Nearly Half of Maryland’s Written Driving Tests End in Failure. Most People Pass the Road Test.

[Cover: Maryland Pass Rates]

Ask a new driver in Maryland which test worries them most, and most will point to the one behind the wheel. The state’s own records tell a different story. The written test, the part many treat as a formality, is where most people come unstuck.

Data source: Official Maryland non-commercial driver’s license records, calendar years 2020 to 2026 (2026 is partial, through May 27, 2026). The figures count tests administered, not individual people, so a driver who fails and retakes is counted more than once.

Maryland Has Two Driving Tests: Written and Road

Every new driver in Maryland takes two tests. First comes the written test, the knowledge exam you have to pass before anything else. Then comes the road test, the behind-the-wheel drive with an examiner watching. Most attention goes to the road test. Maryland’s numbers point the other way.

Over the six years on record, the road test passed about 70% of people. Only 51% passed the written test. One of these tests is a formality most people clear. The other fails almost half of everyone who takes it.

Written Test vs Road Test: Fail Rates Compared

In 2025, 43% of written tests ended in failure. On the road test, 29% did. Widen the view to the whole record, and the gap holds: the written test has failed 49% of takers since 2020, against 30% for the road test.

Put plainly, the test a new Maryland driver is more likely to fail is the one taken while sitting at a desk.

The written test has failed a larger share of people than the road test in all seven periods on record. Not once has it been the other way around.

Maryland Road Test Pass Rates (2020-2026)

What is the Maryland road test pass rate?

From 2020 to 2026, about 70% of people passed the Maryland road test, and roughly 3 in 10 failed. In total, drivers took just over 1 million road tests in that time, and about 303,000 of them ended in failure.

Maryland Written Test Pass Rates (2020-2026)

What is the Maryland written test pass rate?

Just 51% overall. Since 2020, nearly half of every written test taken in Maryland has ended in a fail. Drivers sat about 1.9 million written tests in that window, and more than 930,000 of them did not pass.

For four years, most people failed it

From 2020 through 2023, the majority of takers failed the written test every single year. The fail rates ran 51%, 51%, 53%, and 52%. The hardest year on record was 2022, when 53% failed, and only 47% passed. For four years straight, sitting the Maryland written test was, on average, a coin flip you were slightly more likely to lose.

The pass rate jumped in 2024

The written test pass rate rose from 48% in 2023 to 56% in 2024, and it has held at 57% in 2025 and into 2026. For the first time in the record, most people are passing.

How Many Written and Road Tests Are Failed Each Year

The rates tell one story. The raw counts tell another. Since 2020, more than 930,000 written tests and about 303,000 road tests have ended in failure in Maryland. In 2025 alone, 123,090 written tests were failed, compared with 47,675 road tests.

One point worth keeping in mind: these are tests administered, not individual people. Anyone who fails and comes back to retake is counted again, so the same person can show up more than once in the totals. Even so, the direction is unmistakable. Far more written tests are failed than road tests, year after year.

What Is the Best Way to Prepare for the Maryland Tests?

Most study tools only cover the written test. Since that is where Marylanders struggle most, it is the right place to start, but it is not the whole job. Zutobi is built for both tests.

For the written test:

• A Maryland course that mirrors the real exam. Zutobi’s Maryland course includes a summarized version of the state driver’s manual, Maryland practice questions, and an exam simulator built to match the real written test, so the format is familiar before you walk in.
• A video handbook. Every rule is taught through a short narrated video that shows how it works on the road, so you see right-of-way, signs, and lane changes in action instead of only reading about them. Zutobi is the only US driver’s ed app with a summarized, video-led handbook.
• Instructor-verified questions with an explanation attached to each one, updated as Maryland’s rules change, so you learn the reasoning rather than just the correct box.
• Practice modes that let you isolate the topics you keep missing, such as road signs, and drill them until they stick.

For the road test:

• A Parent-Teen Training Guide built by a certified driving instructor. For most learners, a parent is the main practice partner, and the guide gives families a step-by-step plan across their supervised hours, with the exact skills to work on and the common mistakes to watch for at each stage.
• The same video lessons that model each maneuver the way it should look on the road, before you attempt it behind the wheel.

Zutobi is available on the App Store and Google Play, and its practice tests are free to try, with a Maryland course inside.

FAQ

What is the pass rate for the Maryland written test?

The overall Maryland written test pass rate is 51%, based on records covering nearly 1.9 million tests taken between 2020 and 2026. Nearly half of all attempts fail. For four straight years, from 2020 to 2023, most takers failed. In 2025, the pass rate was 57%.

What is the pass rate for the Maryland road (driving) test?

About 70% across 2020 to 2026, with roughly 3 in 10 people failing. The rate has been stable, staying between 67% and 72% every year.

Do more people fail the written test or the road test in Maryland?

The written test, by a clear margin. In every year on record, a larger share of takers failed the written test than the road test. In 2025, 43% of written tests were failed, compared with 29% of road tests.

Did Maryland’s written test get easier in 2024?

The pass rate rose from 48% in 2023 to 56% in 2024, and it sits at 57% now, the first time in the record that the most people pass. The data shows the change but does not tell us what caused it.

How many people fail the Maryland driving tests each year?

In 2025, about 123,000 written tests and about 48,000 road tests ended in failure. Since 2020, the totals are more than 930,000 written-test failures and about 303,000 road-test failures. These figures count tests administered, so a person who retakes a test is counted more than once.

What is the best way to prepare for the Maryland written and road tests?

Zutobi prepares learners for both. It offers a Maryland course with a summarized driver’s manual, Maryland practice questions, and an exam simulator that mirrors the real written test, plus a video-led handbook and a Parent-Teen Training Guide for behind-the-wheel practice.