Free · 15 short lessons · Quoted from the manual
North Carolina Driver Handbook, Chapter by Chapter
Start with lesson 1Every chapter of the North Carolina Driver Handbook that matters for the written test, cut down to the rules and exact numbers you need. Each point links to the manual text it comes from, with the page, and ends with questions from our free North Carolina practice test.
15 lessons in handbook order
Read one lesson, answer its 3 check questions, then drill that topic in the practice test. Most lessons take about 5 minutes.
- Lesson 1Chapter 1: Your LicenseLaws and paperwork
Graduated licensing: learner permit to full license
Teens 15 to 17 start with a Level One learner permit held for nine months and a 60 hour driving log. A Level Two provisional license then allows unsupervised driving from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. with passenger limits.
10 key points · 13 numbers · Handbook pp. 12 to 13
- Lesson 2Chapter 1: Your LicenseLaws and paperwork
License tests, teen phone ban and full provisional license
Every applicant passes vision, signs and knowledge tests, and new drivers take a road test last. Drivers under 18 may not use a cell phone at all while driving, and the Full Provisional License drops the time, supervision and passenger limits.
10 key points · 5 numbers · Handbook pp. 9 to 28
- Lesson 3Chapter 2: Alcohol and the LawAlcohol and DUI
Driving while impaired and alcohol limits
Everyone's driving is impaired at a BAC of 0.08, and at that level your license is revoked on the spot for at least 30 days. Drivers under 21 convicted of driving with any alcohol lose their license for a year.
8 key points · 11 numbers · Handbook pp. 31 to 33
- Lesson 4Chapter 3: Your Driving PrivilegeLaws and paperwork
Keeping your license: points, suspensions and renewal
Seven points can send you to a driver improvement clinic, and 12 points in three years can suspend your license. Serious speeding over 55 mph brings a revocation of at least 30 days.
9 key points · 15 numbers · Handbook pp. 13 to 39
- Lesson 5Chapter 4: Your DrivingLaws and paperwork
Seat belts, child restraints and window tint
Every occupant must wear a seat belt, even with air bags. Children under 8 and under 80 pounds need a proper child restraint, and children 12 and under should ride in back.
9 key points · 9 numbers · Handbook pp. 43 to 102
- Lesson 6Chapter 4: Your DrivingEmergencies
Pedestrians, school buses and emergency vehicles
Stop for a school bus with its stop signal out, except when you are on the far side of a divided highway or four-lane road with a center turn lane. Pull right and stop for emergency vehicles, and never park within 100 feet of one at a scene.
9 key points · 2 numbers · Handbook pp. 46 to 48
- Lesson 7Chapter 4: Your DrivingSpeed limits
Speed limits and stopping distance
Unless posted otherwise, the limit is 35 mph in cities and towns, 55 mph outside them and 70 mph on interstates. Even in ideal conditions a car at 55 mph needs about 211 feet to stop.
8 key points · 7 numbers · Handbook pp. 40 to 53
- Lesson 8Chapter 4: Your DrivingParking
Passing, backing and parking
Pass at least two feet to the left and never where you cannot see 500 feet ahead on a curve or hill. Park on the right side of the road and keep the legal distances from intersections, hydrants and emergency scenes.
9 key points · 7 numbers · Handbook pp. 55 to 56
- Lesson 9Chapter 4: Your DrivingRight of way
Right of way at intersections and roundabouts
A vehicle already in the intersection goes first, and at a tie the vehicle on the right has the right of way. In a roundabout, everyone travels counterclockwise and entering drivers yield to those already inside.
9 key points · 0 numbers · Handbook pp. 57 to 59
- Lesson 10Chapter 4: Your DrivingRight of way
Railroad crossings and funeral processions
At a railroad crossing, stop between 15 and 50 feet from the nearest rail when a train is signaled, and never stop on the tracks. The train always has the right of way, even over emergency vehicles.
8 key points · 2 numbers · Handbook pp. 48 to 62
- Lesson 11Chapter 4: Your DrivingSafe driving
Turn signals, headlights and bad weather
Signal at least the last 100 feet before a turn, or 200 feet where the limit is 45 mph or more. Headlights are required from sunset to sunrise, when visibility is 400 feet or less and whenever wipers are on.
9 key points · 8 numbers · Handbook pp. 69 to 73
- Lesson 12Chapter 4: Your DrivingEmergencies
Blowouts, breakdowns and crashes
After a blowout, hold the wheel tightly, ease off the gas and brake only once the car slows. After a crash you must stop, and you must report it at once if anyone is hurt or damage looks like $1,000 or more.
9 key points · 1 numbers · Handbook pp. 76 to 78
- Lesson 13Chapter 5: Signals, Signs and Pavement MarkingsSignals and markings
Traffic signals and pavement markings
Stop for a yellow light unless you are too close to stop safely, and turn right on red only after a full stop unless a sign forbids it. Yellow lines separate traffic moving in opposite directions and white lines separate lanes going the same way.
10 key points · 1 numbers · Handbook pp. 80 to 88
- Lesson 14Chapter 5: Signals, Signs and Pavement MarkingsRoad signs
Sign shapes and colors
Shape and color let you recognize signs at a glance: the octagon is only for stop signs and the yield sign is a triangle pointing down. Diamond signs warn of hazards, and orange ones mark work zones.
9 key points · 1 numbers · Handbook pp. 83 to 84
- Lesson 15Chapter 6: Sharing the RoadSafe driving
Bicycles, mopeds, trucks and insurance
Pass a moped with at least two feet of room and give motorcycles a full lane. North Carolina requires continuous liability insurance of at least $30,000, $60,000 and $25,000.
9 key points · 10 numbers · Handbook pp. 90 to 101
Read, check, then practice
- Read a lesson. Open any point's source to see the exact manual wording and page.
- Answer the 3 check questions at the end without looking back.
- Drill that topic in the free North Carolina practice test, then take a full test when every lesson feels easy.
- Keep the North Carolina cheat sheet for a last look before test day.
Source: the North Carolina Driver Handbook (Current NCDMV edition). Lessons are plain English summaries, not the law itself; where they differ, the manual and the statute govern. Every quote on these pages is checked against our saved copy of the manual. Last checked 2026-09-27.