Testing, Applying, Insurance, Collisions and Losing Your Privileges: the Vision Test, the 35-Question Knowledge Test and Its 28-Answer Pass Mark, Testing Online With a Webcam and a Proctor, Cheating and the 90-Day Wait, the Drive Test and When It Is Waived, the Test Vehicle Checklist, Appointments Three Weeks Ahead and Third-Party Testers, the Class C Privilege Up to 26,000 Pounds, Permits at 15 and Licenses at 16, Parent Signatures and School Enrollment, the Six-Month Permit and 100 or 50 Supervised Hours, Proof of Identity, Birth Date and Address, REAL ID for Flying, Donor, Veteran and Deaf Designations, the 25/50/20 Insurance Minimums With PIP and Uninsured Coverage, What to Do After a Collision and the 72-Hour Report Over $2,500, Unattended Vehicles, and Why Privileges Are Lost
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Oregon Class C knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: Oregon Driver Manual 2026–2027 (ODOT Driver and Motor Vehicle Services, form 735-37), "Testing" (pages 1–5) and "Other Important Information" (pages 89–95).
The three tests
To drive on Oregon highways or premises open to the public you need a valid driving privilege; the manual covers only the Class C non-commercial privilege. For an original privilege DMV tests your vision, knowledge and driving skill; each time you test you first pay the test fee, separate from any other fee, and show proof of identity, date of birth and current residence address. The vision test is free and confirms you see well enough to drive; testing in glasses or contacts puts a corrective-lens restriction on your privilege, and failing brings a form for a licensed vision specialist. The Class C knowledge test covers road signs, traffic laws and other things a driver must know, drawn entirely from the manual: it has 35 multiple-choice questions and you must answer 28 correctly. You may take it online at any time at DMV2U or at a DMV office by standby or appointment. In an office, only test-takers and authorized translators may enter the testing area; the test runs on a touch screen in several languages with or without audio, and you may bring your own earbuds; no manual, electronic device or notes are allowed, though a paper foreign-language dictionary may be used with permission; cheating (talking, writing, phone or device use, or having someone else test for you) fails you and bars retesting for 90 days; and a failed test may be retaken the same day if resources allow. Online, you need a desktop or laptop with keyboard, mouse and webcam (no phones or tablets), a clear photo is taken at the start and random photos during the test to confirm identity, a test-taker under 18 must be supervised by a proctor over 21 who may supervise only two tests in 24 hours, the same no-notes rule applies, you may test twice in 24 hours and four times total online before testing must move to an office.
The drive test
The behind-the-wheel test covers turning, backing, parking, lane changes, speed control, signaling, vehicle control and general driving; the examiner rides in the front seat, gives directions and reviews the results afterward. DMV may waive it for a new resident surrendering an out-of-state license that is valid or expired less than one year, or on proof of an ODOT-approved driver education course completed within the past two years. Drive tests are by appointment only, in a passenger vehicle with current registration and valid proof of insurance shown beforehand or the test is rescheduled. Only you and the examiner may be in the vehicle, no translators, family, friends or pets; remove weapons; turn off electronics including the radio and phone; clear the dashboard and mirror; and a failed test may be retaken no sooner than the next business day. The examiner checks the vehicle's equipment and reschedules if it fails: it must start under its own power and have working front and rear turn signals, brake lights, a horn, a passenger door that opens and closes by handle inside and out, a proper, secure and reasonably clean passenger seat, seat belts, tires that are not bald or damaged, a muffler without excessive leaks or noise, valid registration displayed, side or rearview mirrors, and nothing blocking the driver's or examiner's view; when weather requires, traction tires or chains, wipers, headlights, taillights and a defroster. Schedule at DMV2U or by phone, ideally at least three weeks ahead, or use a certified third-party tester, often quicker and more flexible but possibly costlier. An applicant under 18 must have held a permit at least six months.
How to apply
A Class C privilege covers a passenger car, moped, autocycle, van or pickup of no more than 26,000 pounds that needs no commercial license or motorcycle endorsement. You must be at least 15 for an instruction permit and 16 for a license; complete an electronic application, signed by a parent or guardian if you are under 18 (by form 735-173DP if they cannot come, and no signature if you prove you are emancipated or married); present proof of identity, date of birth and residence address; give your Social Security number or certify electronically that you have none; if under 18 and applying for a first Oregon privilege, have a parent certify school enrollment or present a high school diploma or GED; pass the knowledge, vision and drive tests; pay the fees; have your photo taken without hats, glasses, face paint or appearance-changing contact lenses; not be suspended, revoked or canceled in any state; and surrender any other driving privilege or ID card. An applicant under 18 seeking a license must have held an instruction permit at least six months (an out-of-state permit counts) and have 100 hours of supervised driving, or 50 hours plus an ODOT-approved traffic safety education course with proof of completion sent to DMV; only driving supervised by someone at least 21 who has held a valid privilege at least three years counts.
