Nearly 35% fail driver’s license tests: Indiana leads the way

Key points

• Nearly 35% of people failed a driver’s license test in the U.S. between 2020 and 2023.
• Indiana, Missouri and Wyoming have the highest rates of failed driver’s license tests (including both written and skills test results).
• Vermont and Louisiana have the highest rates of passing driver’s license tests.
• Taking a driver’s education course may help you save money on car insurance.

Nearly 35% of people in the U.S. failed their driver’s license written or skills test in recent years, based on data provided by state organizations.

To understand how many people pass or fail their driver’s license tests, we analyzed driver’s license test results from 36 states, 34 of which provided results for both the knowledge and skills tests from 2020 to 2023.

Of those 34 states, we found that 65.2% of people who took a knowledge (written) or skills (road) driver’s license test passed it, while 34.7% failed. 14 states did not provide data upon request.

We also found that people perform better on the skills/road driver’s license test than on the knowledge/written test. Overall, 78.8% of people passed the skills test, while only 61.7% passed the knowledge test.

States with the most failed driver’s license tests

Indiana has a higher rate of failed driver’s license tests (51.9%) than any other state that provided results. Missouri (51.3% failure rate) and Wyoming (51.0% failure rate) aren’t far behind. More than half of people who took a driver’s license knowledge or skill test in those three states failed.

Vermont and Louisiana have the highest rate of success when it comes to driver’s license tests. More than 80% of people in Vermont and Louisiana passed their driver’s license knowledge or skill tests between 2020 and 2023.

States with the most skilled drivers

Based on driver’s license test data, more people pass their on-the-road skill test versus the written/knowledge portion of a driver’s license test. Nationwide, 78.8% of people passed the skills portion of the test, while only 61.7% passed the written/knowledge portion of the test.

Test-takers in Idaho and Georgia performed the best on the skills portion of the driver’s license test — 94.9% of people steered their way to a passing grade. Delaware residents performed the worst on the skills side of the test, with only 41% of people passing the practical portion.

Vermont drivers tested best on the knowledge portion, with 87.5% of people passing. In Missouri, test-takers did significantly worse; only 39% of Missourians passed the written/knowledge part of their driver’s license tests between 2020 and 2023.

States with the most licensed drivers

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration reported a total of 235,086,153 licensed drivers in the U.S.¹ California had the most licensed drivers overall (27,632,103) — unsurprising since California has the largest population of any U.S. state.

Wyoming had the fewest licensed drivers in the U.S., with 431,980. Again, this isn’t a complete shock: Wyoming has the smallest population of any U.S. state.

If we look at licensed drivers in proportion to state population, however, Texas had the lowest number of licensed drivers per capita in 2022. There were 61,334 licensed drivers for every 100,000 people in Texas. On the other hand, New Hampshire had the highest rate of licensed drivers per resident: 83,793 for every 100,000 people.

Driver’s license tests and car insurance

Passing your driver’s test is not all you need to legally get on the road. You’ll also need to carry auto insurance. At the very least, you’ll need to carry the state minimum car insurance — you can find out how much car insurance you need by reviewing your state’s guidelines. Your state’s minimum car insurance requirements often aren’t enough to pay for an expensive accident; consider full coverage auto insurance for more financial protection.

You should always compare car insurance quotes from multiple insurers to get the best deal for your coverage needs. A good place to start is our roundup of the best car insurance companies, though if you’re a newly licensed teen driver, you might want to narrow your focus to the cheapest car insurance companies or the best car insurance for teen drivers.

The score you get on your driver’s license test won’t affect the cost of car insurance, but your age, driving record and, potentially, additional driving courses will. In fact, one of the major car insurance discounts you may be able to get is for the completion of a defensive driving course, though this is often reserved for teen and senior drivers.

Here are a few car insurance companies that may offer discounts for participating in safe driving courses*:

• American Family Insurance.
• Farmers.
• Geico.
• Nationwide.
• State Farm.
• Travelers.
• USAA.

*Note: These discounts may only be available to drivers of specific ages and in specific locations.

Studying can also help new drivers save. Students with at least a “B” average can help you save on car insurance through good student discounts, depending on their insurer.

Article sources

1. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration