Can You Take a Driving Test With a Cracked Windshield?
The short answer
- In California the windshield must give "a full, clear, unblocked view for you and the DMV examiner." A crack there is a "mechanical failure": the test is rescheduled, not failed.
- In Alaska you may test with a crack only if it does not affect your line of sight or the examiner's, and the examiner decides.
- Honolulu bans any crack or chip larger than a dime, on either side of the glass. Lay a dime over the damage: if any of it shows, it is too big.
- Maryland names only the driver's view. Vermont rejects a cracked windshield unless its inspection manual allows the crack. South Carolina's page has no glass rule.
- Check from both front seats a week before the test. A crack in front of the passenger seat can still cancel the appointment in 2 of the 6 places read here.
Often yes, but the crack has to stay out of two views, not one. California wants a windshield that gives "a full, clear, unblocked view for you and the DMV examiner." Alaska lets you test with a crack only if it does not affect your line of sight "or the examiner's." So a crack on the passenger side can still stop your test before it starts. Honolulu is stricter again: no crack or chip larger than a dime, anywhere on the glass.
What the pre-drive check is, and why the glass is on it
The road test is the driving part of a license exam. States also call it the drive test, the skills test or the behind-the-wheel test. In most places you bring your own car. Before you pull out, the examiner checks that car. California calls this the Pre-Drive Checklist. Its printed test criteria, form DL 955, list the windshield as item 2, right after the driver window.
If the car fails that check, the drive does not happen. California's handbook says it plainly: "If your vehicle does not meet the requirements, your drive test will be rescheduled." DL 955 calls a failed checklist item a "mechanical failure." The test is rescheduled, not scored as a fail. Maryland puts it more bluntly: "If the vehicle fails the safety inspection, the test will not proceed."
Two terms carry the rest of this page:
- The driver's view. The part of the windshield you look through to see the road ahead. Alaska calls it the "field of vision" and "line of sight." Ticket and inspection rules mostly protect this zone, as the driver's critical viewing area explains.
- The examiner's view. The same thing, seen from the passenger seat. On a road test, a second person depends on the glass.
Alaska gives the reason in one line. Whether a cracked car may be tested is "at the examiner's discretion due to the impact on his or her safety." The examiner rides beside a driver who has no license yet. They need to see the road too.
What six agencies say about a cracked windshield on test day
Each row comes from the agency's own road test page or brochure. Pages for Florida, Georgia and Maui turned up in searches but could not be opened, so they are left out.
| Where | Whose view the rule names | Size or location rule | If the glass fails the check |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Yours and the examiner's | No size. "Windshield cracks may postpone your test" | Counted as a "mechanical failure": the test is rescheduled, not failed |
| Alaska | Yours and the examiner's | No cracks "in the field of vision." A crack outside both lines of sight may be allowed | The examiner decides |
| Hawaii (Honolulu) | None: the rule covers the whole windshield | No "crack or chip larger than a dime" | The car must pass the assessment before the test begins |
| Vermont | Not named | "Windshield cracked or otherwise damaged" is a reason to reject the car, but the inspection manual allows some cracks | The car is rejected for the test |
| Maryland | The driver's only | "No windshield cracks that block the driver's view" | "The test will not proceed" |
| South Carolina | No glass rule on the page | None. Wipers and defroster must work, and the car must be "safe" | Not stated on the page |
Honolulu's brochure says the car "must pass an assessment" before the driving test begins, and the dime rule is part of it. Honolulu adds one more condition. The car needs a current Hawaii Vehicle Inspection Certificate, and the brochure says the car "must meet all safety inspection standards." So in Honolulu the yearly safety inspection and the road test both look at the glass.
The windshield is not the only glass on these lists. California's driver window must open, and you will be asked to open it if it is closed. The car needs at least two mirrors, one outside on the left, and DL 955 says they must be "secure, unbroken." Alaska wants all mirrors in working order. Vermont rejects a car if the window to the left of the driver cannot be opened for hand signals. Maryland says all windows must be able to roll fully up and down. A cracked mirror or a stuck window can stop the test just as a cracked windshield can.
South Carolina is the one page here with no glass rule at all. It lists working headlights, brakes, wipers, safety belts, turn signals, mirrors, speedometer, defroster and horn. It also asks for "a safe vehicle," without saying what that means for glass.
One crack, four test sites: a walkthrough
Take one crack and walk it through four of those rules. Suppose a rock chip low on the passenger side has run into a crack about 6 inches long. It sits in front of the passenger seat, nowhere near the steering wheel.
- Maryland. The rule names only "the driver's view." This crack is not in it. On the page's own words, the glass passes that line of the check.
- California. The rule names your view and the examiner's. This crack sits in front of the examiner's seat. The handbook says cracks "may postpone" the test, so the examiner can send you home with a new date.
- Alaska. You may test only if the crack does not affect your line of sight "or the examiner's." The examiner makes that call, and the crack is on their side.
- Honolulu. Location does not matter here. Size settles it. A 6 inch crack is far larger than a dime, so the car does not pass the assessment.
Now shrink the damage to a small chip in the lower passenger corner, fully covered by a dime. Honolulu's size rule no longer applies. Maryland still has nothing to object to. In California and Alaska the question is the same as before: does it get in anyone's view? A tiny chip in a corner gives the examiner far less to point at than a crack across their side.
So the same car can pass the check in Maryland and be turned away in California. The difference is one word in the rule: whose view it names.
