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Colorado Driver's License Testing

Take your Colorado driving test in one of twelve cities, with a state-certified examiner. Tests run $80 to $100 depending on the site, most offices test seven days a week, and you pick your time before you pay.

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Here for the written permit test? A permit is needed to take a driving test. Colorado permit testing

Colorado's Largest Driving School and Testing Provider
  • Driving Tests in 12 Colorado Cities
  • 16 Statewide Locations
  • 400K+ Students Served
  • 12Testing cities
  • 400K+Students taught
  • 16Colorado locations
4.9 from 15,000+ reviews

Find a Driver's License Test Near You

How Much Is a Driving Test in Colorado?

Between $80 and $100. Every site runs a state-approved route and follows the same scoring standards, set and enforced by the state.

$80per test

Pueblo. The lowest driving test price anywhere in Colorado.

Re-tests at cost. No profit.

Re-Tests $55

$85per test

Colorado Springs and Loveland. Three Springs offices plus Loveland, all one rate.

Re-tests at cost. No profit.

Re-Tests $60-$65 by city

$95per test

Eight of the twelve. Aurora, Centennial, Denver, Erie, Fort Collins, Longmont, Westminster and Cañon City.

Re-tests at cost. No profit.

Re-Tests $60-$65 by city

$100per test

Trinidad. The DMV there does not run driving tests, so an examiner drives down once a month and the rate covers the trip.

Re-tests at cost. No profit.

Re-Tests $70

Those are our prices for the test itself. The DMV charges $34 for the license after you pass. End to end, someone who does not take a course or lesson pays in total around $164 to $194 to get a permit and the drivers license.

Who Gives Driving Tests in Colorado?

State driver license offices are not scheduling driving tests. A handful of rural county-run offices offer tests, but not many. Colorado certifies private driving schools to give the test instead, under the state's Class R Driver Testing and Education Program, and American Driving Academy is the leading testing provider in Colorado.

You schedule the driving test with us rather than with the state. If you already hold a permit, passing with us is usually the last step. You upgrade to a license online, the state mails the physical copy, and we will show you how to put the digital ID on your phone. A DMV visit after passing is normally only needed for undocumented residents and those with temporary lawful presence.

We run sixteen driver's license testing offices and two rural testing sites across Colorado. Many of them test seven days a week. You drive one of our state-inspected vehicles, unless you have an interlock-restricted permit.

The steps from permit to Colorado driver's license

Who Can Take a Colorado Driver's Test, and When

You need a valid Colorado permit to take the driving test, whatever your age. The one exception is drivers under 18, who get a single test on a valid out-of-state permit.

Colorado driving test rules (Set by the state)
The ruleWhat it means on the day
You have to be 16 Sixteen is the floor for the driving test itself, whatever your permit says and whatever the reason for wanting to test early. There is no version of this that starts at 15.
How long you hold the permit first Under 18, a full 12 months, or until your 18th birthday if that comes first. At 18 and over there is no wait at all and you can test the same day your Colorado permit is issued.
How long a pass is good for Your completion certificate lasts 180 days. Finish the license with the DMV inside that window, or the test has to be taken again.
Who is allowed in the car You and the examiner. No parents, no friends, no children, no interpreter, and no pets.
Corrective lenses If your permit has a corrective lenses restriction, you must wear contacts or glasses for your test. A “C” will show on your permit if you have the restriction.
One test a day, statewide An examiner may give you one complete driving test per day. A morning slot in one city and an afternoon slot in another does not get round it: the limit follows the driver, not the office.
Out-of-state permits Under 18 you get exactly one test on an out-of-state permit, with a myDMV pre-registration confirmation number. At 18 and over a third-party tester cannot use one at all: buy a Colorado permit first. If you have just moved to Colorado, supervised driving hours logged in your old state still count, and residency itself can take 90 days to establish.
Interlock restriction If you have an interlock-restricted permit, you must provide a car with the interlock device installed. There are other requirements for that vehicle too: proof of valid registration and insurance, plates on the front and back, working lights, doors and windows, and no large cracks in the windshield.

Driver's Test, Practice Test, or a Driving Lesson?

All three put you in a car with one of our people. Only one is graded by the state.

$140–$160per 2-hour lesson

A lesson teaches. Two hours, one student, one state-certified instructor, on whatever you ask for. Nobody is scoring you.

Behind-the-wheel lessons

$50–$60per evaluation

An evaluation checks. A scored run over the kind of route a real test uses. Nothing reaches the state, so a bad day costs only the fee.

Practice driving evaluation

$80–$100per test

The driving test counts. The real thing, on a state-approved route, filed to the state, with a certificate good for 180 days.

Pick your testing city

How Colorado Drivers Rate American Driving Academy

Best of Mile High 2026 award : American Driving Academy 2025 Best Driving School award : American Driving Academy
Spider Awards 2025 : American Driving Academy 2025 Design Award : American Driving Academy

Driving Test Questions From Colorado Drivers

Do I have to be an American Driving Academy student to book a driving test?

No. Anyone holding a valid Colorado instruction permit can book a driving test at any of our twelve testing cities. It makes no difference whether you took driver's ed with us, took it somewhere else, or learned entirely from a parent. Teens and adults book on the same calendar.

Is the driving test the same at every location?

The test is. Every site runs a route the state approved in writing and scores to Colorado's required standards and criteria, so nobody gets an easier version by picking a smaller town. What changes between cities is the price, which runs $80 to $100, and how often that office tests. Most run seven days a week, while Cañon City holds test days twice a month and Trinidad once a month.

My city has nothing available. Can I test somewhere else?

Yes, and plenty of people do. Your permit does not tie you to a city, and the result is filed with the state the same way wherever you took it. Check what a neighboring office charges before you wait, because the fee follows the office rather than you. The finder on this page shows every price side by side.

There is no testing site anywhere near my town. What are my options?

Call us before you drive anywhere. It is (303) 623-1404 for northern Colorado and the Denver metro, and (719) 442-0400 for Colorado Springs, Pueblo and the south. Our examiners also run scheduled rural test days, twice a month in Cañon City and once a month in Trinidad, which is how the southern half of the state gets tested without a four-hour drive.

Can I use your car for the driving test?

You will, and it is included. Our test cars are compact four-door sedans, mostly Kia Fortes, and typically one to three years old. An interlock-restricted permit is the exception, where you provide the vehicle with the interlock installed, and it has to meet certain requirements.

Book Your Colorado Driver's License Test

Drive test pricing, examiner availability, and testing days vary by location and may change, and state rules and fees are set by the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles. American Driving Academy does not guarantee permit approval, license approval, insurance discounts, or drive test results.