Yes, you can use a backup camera on a driving test in most states, but only as a supplement. Examiners still expect you to turn your head over your right shoulder, check your mirrors, and scan for hazards when reversing. Treating the screen as your only way of looking behind you will cost you points or fail the test outright.
How the Camera Is Treated During the Test
The common rule is that the camera can stay on, but it cannot be your primary or sole method of observation when you back up. You are expected to fold the camera into a wider routine: head turn, mirror check, shoulder check, and a look for pedestrians or cyclists the camera’s narrow field of view can miss.
A handful of states go further and require the display to be turned off or physically covered during the exam. Others explicitly allow it, pointing to guidance from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, which classifies rear cameras as “safety critical technologies” that may prevent or reduce crash severity. Under that framing, the camera is permissible because it is a genuine safety device, but a driver should not become dependent on it.
Because policies vary, call your local testing office before the appointment and ask whether the camera needs to be off. If the examiner wants it disabled and your infotainment system will not let you turn it off, ask whether covering the screen with a piece of paper is acceptable. Showing up ready for either answer beats arguing in the parking lot.
What Examiners Watch For When You Reverse
During the backing portion of the test, examiners are watching your body. They want to see your head physically turn over your right shoulder so you are looking through the rear window, not down at a dashboard screen. They also check whether you glance at your side mirrors and scan around the car before and during the maneuver.
The typical backing exercise asks you to pull to the curb, reverse in a straight line for about three car lengths without drifting more than a few feet from the curb, and then merge back into traffic. Throughout that sequence, the examiner evaluates:
- Whether you observe traffic ahead, to the sides, and behind you before starting, during the maneuver, and when pulling back out.
- Whether you physically look over your shoulder rather than relying only on mirrors or a camera.
- Whether you back at a slow, steady pace.
- Whether you hold a straight path with minimal corrections.
Poor observation while backing is one of the more heavily weighted errors on a driving test. In many states, a single instance during a backing maneuver can account for a third or more of the points you are allowed to lose before failing. The camera can be a useful extra set of eyes, but if the examiner never sees your head turn, expect a significant deduction no matter how clear the picture on the screen was.
Why Nearly Every Test Vehicle Now Has One
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 111 requires every passenger car and light truck manufactured on or after May 1, 2018, to include a rear visibility system that activates automatically when the vehicle is shifted into reverse.1eCFR. 49 CFR 571.111 – Standard No. 111; Rear Visibility That means most cars people bring to the test already have a camera whether they wanted one or not, which is why the question comes up so often now.
The mandate created a practical problem for state licensing agencies. Requiring drivers to disable a factory-installed safety feature seemed counterintuitive, but letting them stare at a screen instead of turning their heads defeated the point of the test. Most states settled on the middle ground described above: the camera stays on, but traditional observation is still what gets scored.
Other Technology That Is Not Treated the Same Way
The camera gets a pass because it is a passive aid. Features that actually drive the car do not.
Self-Parking and Driver-Assist Systems
Any system that steers, brakes, or accelerates for you must be off before the test begins. Automatic parallel parking, lane-keeping assist that actively corrects your steering, and any form of autonomous driving software are off limits. If an examiner discovers these features are active, the test will likely be stopped immediately. The examiner needs to see that you can park the car, not that the car can park itself.
Parking Sensors and Blind Spot Monitors
Audible parking sensors and blind spot warning lights are generally treated the way backup cameras are. They can stay active, but they do not substitute for your own observations. If the car chirps near an obstacle, the examiner still expects to see you check your mirrors and turn your head.
GPS Navigation
You typically cannot use your own GPS or phone navigation. The examiner gives directions verbally, and part of what is being assessed is whether you can follow spoken instructions while managing the vehicle. Some testing offices will ask you to turn off a navigation screen or put your phone away before starting.
A Warning for Electric Vehicles
Taking the test in an electric vehicle is legal, but regenerative braking can trip you up. Many EVs offer a one-pedal driving mode where lifting off the accelerator slows the car aggressively and sometimes brings it to a full stop without you ever touching the brake pedal.
Examiners often verify braking by watching your foot move to the brake. If the car decelerates on its own and your foot never visibly brakes, an examiner unfamiliar with EVs may read that as a failure to control the vehicle. Anecdotal reports from EV drivers describe being marked down for insufficient brake pedal use even though the car stopped smoothly.
Experienced EV owners give consistent advice: switch to a standard drive mode that mimics conventional car behavior, where lifting off the accelerator produces only mild deceleration. That forces you to use the brake pedal normally, which is what the examiner expects to see. If your vehicle will not let you fully disable one-pedal driving, tell the examiner before the test begins so they understand why the car behaves differently. At high battery charge levels, regenerative braking can also weaken or disappear, so leaning on it exclusively is a bad habit regardless.
What Happens If You Use Prohibited Technology
If an examiner catches you using a feature that should have been disabled, the most common outcome is an immediate stop and an automatic failure. Using self-parking to complete a parallel park, for example, means the examiner literally cannot score you on that skill because you did not perform it.
Deliberately misrepresenting your vehicle’s capabilities or trying to pass off automated features as your own driving could escalate beyond a simple failure. Licensing agencies have broad authority to deny or delay license issuance if they determine an applicant tried to undermine the integrity of the test. In practice this rarely goes past a failed attempt and a lecture, but the fix is as simple as toggling a setting before you pull out of the parking lot.