IN
Failing the SAAQ knowledge test for your Class 5 learner's licence is not the end of the road, but Quebec's retake rules are strict. You face a mandatory 28-day waiting period and must pay a fee for every attempt.
The computer screen at the service outlet shows your result immediately. You cannot retake the test the same day. Quebec enforces a mandatory 28-day waiting period to ensure you study the material.
| Feature | Quebec Policy |
| Same-Day Retake | Not allowed. |
| Waiting Period | 28 days mandatory. |
| Fee per Attempt | $13.50. |
| Payment Method at Counter | Debit card, cash, cheque. Credit cards are not accepted. |
Before leaving the SAAQ office, ask the clerk to confirm which specific section(s) you failed. This targets your study for the next 28 days and avoids wasting time on material you already know.
Yes. The knowledge-test fee applies each time you retake the test, even when you only need to repeat one failed section.
What if you fail all three sections? After the 28-day wait, you must retake the sections you failed. If all three sections were failed, all three must be retaken.
| Situation | What Happens | Retake Wait |
| Ordinary Class 5 knowledge-test failure | Retake only the failed section or sections; another test fee applies. | At least 28 days. |
| First cheating offence | Automatic failure. | 90 days. |
| Repeated cheating offence | Automatic failure. | 180 days. |
The SAAQ's Class 5 page does not state a maximum number of ordinary knowledge-test retake attempts. If you fail twice, three times, or more, the published ordinary-failure rule remains the same: wait at least 28 days before the next attempt, pay the applicable test fee, and retake only the section or sections you failed. Sections you already passed remain credited.
This means the official SAAQ guidance does not publish a separate cutoff after two or three failed attempts. Cheating is different and has its own longer waiting periods, covered below.
Use the waiting period to focus on the section or sections you failed. Review the official material and practise the same topic instead of restarting every subject from the beginning.
Before your test, practise with Shoro AI's Quebec learner-permit resources to prepare better and aim to pass on your first attempt.
No separate new driving course is triggered simply because you fail the later SAAQ knowledge test more than once. Standard first-time Class 5 applicants have already followed Quebec's mandatory driving-course process before reaching this stage. If you keep struggling, review your course material or get additional instruction.
There is no standard appeal process just because you disagree with a knowledge-test result. If a verified technical problem interrupted the test, ask SAAQ staff how that session will be handled.
Foreign-licence holders follow separate SAAQ rules. A standard knowledge-test failure should not be described as automatically cancelling the right to drive on a foreign licence; see the international and foreign-driver guidance for that process.
Cheating causes automatic failure and a much longer wait than an ordinary failed attempt. The current SAAQ rule is a 90-day wait for a first cheating offence and 180 days for a repeated cheating offence.
Keep the test-day rule simple: do not use prohibited help or devices during the exam. For the full test-day rules, see the Quebec permit-test guide.
At the Verdun office, an applicant fell below the 75% requirement in one section and had to wait 28 days before retaking that section.
At the Trois-Rivieres SAAQ office, the test screen froze at question 8. No attendant was in the testing room. The session timed out. The test was voided. The applicant retook it the following morning.
Audio and special accommodations: French- and English-language audio for the questions and answer choices is available as a standard reading aid. If you need a special-needs accommodation beyond that, contact SAAQ in advance through the appropriate accommodation process rather than relying only on the normal SAAQclic booking flow. See the accessibility guide for more detail.
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