Delaware Road Signs Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.

The numbers to remember

• Minimum age to apply for a learner's permit: 16 (must be under 18).
• Learner's permit validity: 12 months.
• Required supervised driving: 50 hours total, 10 of them at night.
• Supervising licensed driver must be at least 21 years old.
• Class D license application fee: $40.00 (paid with your eye screening).
• New license validity: 8 years.
• Failed the knowledge test? Wait at least 10 days before retesting.
• Passed the knowledge test? You're eligible for the road exam after 10 days.
• Don't pass the road exam within 12 months of your permit? You reapply for the permit and retest from scratch.
• Moving to Delaware? You must get a Delaware license within 60 days of establishing residency.
• Motorcycle permits are valid 6 months, extendable once for $5.00.

Sign shapes at a glance

• Octagon, red = stop. No other sign uses this shape.
• Downward triangle = yield.
• Yellow diamond = general warning ahead.
• White rectangle, black text = regulatory (the law).
• Yellow pentagon = school zone/crossing.
• Circle = railroad crossing.
• Orange = temporary work zone.
• Green rectangle = guide/direction sign.

Right-of-way in one breath

Right-of-way is given, never taken. First to stop goes first; left yields to right when arriving together; through-traffic beats traffic entering from a side street; pedestrians in a crosswalk beat turning cars; a merging vehicle yields to the lane it's entering; circulating roundabout traffic beats vehicles trying to enter. When a question feels ambiguous, pick the option where someone yields.

Top traps

• Reading a sign's text before noticing its shape — shape alone answers most identification questions faster.
• Assuming the posted speed limit is always safe — rain, fog, and work zones lower the safe speed below the posted number.
• Forgetting that permit holders often face stricter, zero-tolerance rules on alcohol than fully licensed adult drivers.
• Treating your permit's 12-month clock and the road exam's 10-day eligibility window as the same thing — they're not, and missing either one resets your progress.
• Confusing regulatory signs (the law) with warning signs (a heads-up) — regulatory violations carry legal consequences, warnings don't.
• Skipping straight to the manual instead of taking a timed practice run first — you'll spend review time evenly instead of where you're actually weak.
• Underestimating supervised hours — 50 hours sounds like a lot until you realize 10 of them specifically have to happen at night, which most new drivers put off until the last week.