out with a temporary paper license. The permanent card arrives by mail, usually within two to three weeks.¹⁰ Check the temporary permit carefully before you leave, since fixing errors later means another trip.

If you’re under 18, the license you receive is provisional, with restrictions that stay in force until your 18th birthday. You can’t drive between midnight and 5:00 a.m. unless you’re going to work, a school activity, or responding to an emergency. You’re limited to one passenger under 21 who isn’t a family member. All cell phone use while driving is prohibited, including hands-free, with an exception for emergency calls.¹¹ Violating any of these can bring a ticket and extend the restriction period.

1
Texas Department of Public Safety. How to Prepare for a Drive Test (DL-60)
2
Texas Department of Public Safety. Impact Texas Drivers (ITD) Program
3
Impact Texas Drivers. Impact Texas Adult Drivers FAQs
4
Texas Department of Public Safety. Third Party Skills Testing Program
5
Texas Department of Public Safety. Choosing a Driver Education Course
6
Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code Title 37 Section 25-20 – Compulsory Insurance-Driver’s License Road Test
7
Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code Title 37 Section 15-54 – Vehicle Inspection
8
Texas Department of Public Safety. Vehicle Safety Inspection Program Changes Now in Effect
9
Texas Department of Public Safety. Driver License Fees
10
Texas Department of Public Safety. Where’s my Driver License or ID card?
11
Texas Department of Public Safety. Texas Provisional License as a Teen