Why "only the driver's side matters" is half right
Most advice about cracks comes from tickets and inspections. There, the rules mostly protect the driver. An officer looks first at the glass in front of the steering wheel, as how a cracked windshield ticket is written describes. Inspection checklists work the same way, and which states inspect glass at all sorts out where that applies.
That advice is correct for Maryland's road test. It is wrong for California and Alaska, where the rule names the examiner too. It misses Honolulu altogether, where the rule is about size and the side does not count.
Do not assume the passenger side is safe. In California and Alaska, the examiner's view counts. A crack in front of the passenger seat can end the appointment before you leave the lot.
Vermont sits between the two. Its skills test page lists a cracked or damaged windshield as a reason to reject the car. It then says "a cracked windshield is permissible under certain conditions" and sends you to the state inspection manual for them. In Vermont, the inspection standard is the test standard.
How to check your own glass before test day
Do this a week ahead, so there is time to fix what you find.
- Sit in the driver's seat. Look at the road as you would while driving. Note whether the damage crosses what you see.
- Now sit in the passenger seat. Do the same thing. This is the step most people skip, and it is the one California and Alaska care about.
- Measure the damage. Measure tip to tip, including any legs, using the method in how to measure a chip or crack. For Honolulu's rule, lay a dime over the damage. If any part shows past the edge of the coin, it is larger than a dime.
- Check the rest of the glass list. Wipers and the defroster are on every list above, and what working wipers and defrost mean covers them. Honolulu also allows stickers only in the lower right corner, no more than 4 by 6 inches. It bans using a dash camera during the exam. A windshield tint strip must sit above the AS-1 mark, or within 4 inches of the top center if there is no mark. Things on the glass besides cracks and how far down a tint strip can go cover both.
- Read your own agency's road test page. Your state's page in the state rules index is the place to start, then the DMV's own words.
If the crack is in the way: repair, swap cars or reschedule
You have three ways out, and the right one depends on the damage.
- Repair a small chip. A fresh chip under about an inch is usually repairable with resin, often in under an hour. What makes damage repairable sets out the limits, and the repair or replace tool gives a quick answer. Cash repair typically runs $60 to $150, per chip repair cost. Many policies waive the deductible for it, as whether insurance pays for a chip repair explains.
- Use another car. A borrowed car must clear the same checklist. It also needs the usual paperwork: South Carolina, for one, asks for a valid plate, registration card and insurance card.
- Reschedule. A long crack across either view usually means a new windshield, not a repair. Book the glass first and the test second. In California a glass problem is a reschedule, not a fail, but you still lose the date.
Do not wait long. A crack tends to grow with heat, cold and bumps, as whether a crack will spread explains. A chip that is fixable today may not be by the new test date.
What this answer does not cover
This page read six agencies. Your state may say something different, or nothing at all. The Hawaii rule comes from the City and County of Honolulu brochure, not from the other Hawaii counties. Commercial license tests follow federal truck rules, set out in the semi truck windshield rules. None of the six sources says whether a repaired chip still counts as a chip, so ask before you rely on a repair to clear a size limit. Driving school cars and third-party testers are not covered. And where the rule leaves it to the examiner, as in Alaska and California, no page can promise you a pass. The person in the passenger seat decides on the day.
What to do this week
Sit in both front seats and look at the road from each. If the damage is a small chip, get it repaired now and keep the receipt. If it is a crack across either view, fix the glass or borrow a car before the appointment. Driving to the test is its own question, covered in can you drive with a cracked windshield.
Frequently asked questions
Can a crack on the passenger side fail my driving test?
It can. California requires a clear view for you and the examiner, and Alaska lets you test only if the crack does not affect your line of sight or the examiner's. The examiner sits on the passenger side, so a crack there is in their view. Maryland's rule names only the driver's view, so the same crack is not a problem on that page.
Does a chip in the windshield count, or only cracks?
Most road test pages talk about cracks. Honolulu's brochure names both: the windshield must not have a crack or chip larger than a dime. A small chip off to the side gives an examiner little reason to object elsewhere, but if it is near either front seat's line of sight, get it repaired before test day.
If my car fails the vehicle check, do I fail the driving test?
In California, no. A windshield problem is a mechanical failure and the test is rescheduled rather than scored as a fail. Maryland says the test will not proceed. Either way you lose the appointment, so check the glass, wipers and defroster a week ahead while there is still time to fix them or borrow another car.
Can I take my road test in a borrowed or rented car?
Usually yes, but the borrowed car has to pass the same pre-drive check, glass included. It also needs current registration and proof of insurance. South Carolina, for example, asks for a valid plate, registration card and insurance card, and a rental must list you as insured. Read your own agency's page for its rental rules.
Will a repaired chip pass the road test check?
None of the six agency pages read here says. A resin repair restores strength and stops the spread, but it leaves a faint mark. Away from both views, a repaired chip gives the examiner little to object to. In Honolulu, where size is the rule, ask the testing office before you count on a repair to clear the dime limit.
Sources
- California DMV, California Driver's Handbook, Section 3: The Testing Process
- California DMV, Driving Test Criteria (DL 955)
- Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles, Road Test
- City and County of Honolulu, Preparing for Your Driver's License Road Test, CS-L(DL) 230 (rev. January 2026)
- Vermont DMV, Skills Test
- Maryland MVA, Behind-the-Wheel Tests
- South Carolina DMV, Regular License Testing