NSW DKT test format and requirements

The Driver Knowledge Test has two delivery methods, and they differ in eligibility, cost behaviour, language support and what an unsuccessful attempt means. This page sets out what the current NSW Government and Service NSW pages state about each, and is equally explicit about the two figures everybody asks for — the number of questions and the pass mark — which those pages do not state at all.

How is the Driver Knowledge Test delivered?

In two ways. The DKT online is an interactive four-to-six hour course with a test at the end, worked through at the candidate's own pace anywhere with an internet connection. The DKT in-person is a multiple-choice computer test sat at a service centre.

The fees above are the NSW Government fees effective 1 July 2026. Fees are reviewed, so the figure to act on is the one on the current fee schedule rather than the one on any third-party page.

Who is eligible to sit the DKT online?

The online route carries more conditions than the in-person route, and one of them catches people out: it is not available to somebody who already holds a driver licence.

Service NSW also notes that the online route is not suitable for everybody: candidates without internet access, and candidates who need a language or interpreter arrangement the online course does not offer, are directed to the in-person test instead. That is a routing note rather than a refusal, and the in-person test supports a wider set of languages.

Who is eligible to sit the DKT in person?

Whether a booking is needed depends on the applicant rather than on the service centre. Booking is mandatory for anyone testing for a higher licence class — R, LR, MR, HR, HC or MC — and for anyone who has previously been refused a licence, suspended or disqualified. For everybody else it is optional. The mechanics of both are on the booking page.

What language and accessibility options does the DKT have?

Both routes support languages other than English, and the in-person route supports more of them.

The Road User Handbook is also published in languages other than English, which matters more than it first appears: preparing in one language and testing in another is a needless extra difficulty, and the handbook is the document the test draws on.

How many attempts at the DKT do you get?

Neither route limits the number of attempts. What differs is what each attempt costs and how long the wait is.

On the online route a single fee covers unlimited attempts until the test is passed, and an unsuccessful final test locks the candidate out for twelve hours before a retake. On the in-person route the fee is payable each time a test is booked, and a resit on the same day is possible if another booking is available.

Those two rules point in opposite directions and are worth thinking about before choosing a route. The online structure removes the financial cost of a second attempt and replaces it with a delay. The in-person structure allows a fast second attempt and charges for it.

How many questions are in the DKT, and what is the pass mark?

Neither figure is published on the current official NSW pages. This section exists to say so plainly, because it is the most common question about the test and the answers in circulation do not come from the regulator.

What can be said about the shape of the test comes from the material itself rather than from a specification. Transport for NSW publishes the question set used for the in-person DKT, and that document is organised into named categories: an integrity group about cheating and bribery, then General Knowledge, Intersections, Traffic Signs, Traffic Lights and Lanes, Negligent Driving, Pedestrians, Fatigue and Defensive Driving, Alcohol and Drugs, Speed Limits, and Seat Belts and Restraints.

Those categories are a far more useful preparation guide than a pass mark would be, because they describe what is asked rather than how much of it has to be right. They are used as the study structure on the road rules page.

What conditions apply while the test is being sat?

For the online route, Service NSW states that the final test has no time limit but must be completed in one session. That is a meaningful constraint: a candidate should start the final test with an uninterrupted block of time available, not at the end of a study session.

For the in-person route, the current pages describe a multiple-choice computer test sat at a service centre and do not publish a time limit. Anything else about the room, the screen or the supervision arrangements is administrative detail that the test day page covers to the extent it is actually published.

Common questions

Is the DKT online easier than the DKT in-person?

Neither is described by the regulator as easier. They are different formats of the same requirement: the online route teaches through a four-to-six hour course before testing, while the in-person route is a test on its own, so candidates prepare for it separately beforehand.

How much does the Driver Knowledge Test cost?

Under the NSW fee schedule effective 1 July 2026, the DKT online is $58 for unlimited attempts and the DKT in-person is $58 for each attempt. The learner licence itself costs a further $32. Fees are reviewed, so check the current schedule.

Can the DKT online be done on a phone?

Service NSW describes the DKT online as available anywhere with internet access and does not restrict it to a particular device on the pages checked. Given the final test must be completed in one session, a device and connection that will not be interrupted matters more than its type.

Sources

1. NSW Government, Driver Knowledge Test (DKT)
2. Service NSW, Do your Driver Knowledge Test (DKT) online
3. Service NSW, Common questions about Driver Knowledge Test (DKT) online
4. Service NSW, Book a Driver Knowledge Test (DKT) in-person
5. NSW Government, Driver and rider licence fees