The short version: PermitReady is a free iPhone and iPad app with permit test practice for all 50 states plus DC and a supervised driving hours log. No account, no sign-in, works entirely offline, and nothing you enter leaves your device. A one-time $4.99 purchase removes the ads. Everything below is the longer version.
Questions and answers
Is PermitReady free?
Yes. The full app — every state's practice questions, the timed test simulation, and the driving hours log — is free, supported by ads. A one-time $4.99 purchase removes the ads, and removes the Google AdMob SDK from the app entirely along with the cross-app tracking that comes with it. There is no subscription, nothing is locked behind the purchase, and no feature is withheld from the free version.
Does PermitReady work offline?
Completely. Every question bank ships inside the app and your driving log is stored on your device, so nothing needs a connection. You can study in a parking lot with no signal, in a basement, or on a plane. The only part of the app that touches the internet is the ad SDK in the free version, and when it can't reach the network the app simply carries on without ads.
Do I need to create an account?
No. There is no sign-up, no email verification, no password, and no sign-in screen. There is no account because there is no server — nothing about PermitReady lives anywhere except your device. That also means there is nothing to be locked out of and no password to reset.
Which states does the permit test cover?
All 50 U.S. states plus Washington, DC. Each state gets its own question bank written from that state's official driver handbook, and where the state publishes a question count, passing score, and time limit, the timed Practice Test mirrors them — Pennsylvania's 18 questions at 83%, New York's 20 at 70%, Florida's 50 at 80%, and so on. You pick your state once and the app stays on it. See the state pages for what your state's test looks like.
How accurate are the practice questions?
Every question is written from the content of the official driver's handbook published by your state's licensing agency — the DMV, RMV, BMV, DPS, MVD, MVA, MVC, DDS, DOL, SOS, PennDOT, or DHSMV. Those handbooks are the same source the real knowledge test is drawn from. Two honest caveats: the questions are original constructions, not the actual exam — nobody outside a licensing agency has the real test bank — and handbooks are revised, so content is reviewed against the 2026 editions and updated when states change the rules. Practice questions are educational and do not guarantee passing.
Does the driving log sync to the cloud?
No. The log is stored locally on your device using Apple's SwiftData and never leaves it unless you choose to send it. There is no cloud backup, no cross-device sync, and no server copy. Sharing is done by exporting the log as a file through the standard iOS share sheet — AirDrop, Messages, Mail, or Files — which goes directly to the recipient and never passes through us. The trade-off is real and stated plainly: nothing can lock you out of your hours, and nothing restores them if you lose the device without having shared a copy. Send a copy to a parent occasionally and you have a backup.
What's the difference between PermitReady and RoadReady?
RoadReady is an iOS and Android supervised driving log from Safe Roads Alliance that logs drives automatically using telematics and pairs a teen account with a parent account. It is referenced by name in official materials in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Montana. PermitReady is an independent, iOS-only app that combines permit test practice for all 50 states plus DC with a manual driving log needing no account, no second device, and no connection. Neither app is required by any state. The full side-by-side comparison covers where each one wins.
Is PermitReady on Android?
Not yet — PermitReady is iPhone and iPad only, and there is no web version. If the teen or the supervising parent uses an Android phone, PermitReady will not work for that person, and that is a hard limitation rather than something to work around. RoadReady runs on both platforms if you need one that does.
How do I export or share my driving log?
Open the driving log and use the share button. PermitReady produces a file and hands it to the standard iOS share sheet, so you can AirDrop it to a parent in the same room, send it by Messages or Mail, or save it to Files. If the person receiving it also has PermitReady, they can import the file and keep their own running total — the import preview shows exactly which drives will be added and prevents double-counting a drive you both logged. If they don't have the app, they just get a file they can read.
What does the paid version include?
One thing: it removes the ads. The $4.99 one-time purchase also removes the Google AdMob SDK from the app entirely, so the advertising tracking goes with it. It is not a feature unlock — every state, every question, every study mode, and the full driving log are in the free version. There is no subscription and no recurring charge.
How do I report a question that looks wrong?
Email [email protected] with your state and, if you can, the wording of the question. Content corrections are the fastest thing to get fixed — if a question no longer matches your state's current handbook, that is a bug and we want to know. Handbooks change more often than app updates ship, so these reports are genuinely useful.
What data does PermitReady collect?
The app itself collects nothing. Your study progress and your driving log are stored on your device and are never uploaded, because there is no server to upload them to. The free version includes the Google AdMob SDK, which may collect coarse location, device identifiers, and usage data and may track across other apps and websites, as declared on the App Store privacy label. AdMob never sees your driving log or your study data. The $4.99 ad-free purchase removes AdMob and its tracking entirely. The privacy policy spells out exactly what the ad SDK does and does not see.
Will my DMV accept PermitReady's driving log?
PermitReady's log is a tracking aid — an accurate, timestamped record you can copy from — not a state form. No state has formally approved or rejected it as a substitute for an official form. Most states require a parent or guardian to sign a specific certification (Ohio's Fifty-Hour Affidavit, Pennsylvania's DL-180C, New York's MV-262, and so on), and that form still comes from your state. Always confirm the accepted log format with your licensing agency before your road test.
Can I add drives from before I installed the app?
Yes. Entries can be backdated to any date, so you can rebuild a paper log, carry hours over from another app, or start logging in month three and still end up with a complete record. The switching guide walks through doing that accurately, including what to do when you cannot export from your old app.
Does the app track my location or detect drives automatically?
No on both counts. PermitReady never requests location permission and does not use GPS, so it cannot detect that a drive happened — you type in each drive after it ends. That is a deliberate trade: it is why the log works with no signal and asks nothing of your privacy, and it is also why you have to remember to log. If automatic detection matters more to your family than offline use, we say so on the comparison page.
Is this the same PermitReady as the driving school?
No. Two unrelated products share the name. This PermitReady is a free iPhone app (App Store ID 6763930311) built by TechSmog. The other is a separate product from The Next Street, a Connecticut and Massachusetts driving school, at permitready.thenextstreet.com. If you paid tuition or are looking for classroom or behind-the-wheel instruction, you want them, and we have no access to their accounts or records. More on the distinction.
Still stuck?
If your question is not here, get in touch — email reaches a person, usually within two business days. For anything state-specific, your state's page and the guides below are usually faster than waiting on a reply.
- How the supervised driving hours log works
- How to study for the permit test
- Supervised driving hours by state
- What counts as a supervised hour
- A parent's guide to supervising a teen driver
- Who builds PermitReady
Important Notice
- PermitReady is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by any DMV, RMV, BMV, DPS, or state agency.
- No state has formally approved or rejected PermitReady's driving log as a substitute for an official state form. Always confirm with your state agency what log format they accept.
- Requirements shown on this page are approximate and change. Verify current rules with your state licensing agency before your road test.