In New Mexico the DMV written test is the MVD knowledge test. Get ready with 40 free questions on highway signs, speed limits, DWI laws and provisional license rules, each explained the moment you answer.
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Four rounds of 10 questions on New Mexico signs, right-of-way, speed limits, parking, DWI and texting laws, and provisional license rules. A short explanation follows every answer.
Heading up a mountain highway in northern New Mexico, you pass a yellow diamond sign with a leaping deer on it. When does the New Mexico Driver Manual tell you to be most watchful for deer and elk?
Correct answer: At dawn, at dusk and in the first hours after dark
Why
The manual names early morning, evening and the first hours of darkness as prime time for deer, elk, pronghorn, bears and cougars near the road. Ease off where this sign stands and sweep the shoulders with your eyes. If one animal darts across, expect more to follow it.
In a Las Cruces neighborhood, you and another car pull up almost together to a corner that has no stop signs and no traffic lights. The other car is on the street to your right. Who should go first?
Correct answer: The car on your right; you yield to it
Why
When two vehicles from different roads reach an intersection without signs or lights in a near tie, New Mexico law tells the driver on the left to give way. Make eye contact with the other driver before you roll forward, so you both know who is going.
Near a school, you pass a five-sided fluorescent yellow-green sign showing two children, and the school zone is posted. While students are arriving or leaving, how fast may you go?
Correct answer: 15 mph
Why
New Mexico law sets a 15 mph limit for passing a school while children are going to or leaving school, wherever the zone is posted. That's half the 30 mph default for residential streets. Look out for crossing guards and children stepping out between parked cars.
You spot an open curbside space next to a fire hydrant in Albuquerque. What's the closest you may park to the hydrant?
Correct answer: 15 feet
Why
New Mexico keeps parked cars at least 15 feet from a fire hydrant so crews can reach it quickly. Two more gaps to memorize: 30 feet before a stop sign or traffic signal, and 20 feet from a fire station driveway on the same side of the street.
A 20-year-old driver in New Mexico is pulled over and tests at 0.03 alcohol concentration. What's the result?
Correct answer: The license is revoked, because the under-21 limit is 0.02
Why
New Mexico holds drivers under 21 to 0.02, a quarter of the adult 0.08 limit, and a test at that level gets the license revoked for a year. For anyone under 21, the safe amount to drink before driving is zero.
Driving on a dry road in clear weather, what is the smallest following distance the New Mexico Driver Manual recommends?
Correct answer: 3 seconds
Why
Leave a gap of three seconds or more to the vehicle in front, and stretch it to four on slippery roads, behind a motorcycle, when pulling a trailer or near a railroad crossing. Count from the moment the car ahead passes a fixed point until you reach it.
What is the youngest age at which a New Mexico teen can apply for an instruction permit?
Correct answer: 15
Why
At 15 you can apply, as long as you're enrolled in or have finished an approved driver education course with a DWI prevention unit. After at least nine classroom hours your instructor can give you a referral card for the MVD, and a parent or guardian signs your application.
A center lane runs down a busy Albuquerque street, edged by solid yellow lines on the outside and dashed yellow lines on the inside, with left-turn arrows pointing both ways. How far may you drive in it before turning?
Correct answer: No more than 200 feet
Why
That's a two-way left-turn lane, shared by drivers turning left from both directions. Since 2023, New Mexico law limits travel in it to 200 feet before you turn. Never use it to pass, and watch for someone entering it from the opposite side.
You drive past a red-and-white triangular YIELD sign without stopping and then collide with a car on the cross street. How does New Mexico law view the crash?
Correct answer: It counts as evidence that you failed to yield
Why
A YIELD sign tells you to slow down and give way to traffic on the cross road, stopping if you have to. Under New Mexico law, a driver who goes past one without stopping and then has a collision is treated as having failed to yield. Slow enough on the approach that stopping is always an option.
You're in a crash in New Mexico. Nobody is hurt, but the damage looks like about $800. What must you do?
Correct answer: Notify the police right away and send a written report within five days
Why
New Mexico requires an immediate call to city police, the county sheriff or state police after any crash with an injury or death, or damage that looks like $500 or more. The driver must also send a written report to the Department of Transportation within five days. At the scene, stop, swap names, addresses and registration numbers, and help anyone hurt.
A country road crosses a railroad track that has no flashing lights and no gate. What does the New Mexico Driver Manual say the white X-shaped crossbuck at the crossing means?
Correct answer: The same as a yield sign: slow down, look both ways and be ready to stop
Why
A crossbuck carries the meaning of a yield sign, so you slow, look and listen in both directions, and stop if a train is coming. If you have to stop, keep at least 15 feet, and no more than 50 feet, between your car and the closest rail. The round yellow sign with an X and RR is the one that warns of a crossing farther ahead.