Proof documents and extras
Identity and birth-date proof must be original or certified copies: a US government birth certificate (hospital certificates and baptismal records are not accepted); a US passport or card, employment authorization card, permanent resident card, foreign passport, re-entry permit, refugee travel document or consulate card, each valid or expired no more than five years; an Oregon-approved tribal ID; a naturalization or citizenship certificate; an Oregon license, permit or ID valid or expired no more than 13 years; or an out-of-state license, permit or ID valid or expired no more than one year; a different current legal name needs proof of the change. One document proves your address: certification by a person living at the same address who comes with you and shows proof, mail from a business, school or government agency with your full name (not personal or forwarded mail), a document from an educational provider, or a utility hookup order or bill, mortgage document or property tax statement. Since May 2025 a standard non-REAL ID Oregon card no longer boards a commercial US flight for anyone 18 or over; a passport, military ID, permanent resident card or tribal photo ID does, and REAL ID requirements are at Oregon.gov/REALID. When your privilege is issued you may join the organ, eye and tissue donor registry, marked by a heart on the front and "Anatomical Donor" on the back; a veteran may request a veteran designation with a DD214 or DD215 showing an honorable discharge; and anyone may request a deaf or hard of hearing designation without proof, visible to law enforcement through the DMV record.
Mandatory insurance
Every driver must insure the vehicle to at least $25,000 per collision for injury to one person, $50,000 for injury or death of two or more, and $20,000 for damage to others' property; personal injury protection of $15,000 per person for reasonable expenses within two years of injury; and uninsured motorist coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per collision.
Traffic collisions
Collisions caused by distraction, fatigue or careless driving are preventable, not accidents. If you are involved, stop; if no one is hurt and the vehicles can move safely, get them out of the travel lanes at once and exchange information away from the scene; give reasonable assistance to the injured without moving them carelessly; give your name, address, license number, plate number and insurance information to the other driver, passengers or any injured pedestrian, and stay until police arrive if someone is killed or unconscious; and file a collision report (form 735-32) within 72 hours when damage to your vehicle exceeds $2,500, damage to non-vehicle property exceeds $2,500, any vehicle is damaged over $2,500 and towed because of the collision, anyone is injured or killed, or you own a vehicle in a reportable collision whose driver fails to report. A police report does not replace your DMV report. If you hit an unoccupied vehicle, try to find the owner and otherwise leave a note with your name, address and a brief description; for other property, try to find the owner or someone in charge.
Loss of driving privileges
Keeping your privilege means keeping a good record. Among the reasons you can lose it: driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or inhalants, failing to report a collision, driving uninsured, too many traffic convictions under the Driver Improvement Program, and failing to pay court fines; the list is not complete.
Practise this with Oregon Driver License questions
More of this guide
Red prohibitive signs, white regulatory signs from transit-only lanes to HOV, yellow warning signs for curves, merges, railroads and deer, route, green guide, safety corridor, brown and blue signs, dark signals treated as four-way stops, turns on red, flashing signals and every arrow, with sign pictures.
Where to drive, the 15, 20, 25 and 55 mph limits, variable speed signs and the basic rule, every yellow, white and red marking, the two- to four-second cushion, stopping distances, curves, lane changes, passing and no-passing rules, passing on the right, freeway entry, ramp meters and exits, and towing limits.
Signaling 100 feet ahead, hand signals, bike lanes and turns, which left turns are allowed on red, dual turn lanes, U-turn bans with the 500- and 1,000-foot rules, stop lines and unmarked crossings, four-way and uncontrolled intersections, roundabouts step by step, parallel parking within 12 inches, hill parking, disabled spaces and fines, and every no-parking location.
Stopping for pedestrians in your lane, the next lane and the lane you turn into, the six-foot rule, white canes, the 20 mph school zone, bike lanes, bike boxes and sharrows, motorcycles, trucks that stop in three times the distance, school and transit buses, slow-moving emblems, funerals, stopped vehicles with flashing lights, emergency vehicles and police stops.
Orange devices and doubled fines, temporary speeds that apply at all times, flaggers and automated flagger devices, railroad signs, signals and markings, stopping 15 feet from the rail, when you must stop, never driving around a gate, escaping a stuck vehicle at 45 degrees, and the rules for driving, parking and turning around streetcars and light rail.
Belts and child seats, communicating, stopping, turning or speeding up to avoid a crash, leaving the road, drifting cars and animals, headlights and dimming distances, night, fog, rain, snow, skids and traction tires, the under-18 device ban and hands-free rule, drowsiness, DUII, implied consent, zero tolerance, open containers, external passengers and equipment failures.