North Dakota gives you 25 questions and lets you miss five. Since you pay a fee for every attempt, being genuinely ready is cheaper than being optimistic. This page collects every figure worth committing to memory before you go.
Speed limits
These come from the North Dakota Highway Patrol. They apply when nothing is posted, and a posted sign always overrides them.
| Where | Limit |
|---|---|
| I-94 and I-29 outside city limits | 80 mph |
| Paved four-lane divided highways | 70 mph |
| Two-lane highways, where posted | 65 mph |
| Gravel, dirt and loose surface roads | 55 mph |
| Paved two-lane county and township roads, unposted | 55 mph |
| Business districts, residential districts and public parks | 25 mph |
The basic speed law sits above all of it. Driving faster than is reasonable and prudent for the conditions is an offense even when you are under the posted number. Sixty on an icy 65 mph highway can still be a violation.
Where speeding gets expensive
Two zones carry heavier penalties, and the gap between them is larger than most people expect.
- School zone: a $40 base fine plus $1 for each mph more than 10 over the limit.
- Highway construction zone: a $150 base fine plus $2 for each mph more than 10 over.
A work zone costs nearly four times the base penalty of a school zone. Orange signs are worth taking seriously here.
Alcohol limits
| Driver | Illegal at |
|---|---|
| Age 21 and over | 0.08% BAC |
| Under 21 | 0.02% BAC, absolute sobriety |
| Commercial license holders | 0.04% BAC |
Refusing a chemical test after a lawful arrest triggers a license suspension under implied consent, separate from any DUI conviction. Texting while driving is banned for all drivers.
Getting the permit
- Minimum age: 14, one of the lowest in the country.
- Supervising driver: at least 18 and holding a license for at least three years. Both conditions, which catches people out.
- Sponsor: a parent or guardian must sign if you are under 18.
- Driver education: required if you are under 16.
- Documents: proof of identity and legal presence, Social Security number, and two proofs of North Dakota residency.
- In person only. The knowledge test cannot be taken online.
- Retake: next day, with the test fee payable again.
Winter survival, which is on the exam
- Stranded in a blizzard: stay with the vehicle. It is shelter and it is far easier to find than a person on foot.
- Clear the exhaust pipe of snow before running the engine, or carbon monoxide enters the cabin. Run it in short bursts, with a window cracked.
- Low beams in falling or blowing snow. High beams reflect back into a wall of glare.
- Never stop in a travel lane in a whiteout. Get completely off the road first, then use hazard lights.
- Bridges and shaded curves freeze first.
- Stopping distance on ice is several times longer than on dry pavement.
Sharing the road with agriculture
- Orange triangle: the slow-moving vehicle emblem. That vehicle is traveling under 25 mph. At 65 mph you close a quarter mile of gap in under fifteen seconds.
- Peak seasons: planting in April and May, harvest in September and October.
- Standing crops hide traffic at section-line intersections. Slow enough to actually see rather than relying on right of way.
- School buses on rural highways stop frequently for farm and ranch children. All traffic in both directions must stop on an undivided road.
Right of way and distances
- Following distance: three seconds minimum, four or more on snow, ice, gravel or behind a loaded truck.
- Uncontrolled intersection: yield to the vehicle on your right.
- Four-way stop, arriving together: the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right.
- Right on red: permitted after a complete stop unless a sign prohibits it.
- Move over a lane for stopped emergency vehicles, or slow down significantly if you cannot.
- Fire hydrant: no parking within 15 feet.
- Headlights from sunset to sunrise and whenever visibility is reduced.
Use this properly
A cheat sheet is for the last read-through, not a substitute for the manual. The NDDOT Noncommercial Driver License Manual is the source of every exam question and it is free online. Read it, use this page to check the numbers stuck, then take the full practice test and the signs and signals test until you are consistently above 90%. For documents and the whole process, see the North Dakota permit guide.
Disclaimer: Pass The Permit is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the North Dakota Department of Transportation or any government agency. Laws and fines change. Always confirm current figures against the official NDDOT driver manual and the North Dakota Century Code before relying on them.