On a four-lane street, the car in the lane next to yours has stopped at a marked crosswalk with no traffic signal, as if to let someone cross. You can't see anyone in front of it. What should you do?
Correct answer: Stop as well; passing a car stopped at a crosswalk is not allowed
Why
New Mexico forbids passing a vehicle that has stopped at a crosswalk to let someone cross, because that car can hide a pedestrian stepping into your lane. Where no signal is working, you must also stop or slow down to yield to anyone in the crosswalk. Wait until the crossing is clear before you move on.
No speed limit sign is in sight on a street in a New Mexico residence district. What limit applies?
Correct answer: 30 mph
Why
Unless signs set another number, New Mexico law caps speed at 30 mph in business and residence districts. A posted sign always replaces that default, so go by the most recent one you passed.
Parking on the street near a corner, how much room must you leave before a stop sign at the side of the road?
Correct answer: 30 feet
Why
New Mexico bans parking within 30 feet of the approach to a stop sign, flashing beacon or traffic signal beside the road, because a parked car can hide it from other drivers. Railroad crossings call for even more room: 50 feet from the nearest rail.
After a DWI arrest, a New Mexico driver refuses to take a breath test. What does that refusal cost?
Correct answer: Revocation of the license for one year
Why
Driving in New Mexico means you've already agreed to breath or blood testing for alcohol or drugs. Refusing after an arrest brings a one-year revocation, longer than the six months an adult first loses for testing at 0.08 or more. Saying no doesn't save the license.
At night on a dark two-lane road, how does the New Mexico Driver Manual suggest checking that you aren't driving too fast for what you can see?
Correct answer: Pick a fixed object at the edge of what you can see; if you reach it in under four seconds, slow down
Why
This is the manual's four-second sight distance rule: if you reach a point you picked out ahead before four seconds pass, you're going too fast to react to anything there. At night it keeps you from outrunning your headlights, and it works just as well by day.
You're 15 and have a New Mexico instruction permit. Who may supervise your practice drives?
Correct answer: Your 24-year-old cousin, licensed for four years, in the front seat
Why
Your supervisor has to hold a license, be at least 21, have been licensed for at least three years, and sit in the seat beside you. Age, experience and seat all count, so a capable 19-year-old or an adult in the back seat won't qualify.
Since July 2025, what may a bicyclist in New Mexico do at a stop sign when no one with the right-of-way is approaching?
Correct answer: Roll through it, treating it like a yield sign
Why
A 2025 New Mexico law lets people on bikes treat a stop sign as a yield sign when the way is clear, and go through a red light after stopping if no traffic is coming. As a driver, don't count on a cyclist coming to a full stop. When you pass one, the manual asks for at least five feet of space.
You're behind a school bus on a two-lane road when it stops and turns on its flashing red signals. Where must you stop?
Correct answer: At least 10 feet back
Why
New Mexico law has drivers from either direction halt 10 feet or more away from a school bus showing its signals, and stay put until the signals go off, the bus moves or the driver waves traffic on. Passing one illegally costs a $100 penalty and 6 points on your record.
Late at night, the signal at a quiet crossroads is blinking red for your direction of travel. How do you handle it?
Correct answer: Come to a full stop, then go when the way is clear, as at a stop sign
Why
The New Mexico Driver Manual gives a flashing red light the same meaning as a stop sign. A flashing yellow is the milder signal: it asks you to slow down and continue with care. Mixing the two up is an easy mistake to make on test day.
On a four-lane divided highway, a state police car is stopped on the right shoulder with its lights flashing, and you're in the right lane. What does New Mexico's move-over law require?
Correct answer: Move to the lane not next to it if that's safe, and slow down
Why
Approaching a stopped emergency vehicle, tow truck or repair vehicle with flashing lights, you must shift to a lane that isn't next to it when you can do so safely, and slow down. If traffic boxes you in, slow down and be ready to stop.
On a two-lane road through farm country in eastern New Mexico, you catch up to a tractor with a reflective orange triangle fixed to its back. What is that emblem telling you?
Correct answer: The vehicle moves at less than 25 mph
Why
The orange triangle is the slow-moving vehicle emblem, used on farm machinery and construction equipment that travel under 25 mph. At highway speed you will close the gap within seconds, so lift off the gas as soon as you spot it. Pass only where it's legal and you can see well ahead.
Your light turns green, there's no arrow, and you want to turn left. An oncoming car is already close to the intersection. What does New Mexico law require?
