Among the states with clearly documented rules, Pennsylvania, New York, and Washington still require parallel parking on the driving test, while Florida, Maryland, Ohio, Nevada, Colorado, and California have dropped it in favor of other maneuvers. Policies change often, and many state DMVs don’t publish their full scoring rubrics online, so the safest step before any road exam is to check your own state’s licensing agency directly.
States That Still Test Parallel Parking
Pennsylvania uses a standardized space 24 feet long and 8 feet wide, marked by uprights. Your entire vehicle has to fit inside the space without touching an upright, crossing the painted boundary line, or going up onto the curb. You get one attempt and no more than three adjustments.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chapter 1: Testing | Online Driver’s Manual – Section: Road Test
New York treats parallel parking as a core skill on every road exam. The driver manual says your wheels must end up no more than one foot from the curb. Parking too far from the curb costs 5 points; being unable to park properly costs 15 points against a 30-point failure threshold.2NY DMV. Chapter 7: Parallel Parking
Washington also requires parallel parking, with one specific restriction: you cannot use any parking assist feature on your vehicle to complete the maneuver.3Washington State Department of Licensing. What to Expect on Your Drive Test – Section: What the Test Includes Automated steering systems are off-limits. Standard backup cameras are handled separately, as described below.
These three are the best-documented, not the complete list. Several other states still include parallel parking in some form but don’t publish their rubrics as clearly. If your state isn’t named here or in the next section, assume nothing and verify with your licensing agency.
States That Have Dropped Parallel Parking
A growing number of states no longer test parallel parking on the standard road exam:
- Florida tests a three-point turn, straight-in parking, parking on a grade, and backing in a straight line for 50 feet. Parallel parking is not on the list.4Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Class E Knowledge Exam and Driving Skills Test
- Maryland replaced parallel parking with a reverse two-point turnabout, where you back your vehicle into a 10-foot by 20-foot space within three minutes.5Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) – Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). Driving Skills Tests – Section: Basic Skills Test (Closed Course)
- Ohio uses a maneuverability course of five markers in a 9-foot by 20-foot layout. You drive forward through the markers, then reverse back through them.6Ohio Department of Public Safety. Digest Section 11 Taking the Driving Test
- Nevada recently eliminated parallel parking from its driving exam.
- Colorado and California have also removed it from their standard non-commercial road tests.
Older online lists sometimes name additional states, including Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, Maine, and the District of Columbia. Some may be accurate, but official confirmation isn’t easy to find for each one, and at least one source suggests Maine does still test parallel parking. Don’t rely on a secondhand list for your test.
States that dropped parallel parking haven’t lowered the standard. They’ve swapped in maneuvers that test the same low-speed control, spatial judgment, and reversing awareness. Florida’s straight-line backing, for example, requires you to reverse 50 feet at slow speed while looking over your shoulder, without using a rearview mirror or backup camera monitor.4Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Class E Knowledge Exam and Driving Skills Test Maryland’s reverse two-point turnabout evaluates backing skills, mirror use, turn signals, judgment of space, steering, braking, and acceleration control.7Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). How to Prepare for Your Skills / Behind-the-Wheel Test for a Non-commercial Class C Drivers License
How Parallel Parking Is Scored
Where it’s tested, examiners look at the same core things: whether the car ends up fully inside the space, how close you are to the curb, how many corrections you needed, and whether you kept proper awareness of your surroundings throughout.
Curb distance is almost always evaluated. New York requires your wheels to end up within 12 inches of the curb.2NY DMV. Chapter 7: Parallel Parking Pennsylvania uses the same 12-inch standard. Farther out than that will typically cost you points without automatically failing you.
The number of corrections you’re allowed varies. Pennsylvania gives you three adjustments total within one attempt.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chapter 1: Testing | Online Driver’s Manual – Section: Road Test California counts each forward movement as a correction and allows only one before deducting points.8State of California Department of Motor Vehicles. Driving Performance Evaluation (DPE) Scoring Criteria – Section: Backing Scoring Criteria Look up your own state’s number before you go.
Examiners also score signaling before you pull up and when you pull away, checking mirrors and blind spots before and during the maneuver, and looking over your shoulder while reversing. Those observation habits often weigh as much as where the car ends up.
What Causes an Automatic Fail
A few mistakes end the test on the spot, no matter how clean the rest went:
- Striking a cone, barrel, or upright. In Pennsylvania, any contact with the markers flanking the space is an automatic fail.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chapter 1: Testing | Online Driver’s Manual – Section: Road Test
- Driving onto or over the curb. California treats striking the curb as a critical driving error.8State of California Department of Motor Vehicles. Driving Performance Evaluation (DPE) Scoring Criteria – Section: Backing Scoring Criteria
- Crossing the painted boundary lines of the space, which most states treat the same as hitting a marker.
One distinction matters. Lightly brushing a curb and mounting a curb are not the same thing. A gentle tap may cost you points. Rolling up onto the curb or sidewalk is almost always an instant fail.
Backup Cameras and Parking Assist
Backup cameras are generally allowed, since federal law requires them on all new vehicles. You can’t use the screen as your primary view, though. You still need to turn around and look out the rear window while backing, treating the camera the way you’d treat a mirror.
Automated parking assist is different. Washington explicitly prohibits parking assist technology during the parallel parking maneuver.3Washington State Department of Licensing. What to Expect on Your Drive Test – Section: What the Test Includes California bans all advanced driver assistance systems during the test, including automated parallel parking, lane departure systems, and adaptive cruise control.9State of California Department of Motor Vehicles. Section 3: The Testing Process Most states follow the same logic: the test measures your control of the vehicle, not the vehicle’s ability to park itself.
How to Practice Before Test Day
Find an empty parking lot. Set up cones, traffic cones, or plastic bottles to mark the boundaries of a space, and match your state’s dimensions if they’re published. Pennsylvania’s 8-by-24-foot space is a good baseline because it’s tighter than most real-world curb spaces.
Pick consistent reference points on your car. Many drivers start their turn when the rear of the car next to the space lines up with a specific spot in the side mirror, or when their rear bumper aligns with the other car’s rear bumper. The right cue depends on vehicle size, so what works in a sedan won’t work in an SUV. Practice in the car you’ll actually use for the test.
Go slowly. Parallel parking isn’t timed in most states, and speed is what causes people to overshoot or clip a cone. Build the habit of full steering input, a crawl in reverse, and straightening the wheel before you reach the curb. Once you can land within 12 inches of the curb line without touching the markers, pace takes care of itself.
Don’t neglect the parts that aren’t about steering. Signal before pulling alongside the space. Check mirrors and blind spots before you reverse. Look over your shoulder, not just at the camera. Observation habits can cost you points on an otherwise clean park.