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Whether you're getting ready to earn your learners permit or planning to apply for your first drivers license, taking a practice test is a great way to make sure you understand the material that will be covered on the written exam. However, many drivers find themselves wondering if there is a difference between the driving permit practice test and the drivers license practice test.

Both the driving permit test and the drivers license test are made up of true or false and multiple choice questions. Most states give the test on a computerized system, although you may be able to request a handwritten test if this makes you more comfortable. If your native language is not English, ask a DMV representative if the test is available in other languages or if you can request an interpreter for the exam.

The purpose of a driving permit test is to make sure you understand the basic rules of the road. It asks about general driving safety and road sign identification. The test does not assume that you've had any behind the wheel driving practice, since you legally need to have a permit in order to be taught to drive.

Exact rules vary by state, but you generally can't take the test to get your drivers license until you've held a drivers permit for a specified length of time and accumulated a certain number of hours of supervised driving experience. A drivers license practice test will ask many of the same questions as a driving permit practice test, but some of the questions may rely on the assumption that you now have actual driving experience. For example, you can expect to be tested on topics such as what to do when driving under adverse weather conditions or how you should react when you encounter a driver who appears to be intoxicated.