Correct answer: Yield to the oncoming car and wait for a safe gap
Why
A driver turning left must yield to oncoming vehicles that are in the intersection or near enough to be a hazard. Wait for a gap that lets you finish the turn without making anyone brake. A green light lets you enter the intersection, but it doesn't put you ahead of oncoming traffic.
What is the highest speed limit New Mexico posts, found on its rural interstates?
Correct answer: 75 mph
Why
75 mph is the top limit in New Mexico, and the manual gives it as the rural interstate limit unless signs show otherwise. Going faster gets expensive: the speeding penalty grows with how far over you are, from $25 up to $200.
You park facing downhill on a steep street with a curb. After setting the parking brake, which way should the front wheels point?
Correct answer: Toward the curb
Why
On a grade, New Mexico law asks you to turn the front wheels so the car would roll into the curb or off the road if the brakes let go. Facing downhill next to a curb, that means turning them into it. Shut off the engine and take the key before you walk away.
You're 35 and waiting at a red light in Albuquerque when a text comes in. May you read it on your handheld phone?
Correct answer: No, the texting ban applies even while stopped at a light
Why
New Mexico's texting law treats a car stopped at a light or stop sign as still being driven, so the phone stays down until you're parked. Hands-free and voice features are allowed. A first ticket is a $25 penalty, and each one after that is $50.
Driving at night with your high beams on, you come up behind a car going the same way. Within what distance of it does New Mexico law require low beams?
Correct answer: 200 feet
Why
New Mexico requires low beams within 200 feet when you're following another vehicle and within 500 feet of an oncoming one, so your lights don't dazzle the other driver. Headlights go on by half an hour past sundown and stay on until half an hour before the sun comes up.
How much supervised driving must a New Mexico teen complete before applying for a provisional license?
Correct answer: 50 hours, 10 of them at night
Why
New Mexico requires at least 50 practice hours, 10 after dark, certified by a parent or guardian. Spread them over the six months you must hold the permit, and keep your record clean: each traffic conviction adds 30 days to that wait.
On a four-lane highway divided by a raised median, a school bus stops on the far side with its red lights flashing. You're driving the opposite direction. What should you do?
Correct answer: Continue with care; you don't have to stop
Why
New Mexico doesn't require you to stop for a school bus on a different roadway of a divided highway, one separated by a median or other physical barrier. Drivers on the bus's side of the median still have to stop. Stay alert anyway, since children may be walking near the road.
Orange signs mark a highway construction zone that is posted as a double-fine zone. What does New Mexico law say about speeding there?
Correct answer: The speeding fine is doubled
Why
In a construction or safety zone signed for double fines, the posted limit is the law and New Mexico doubles the penalty for speeding. Orange is the color of work-zone signs, so treat the first orange sign as your cue to slow down. Expect lane shifts, rough pavement and equipment close to traffic.
The driver of the car ahead puts a left arm out the window, bent upward at the elbow. What is that driver about to do?
Correct answer: Turn right
Why
In New Mexico every hand signal comes from the driver's left side: arm straight out for a left turn, bent up for a right turn, and angled down to slow or stop. Whether by hand or with the blinker, start signaling no later than 100 feet before the turn.
You're driving out of a shopping center driveway in Santa Fe, and a sidewalk runs between you and the street. What must you do?
Correct answer: Stop before the sidewalk, yield to pedestrians, then yield to traffic on the street
Why
New Mexico requires drivers leaving an alley, driveway or building in a business or residential area to stop before reaching the sidewalk. Let anyone on foot pass, then give way to all vehicles on the road. Stopping that early gives you a clear look at people walking toward the driveway.
You're driving a county road in rural New Mexico, and there's no speed limit sign anywhere. What is the most you may drive?
Correct answer: 55 mph
Why
New Mexico law sets a 55 mph maximum on county roads with no posted limit. Treat it as a ceiling for good conditions: gravel, blind curves or wildlife near dusk call for much less.
Packed snow covers the highway one winter morning near Taos. By how much does the New Mexico Driver Manual suggest you cut your speed?
Correct answer: To roughly half your normal speed
Why
The manual's rule of thumb: drop about 10 mph on a wet road, cut your speed in half on packed snow, and creep along on ice. New Mexico law also requires a speed that lets you avoid hitting anyone ahead, whatever the posted limit says.
When you park beside a curb in New Mexico, your right-side wheels must be parallel to it and how close?
Correct answer: Within 18 inches
Why
Keep your curb-side wheels within 18 inches of the curb so the car doesn't stick out into the travel lane. Some places are off-limits however neatly you park: sidewalks, crosswalks, bridges, tunnels and the space in front of a driveway.
