Connecticut road tests are administered by the DMV. You need 40 supervised hours before testing — 5 at night. Connecticut has one of the lower night hour requirements in the country. With driver’s education, the permit hold is only 4 months.

What the test covers

Connecticut road tests run on public streets near the DMV location. Tests typically last 15-20 minutes.

Skills tested:

Left and right turns at intersections
Stopping at signs and signals
Lane changes
Parallel parking
Backing
Speed management
Following distance
Mirror and observation habits

Connecticut tests parallel parking.

What gets people failed

Not stopping fully at stop signs. Complete stop, wheels stopped. This is the most common road test failure in Connecticut.

Parallel parking. Hitting cones, mounting the curb, or ending up too far from the curb are typical failures. Connecticut’s roads are often narrow with cars parked on both sides — parallel parking is a real skill here, not just a test formality.

Blind spot checks. Signal, mirror, head turn, move. Examiners watch for the head turn. It’s required on every lane change.

Turning too wide. Left turns go to the leftmost available lane, right turns to the rightmost. Drifting into the center is a consistent deduction.

Speed. Connecticut has a lot of 25 mph residential zones. Going 30 costs points.

Driver’s ed and the hold period

With a certified driver’s education program, Connecticut reduces the permit hold to 4 months. Without it, the hold period is longer. Most Connecticut teens take driver’s ed, which also satisfies the classroom education requirement. Check with your driving school about how their hours count toward the 40-hour requirement.

Before the test

Connecticut requires 40 hours and 5 night hours.

Bring:

Valid Connecticut learner’s permit
Driving log showing 40 hours (5 night)
Vehicle registration and current insurance
Parent or guardian if under 18

Tracking your hours

Connecticut’s night definition is sunset to sunrise.

Moda tracks Connecticut hours, splits day vs. night automatically, and exports a formatted log. Download on the App Store

Full Connecticut permit requirements: Connecticut permit hours

Stop manually tracking hours. Moda logs driving automatically.

Auto-detects night driving, exports DMV forms, and syncs across family phones.