New York State Plans to Allow Residents to Take Driver's Permit Tests Online

Instead of waiting for weeks for appointments at the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMW), in the coming weeks, 16-year-old New Yorkers and others seeking drivers’ permits may be able to take the 50-question tests at home in five minutes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last week.

     Joining the ranks of the many professional and social interactions that have gone online in the past year, the DMV prepares to expand a 3-month-old pilot program that will allow license Class D New York permit applicants to take their mandatory tests online.

    “We’re just trying to get all the kinks out right now,’’ state DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder told state lawmakers this week during a state budget hearing. “The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear that providing abundant and user-friendly online transactions is paramount.”

   DMV officials explained that the long waits for permit test-taking appointments about which many New Yorkers have complained are a result of the COVID-19 social distancing restrictions that have drastically slowed down the process because test-taking rooms are currently able to accommodate many fewer people.

     Conversely, the online permit test program will allow for far more permit reservations, said Lisa Koumjian, a DMV spokeswoman, who added that in 2019, 437,778 Class D driver’s permit tests were taken in New York, but in 2020, when in-person transactions were not permitted at DMV offices, only 420,123 New Yorkers took their permit tests.

    On a limited basis, the DMV has already started to test its online permit test program, by offering a few “select” permit applicants the opportunity to trade trips to DMV offices with online exams, which include security measures that prevent cheating.

   Koumjian added that parents must certify that their 16 and 17-year-olds took their tests without the use of any reference materials.

  Adults taking the exam must also provide certification that they did not use written or online materials.

   New Yorkers who pass their permits tests still must take five-hour courses and pass road tests before getting their licenses, which cannot be done online. After passing their written permit tests, New Yorkers still must go in person to DMV offices so the state can verify their identities, ages, and residences.

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