After dinner at a restaurant, you're taking home a wine bottle that's been opened. Where may it ride while you drive on a New Mexico road?
Correct answer: In the trunk
Why
New Mexico bans open alcohol containers anywhere in the passenger area of a car on a public road, and it counts the glove compartment as part of that area. The trunk is outside it. A first violation costs a $25 penalty.
A New Mexico teen with a provisional license is found guilty of talking on a phone behind the wheel. How does that affect getting the full license?
Correct answer: It adds 30 days to the wait for the full license
Why
For permit and provisional drivers, phone use behind the wheel counts as a traffic violation under New Mexico's graduated licensing law. Each conviction adds 30 days to the 12 months you must hold the provisional license, and a pending ticket keeps you from moving up. Put the phone on silent before you start the car.
On a two-lane highway at 55 mph, you want to pass a slower car. About how much clear time in the oncoming lane does the New Mexico Driver Manual say a pass takes?
Correct answer: About 10 seconds
Why
A pass at 55 mph takes roughly 10 seconds, so you need at least that much open road coming toward you, and you shouldn't start one when a hill or curve is less than a third of a mile ahead. Pull back in only when both headlights of the car you passed show in your rear-view mirror.
You're 16 with a New Mexico provisional license. At 12:30 a.m. a friend asks for a ride home from a party, and no adult will be in the car. Can you drive?
Correct answer: No, the midnight to 5 a.m. limit covers this trip
Why
Provisional drivers stay off the road from midnight to 5 a.m. unless a licensed driver 21 or older is with them or the trip is for work, school, a religious activity, a family or medical need with a signed statement, or a medical emergency. A ride home from a party fits none of those.
A New Mexico provisional driver wants to take three unrelated classmates, all 16, to the movies, with no adult riding along. What does the law allow?
Correct answer: Only one passenger under 21 from outside the family
Why
A provisional driver may carry no more than one passenger under 21 who isn't an immediate family member. Relatives in your immediate family don't count toward that limit. The rule lasts until you earn your full, unrestricted license.
Everything worth knowing before your MVD appointment.
New Mexico · MVD knowledge test
70% to pass.
Signs + traffic laws · In personAt least 70% of your answers right
18 or older? Driver ed is optional and there’s no provisional stage: pass the vision, written and road tests. First-time drivers aged 18 to 24 also complete the None for the Road DWI prevention course.
Study the New Mexico Driver Manual (version 11.19.19), also available in Spanish as the Guía Para Conducir de Nuevo México. State law says the test checks your grasp of highway signs and New Mexico traffic laws. Start with these six areas.
Six New Mexico figures to have at your fingertips on test day.
These 40 questions are just the warm-up. The app gives you 463 New Mexico practice questions, 36 short lessons and the why behind every answer.
70% or better. In New Mexico the test is run by the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), part of the Taxation and Revenue Department, and by law it checks that you can read highway signs and know the state’s traffic laws. Expect a vision screening on the same visit: 20/40 or better in at least one eye.
If you fail, you can retest right away, even the same day, but no more than twice in one week. One application and fee cover three attempts within six months; after a third fail, you can’t test again until six months have passed since your first try. Once you pass, your score stays good for five years.
Plan on taking it in person: at an MVD field office, or at a driver education school with an MVD testing contract. State MVD offices work by appointment, which you can book at mvdonline.com or by phone. Pick a slot well before 3 p.m., since state offices usually don’t start written tests later than that.
Yes. The MVD gives the knowledge test in Spanish, and also in English, Tagalog, Italian, German, French, Vietnamese and Chinese. The driver manual has a Spanish edition too, the Guía Para Conducir de Nuevo México. This practice test is in Spanish as well, and so is the app.
15, as long as you’re taking or have finished a state-approved driver ed course with a DWI prevention unit. Hold the permit six months and log 50 supervised hours, 10 at night, and you can get a provisional license as early as 15½. For at least the next 12 months: no driving midnight–5 a.m. without a licensed adult 21+ or an approved reason, and no more than one passenger under 21 from outside your family.
$10. The provisional license that follows is $18, and a full license costs $18 for four years or $34 for eight. If you’re moving in from another state, add a one-time $15 DWI record check.
The examiner takes off points for mistakes, and losing more than 30 points is a fail. Some errors end the test on the spot: not buckling your seat belt before shifting into gear, running a red light or stop sign, going 15 mph or more over the limit, or any crash. If you fail, wait at least a week before you retest.
Read the New Mexico Driver Manual, then quiz yourself until you clear 70% with room to spare. Start with the 40 questions above, then continue in the app with 463 New Mexico questions and 36 short lessons, each answer explained.