The Two-Test Path

Unlike the rest of Canada, getting your first Quebec licence runs through a mandatory driving course from the start:

What’s on the Official SAAQ Knowledge Test

Per the SAAQ’s own published details, the knowledge test is divided into three sections — the Highway Safety Code, road signs and traffic signals, and behaviours and techniques for driving a passenger vehicle — and you need 75% on each of the three sections to pass, not just an overall average. It takes 30 to 60 minutes and includes illustrated scenario questions, where you’ll need to read a picture of a traffic situation carefully and identify what each numbered vehicle should do.

The test is available in French and English, with Arabic, Spanish, or Mandarin available on request, plus interpreter and sign-language options. The fee is $13.50, and if you fail, you only have to retake the section(s) you missed — not the whole test — after waiting at least 28 days.

Your Probationary Licence Restrictions

Passing both tests gets you a probationary licence, which carries real restrictions of its own — and the test itself checks whether you understand them:

A Study Method That Actually Sticks

Because the real test leans on illustrated scenarios rather than plain recall, memorizing facts in isolation doesn’t transfer well. What works better: learn a rule, test yourself against a scenario, review anything you got wrong, understand why that vehicle had priority or that action was required, and revisit it again a few days later.

Take the lower demerit ceiling for probationary drivers. It’s not arbitrary — new drivers are statistically involved in more collisions in their first two years, so the system builds in a shorter leash while judgment and habits are still forming, then loosens it once you’ve proven a track record.

A Study Plan

• While in Phase 1: Treat the driving school’s own Module 5 test seriously — it’s real preparation for the government test later, not just a formality.
• During your 10-month wait: Revisit the Driver’s Handbook periodically rather than cramming right before you’re eligible — you have the time, use it.
• In the final weeks: Practice illustrated scenario questions specifically, since they’re a real part of the SAAQ format, not just plain recall.
• The week before: Review any topic where your practice results are inconsistent, not just your weakest single topic.

How You’ll Know You’re Ready

• You can read an illustrated scenario and correctly identify what each vehicle should do, not just recognize the right multiple-choice letter
• You’re consistently scoring above 75% on practice sections across the Highway Safety Code, signs and signals, and driving behaviours — not just on average
• You understand your probationary restrictions well enough to explain them, not just recite them

Test-Day Advice

• Bring one or two pieces of ID depending on your status, and payment (cash, debit, or pre-authorized debit — credit cards aren’t accepted)
• For illustrated questions, expand the image if you can and check what each numbered vehicle is doing before answering
• Only a paper dictionary and SAAQ-provided material are allowed — no phones, smart watches, or notes
• There’s no need to rush inside the 30–60 minute window

The Bottom Line

Quebec’s path is genuinely longer than most provinces’, but that’s largely because the mandatory course builds real driving time into the process before you’re ever tested on it. Take the school’s test seriously, use your 10-month wait to actually study rather than just wait it out, and the government knowledge test becomes a formality rather than a surprise.