From form to licence: the whole process, in order
The written test is the part people prepare for and the smallest part of the process. Here is everything around it, in the order it happens.
Candidates prepare for the licence written test as though it were the licence. It is one step of several, and it is the step with the highest pass rate. Understanding the whole sequence changes where you put your effort.
Getting a driving licence in Nepal
- 1
Apply
Form and documents submitted, category chosen. Category determines everything that follows.
- 2
Vision check
Straightforward for most, and worth knowing about rather than discovering.
- 3
Written test
Twenty-five multiple-choice questions in thirty minutes. Fifteen correct to pass.
- 4
Trial
Only if the written test is passed. This is the stage that actually fails people.
- 5
Licence issued
After a successful trial.
Application and document submission, followed by the vision check, then the written test of twenty-five questions, then eligibility for the practical trial, then the trial itself, then issue of the licence.
The written test, in numbers
Twenty-five multiple-choice questions covering traffic rules, road signs, vehicle safety and environmental awareness, in thirty minutes, with a pass mark of sixty per cent. That is fifteen correct answers. Ten wrong is a fail, and the material is entirely learnable in a few days of focused practice on images.
The trial is where the process actually bites
The practical trial is the final and decisive stage, and the two categories test very different things.
| Category A, two-wheelers | Category B, cars and jeeps | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | Motorcycles, scooters, mopeds | Cars and jeeps |
| The core task | A narrow track ridden without putting a foot down | A figure-of-eight track completed without touching the boundary markers |
| The second task | Control and balance at low speed | An uphill start without rolling back |
| What it really tests | Slow-speed balance, which is not the same as riding ability | Clutch control and spatial judgement in a confined space |
| Common cause of failure | Foot down at the slowest point of the track | Touching a marker, or rolling back on the hill start |
Preparing for each stage properly
What to do, and when
- 1
Confirm your category before anything else
It determines the trial you will face and, to a lesser extent, the emphasis of the written material.
- 2
Clear the written test in three focused days
Learn the prohibition and restriction distinction, then the warning and mandatory distinction, then practise on images under time. It genuinely does not need longer.
- 3
Practise the exact trial task, not general driving
The figure-of-eight and the hill start for category B; the narrow track for category A. On the actual shape, at the actual pace.
- 4
Carry the right documents on the day
The documents and fines part of the written syllabus is also practical knowledge. Reading it once solves both problems.
Frequently asked questions
- How many questions are in the Nepal driving licence written test?
- Twenty-five multiple-choice questions in thirty minutes, with a sixty per cent pass mark, meaning fifteen correct answers.
- What happens if I fail the written test?
- You do not become eligible for the practical trial, so the whole process pauses until you retake and pass it. That is why a preventable written-test failure is expensive.
- What is the difference between the category A and category B trial?
- Category A requires riding a narrow track without putting a foot down. Category B requires completing a figure-of-eight without touching the boundary markers, followed by an uphill start without rolling back.
- Do experienced drivers still fail the trial?
- Regularly. The trial tests specific low-speed control tasks rather than general road ability, and those tasks need to be practised in their own right.