New Mexico MVD Handbook 2025

In New Mexico, all drivers, regardless of age, must obtain an instructional permit before applying for a driver’s license. One crucial requirement for an instructional permit is to pass two official tests: a vision test and an instructional permit (knowledge) test on driving theory. If you’re under 18, you must provide signed consent from a parent or guardian. You must also be enrolled in or have completed a driver’s education course offered by a state-approved provider. You must complete the entire course (including driving practice) before you apply for a provisional license. If you’re at least 18 years old, driver’s education is not required, but it is recommended.

You may take the permit test at an MVD office or your driver’s education course provider if they offer it. All questions on the knowledge test are based on the official New Mexico MVD driver’s 2025 handbook (New Mexico MVD Handbook (NM Driver's Manual) 2025). The MVD currently publishes versions of this manual in English and Spanish. Both versions can be easily downloaded from this webpage in PDF format.

You should study this manual, but even this may not ensure you pass the permit test. (In recent years, about 35% of applicants failed the MVD knowledge test on their first attempt.) Please follow our entire test preparation program, including our graduated series of practice tests accompanied by our AI assistant. It can give you hints and explanations and answer your questions to help you learn driving theory. We guarantee our program works!

We have also created an audiobook of the English version of the official driver’s manual. It’s formatted as a downloadable series of six MP3 files, one for each chapter of the handbook: The Driver License, Rules of the Road, Safe Driving Tips, and so on. The longest chapter is Chapter 6: Be in Shape to Drive, whose running time is 36 minutes and 57 seconds. The total running time of this audiobook is approximately 1 hour, 50 minutes, and 6 seconds, so you should be able to listen to the entire audiobook in a day or two. Try listening to an audiobook file while you follow along with the text of the PDF version. This technique can help you concentrate on the material.

In addition to the official handbook, we also offer our own permit test study guide (available elsewhere on this website), which you can read to prepare for the big test day. It covers how to prepare mentally and physically to pass the test, what documents to have with you, fees you may have to pay, and test questions that applicants frequently miss.