What's on the TLC driver license exam

The numbers

• Questions: 80, all multiple-choice. [TLC licensing education]
• To pass: a grade of 70% or higher; the TLC’s page puts that as answering 56 out of 80 correctly. [TLC licensing education]
• Time: the TLC’s page says up to two hours. [TLC licensing education] PSI’s bulletin says the exam is 80 questions with 2 hours to complete it. [PSI candidate bulletin]
• Format: an electronic exam using a computer, mouse and keyboard. [PSI candidate bulletin]
• Who takes it: anyone who applies for a TLC Driver License to drive for hire. Commuter van and paratransit drivers do not take the exam. [TLC licensing education]
• Languages: when you book, PSI lets you choose English, Bengali, Urdu, Simple Chinese, Russian, Arabic or Spanish. [PSI candidate bulletin]

What it covers

The TLC says the exam covers the topics covered in the 3-day course and the WAV course. [TLC licensing education] The TLC’s description puts the exam after both courses; its registration rule names the 3-day course as the one you must finish first, and it recommends doing the WAV course before the exam. How to get a TLC license has the steps.

The TLC’s list of topics the 3-day course covers:

• navigating TLC online pages like LARS and TLC UP.
• how to obtain and keep a TLC Driver License in good standing.
• the major differences between TLC-licensed industries and types of vehicles.
• vehicle requirements and maintenance.
• professionalism and interacting with passengers.
• customer service and preventing service refusals.
• proper conduct and complying with the law.
• best safe driving practices.
• preventing violations.

[TLC licensing education]

The topics the Passenger Assistance and Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) course covers:

• history on Americans with Disabilities Act and driver responsibilities.
• disability etiquette and using person-first language; why taxi and for-hire vehicle service is a public accommodation.
• the range of different disabilities that passengers may have and how to best serve them,
• the importance of transporting service animals.

[TLC licensing education]

The study guide’s ten topics

The TLC’s Driver Education Study Guide lists ten topics the exam tests, in this order: [TLC study guide]

1. Government
2. Licensing
3. Vehicle Requirements
4. Operations: Passenger Solicitation
5. Operations: Customer Service and Service Refusal
6. Accessible Dispatch Rules
7. Comply with Laws: Proper Conduct
8. Complying with Laws: Vision Zero & Safety
9. Penalties and Special Driver Penalty Programs
10. New York City Geography

The guide’s cover is dated May 2019. We did not find a breakdown of how many of the 80 questions come from each topic on the TLC’s or PSI’s pages, so this guide does not give one. The study guide page has the free guide and the Rules chapters it points to.

In the exam room

• PSI provides a Geographia NYC Five Borough Street Atlas, a Manhattan Address Key, a blank piece of paper and a pencil or pen. PSI collects them when you finish, and calculators are not allowed. [PSI candidate bulletin]
• Once you are seated and the exam begins, you may leave the room only to use the restroom, and only after getting the proctor’s permission. You do not get extra time. The same bulletin also says you are not allowed to take a break while testing, so count on staying seated. [PSI candidate bulletin]

After the exam

• You find out on the computer screen whether you passed. [PSI candidate bulletin]
• PSI emails your results 48 hours after you finish. [PSI candidate bulletin]
• If you did not pass, PSI sends a summary report of topic areas to study more, such as geography. [PSI candidate bulletin]

Where and how to take the exam covers booking, retakes and what to bring.