Failed the Wisconsin permit test: when you can retake it
Failing the written test is common and fixable. Here is what Wisconsin says about retaking it, and a plan for the next attempt.
- How soon you can retake
- no sooner than the next day
- Attempts
- same test five times within one year
- Retest fee
- $10 fee per test, pass or fail
- After repeated failures
- After five failed attempts, special permission from DMV staff required to test again
- Online test
- Online Class D test (15-17): two attempts online; after failing both, third test at a DMV service center
From the official source
Individuals who do not pass the test may retake the test no sooner than the next day. You are only allowed to take the same test five times within a one-year period. The test can be attempted online twice. Customers who fail both attempts will be prompted to go to a DMV service center to take the test a third time. There is a $10 fee per test, whether you pass or fail.
Before your next attempt
- Write down the topics you got wrong: signs, right-of-way, speed limits, alcohol rules, distances. The retest usually draws from the same pool.
- Reread only those chapters of the official Wisconsin handbook, not the whole book.
- Take our Wisconsin practice tests until you score 90% or more three times in a row — the real pass mark is lower, so that is a safe margin.
- Use the mistake review: it shows only the questions you missed, with the handbook section for each.
- The night before, do one exam simulation and stop. Sleep beats cramming.
The real test: 50 questions, 40 correct to pass.
Practice for the retakeReview my mistakes
Checked on October 25, 2026. Rules change: confirm with the DMV.