Colorado does not publish how many questions its written test has or what score passes it. What it does publish is the cost of failing: $11.50 for every written retest. Signs are the section you can make nearly perfect in an evening, which is the cheapest way to avoid paying that twice.
Our questions describe signs in words rather than showing pictures. Identify one from its shape, color and purpose without seeing it and you have learned the system rather than a set of images.
This quiz pulls 25 questions and scores you at 20. That format is ours, not the state’s.
Colorado Road Signs Test
Learn the system, not the pictures
Shapes
- Octagon — stop, and only stop
- Triangle on its point — yield
- Diamond — a warning about what is ahead
- Pentagon — school zone or crossing
- Round — a railroad crossing is ahead
- Crossbuck — the crossing itself
- Pennant, on the left — a no passing zone begins
Colors
- Red stops or prohibits
- Yellow warns about the road
- Orange means a work zone
- Fluorescent yellow-green means people crossing
- Green gives direction and distance
- Blue lists motorist services
- Brown points to parks and national forests
- White with black text states the law
Mountain signs mean what they say
- Steep grade signs mean a lower gear, not continuous braking. Brakes held on all the way down a pass overheat and fade
- Runaway truck ramps exist for vehicles whose brakes have already failed. Never park in one
- Chain stations mark where to fit chains or traction devices, rather than stopping in a travel lane
- Deer and elk warnings are not decoration. An elk stands well above hood height, so the body comes through the windshield rather than over the hood
- Black ice forms first on bridges, overpasses and shaded curves, and the shaded side of a canyon can stay frozen all day
Why signs are worth an evening in Colorado
The DMV does not publish how many questions the written test has or what score passes it, so you cannot calculate how many mistakes you can afford. What it does publish is the price of getting it wrong: $11.50 for each written retest, and $15.40 for each drive skills retest.
Signs are the fastest section to make reliable, which makes them the cheapest insurance against paying that fee twice.
Next steps
Once you are consistently above 22 out of 25 here, move to the full Colorado practice test, which covers the age-based driver education routes, the fingerprint requirement, the 50 logged hours and the first-year restrictions. The whole process is on the Colorado permit guide, or compare states on our states page.
Disclaimer: Pass The Permit is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles or any government agency. Our questions are original practice material, not real exam questions, and our 25-question format is our own rather than the state’s. Always confirm current requirements against the official Colorado Driver Handbook and dmv.colorado.gov.