1.3 The Road Test, Your New License & RMV Fees

The road test is not part of the permit exam, but the permit exam often asks about the steps and limits that lead to it. This section summarizes the manual's road-test chapter so you can answer those questions and plan your license.

Before You Book

• You need a learner's permit of the proper class.
• Applicants under 18 must meet every Junior Operator requirement (Chapter 2), including a clean driving record for the six months before the test. A surchargeable incident (such as an at-fault crash or a moving violation), a permit suspension for a drug or alcohol violation, or a drug or alcohol conviction in any state blocks the test. If such an event reaches the RMV after you book, you lose the slot and must build six new clean months, unless you turn 18 first.
• Book, cancel or reschedule online. Changes made more than 72 hours before the test are free.

Limits and Waiting Periods

You pay the $35 road test fee again if you fail, are unprepared, your vehicle fails the examiner's inspection, you do not bring a qualified sponsor, you are late or absent, or you cancel with less than 72 hours' notice. All fees must be paid before you can book a new test.

What to Bring

1. A completed road test application, with the parent or guardian section signed if you are under 18. Disclose any medical condition or medication, and the examiner may send the application to Medical Affairs.
2. Your printed learner's permit.
3. A qualified sponsor with their license.
4. A safe, registered and inspected vehicle and its registration certificate.

Sponsor Requirements

A Class D sponsor, required even if you hold a valid foreign license, must:

• Be at least 21 years old.
• Have at least one year of driving experience.
• Hold a valid driver's license from their home state. Holders of foreign licenses cannot sponsor.

An operator may sponsor no more than three different applicants in a year without RMV approval. No sponsor means no Class D test.

Vehicle Requirements

• A seat beside you for the examiner and a seat behind the driver for the sponsor (never the bed of a pickup truck).
• A parking brake the examiner can reach in an emergency. A center-mounted brake is safest, and some minivans are rejected. Under 540 CMR 4.04(4), the examiner tests the parking brake with the engine at 1,200 to 1,300 RPM in the lowest gear.
• Out-of-state registration requires proof of insurance at Massachusetts minimums: $25,000/$50,000 bodily injury and $30,000 property damage.
• A rental vehicle requires the rental agreement and a letter from the company authorizing the road test. Leased vehicles need no letter.
• No "donut" spare may be on the car. A repair plate is never allowed, and dealer or farm plates are allowed only in narrow cases.

Driving-school cars must have a second brake for the instructor and proper signs.

Test Day

Arrive about 15 minutes early. Only you, the examiner and your sponsor ride along, plus an interpreter if one has been arranged. No children or pets are allowed. Trained service animals may ride, but emotional support animals may not. You and your sponsor may not talk unless the examiner allows it. The examiner can reject the test if you or your sponsor shows signs of impairment or smells of alcohol or cannabis.

The examiner expects you to:

• Use hand signals, start the engine, and start and stop smoothly.
• Parallel park and back up about 50 feet.
• Make left and right turns, and start, stop and turn on a hill.
• Turn around between curbs with a three-point turn.
• Enter and leave intersections and obey signs, signals and right-of-way rules.

Backup cameras, parking sensors and other driver-assistance features do not have to be switched off, but you are scored on your own skills. Common failures include driving dangerously, breaking a traffic law, ignoring instructions, not knowing the hand signals, and causing a crash. The RMV has zero tolerance for violent or abusive conduct.

For a Class M test you need no sponsor. Applicants under 18 must finish the Massachusetts Rider Education Program (MREP) basic course instead of an RMV road test.

Receiving Your License

• If you prepaid the road test and license fees, the examiner validates your permit as a temporary license valid for up to 60 days, and the RMV mails the permanent card.
• If you did not prepay, pay online or visit a Service Center within 60 days, or you may have to retake the road test. Paying online does not give you a temporary license.
• Call the RMV if the card has not arrived within 30 days. You must carry your license, or keep it within easy reach, whenever you drive.

Converting from Another Jurisdiction

• Learner's permit: A permit issued less than two years ago converts without an exam if you meet the ID rules, provide a driving record no more than 30 days old and pay the fee. The new permit keeps the original issue date for the six-month rule.
• Junior operator license: You need a certified driving record, a Massachusetts driver's education certificate and 40 hours of supervised driving (30 with a skills program). The JOL rules then apply, but you skip the passenger restriction if you have already held a valid license for six months without suspension.
• Conversions from U.S. territories, Canada or Mexico require an original certified driving record no more than 30 days old.

RMV Fee Schedule

Adding motorcycle privileges costs an extra $3 per year. Disabled veterans with (or eligible for) Disabled Veteran plates pay no license fees. License fees are non-refundable.