In Tennessee, all new drivers, regardless of age, must obtain a learner’s permit before applying for a driver’s license. Requirements for a learner’s permit include passing a vision test and a knowledge (permit) test on driving theory. If you’re under 18, your school must certify that you are attending school there, and your parent or guardian must submit an affidavit giving their signed consent and accepting responsibility for your driving.
A driver’s education course is not required of drivers of any age.
If you’re under 18, you can take the permit test online with your parent or guardian proctoring it. Otherwise, you must take the test at a DMV Driver Service Center (full service). All questions on the knowledge test are based on sections B and C of the official Tennessee DMV driver’s 2025 handbook (Tennessee DMV Handbook (TN Driver's Manual) 2025). The DMV publishes versions of this manual in English and Spanish. The English version can be easily downloaded from this webpage in PDF format.
You should study this manual, but even this may not ensure you pass the knowledge test. In recent years, nearly 60% – more than half – of applicants failed the Tennessee DMV knowledge test on their first attempt. Please follow our entire test preparation program, including our graduated series of practice tests accompanied by our AI assistant. It can give you hints and explanations and answer your questions to help you learn driving theory. We guarantee our program works!
We have also created an audiobook of the English version of the official driver’s manual. It’s formatted as a downloadable series of eighteen MP3 files, one for each chapter of the handbook: Your License, Applying for Your License, Intermediate Licenses, and so on. The longest chapter is Section B, Chapter 4: Rules of the Road, whose running time is 1 hour, 43 minutes, and 56 seconds. The total running time of this audiobook is approximately 8 hours, 7 minutes, and 44 seconds, so it will take days for you to get through it all. Try listening to an audiobook file while you follow along with the text of the PDF version. This technique can help you concentrate on the material.
In addition to the official handbook, we also offer our own permit test study guide (available elsewhere on this website), which you can read to prepare for the big test day. It covers how to prepare mentally and physically to be at your best, what documents to have with you, fees you may have to pay, and test questions that applicants frequently miss.