In Utah, all new drivers, regardless of age, must obtain a learner permit before applying for a driver’s license. Your learner permit will allow you to practice driving while supervised. You must be at least 15 years old for a permit. You must also pass two official tests: a vision test and a written knowledge (permit) test on driving theory. If you’re under 18, you must also bring a parent or guardian to the driver license office to sign for financial responsibility.
You aren’t required to take a driver’s education course to obtain a permit. However, if you’re under 19, you must complete a driver’s education course before applying for a license. If you’re under 18, you must also hold the permit for six months before applying for the license. If you’re 18, there is no permit holding period. If you’re at least 19 years old, a driver’s education course is optional. You must hold the permit for 90 days unless you take a course, in which case there is no holding period.
You must take the knowledge (permit) test at a DMV driver license office, not online. All questions on the knowledge test are based on the official Utah DMV driver’s 2025 handbook (Utah DMV Handbook (UT Driver's Manual) 2025). The DMV currently publishes versions of this manual in English and Spanish. You can easily download the English version from this webpage in PDF format.
You should study this manual, but even this may not ensure you pass the permit test. (In 2020 – 2023, about 43.6% of applicants failed the 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 MP3 files, one for each section and appendix of the handbook. The total running time of this audiobook is approximately 4 hours, 39 minutes, and 18 seconds, so it may take you several days to listen to the entire audiobook once.
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 pass the test, what documents to have with you, fees you may have to pay, and test questions that applicants frequently miss.