BTT Passing Score: How Many Questions Can You Get Wrong? (2026)
2026-08-31
Five out of fifty
The Basic Theory Test is 50 multiple-choice questions with a pass mark of 45 correct, or 90%. That leaves exactly five wrong answers, and the sixth fails you.
Five errors across fifty questions is one of the tighter margins anywhere. For comparison, the UK theory test allows seven out of fifty on a paper of identical length, and the Philippines allows fifteen out of sixty.
A 90% threshold means near-complete coverage is the requirement, not an aspiration. Knowing four fifths of the material comfortably is a fail.
What a 90% pass mark changes
At lower pass marks you can carry one weak topic and still pass on the strength of everything else. At 90% you cannot, because a single unstudied category typically costs three or four marks on its own — most or all of the allowance.
The practical implication is that breadth beats depth here. Being outstanding on signs does not compensate for skipping the section on expressway driving; the paper has fifty questions and it will reach both.
It also means practice scores in the low forties are not encouraging. Sitting mocks at 45 or 46 out of 50 is precisely the band where a real test tips over.
Where the five go
Traffic signs and road markings take the largest share, and the BTT tests the full system — mandatory, prohibitory, warning and information categories — rather than only the common examples.
Right of way and lane discipline come next, particularly filtering, merging and expressway entry, which have specific rules rather than general courtesy conventions.
Third is the penalties and demerit points block. It is pure memorisation, candidates skip it because it feels administrative, and it appears reliably enough to consume the whole margin on its own.
Fourth, the vulnerable road user and hazard material — pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and stopping distances in wet conditions.
Practising for a tight margin
Target 48 or better in practice rather than 45. When only five mistakes are allowed, arriving with no buffer means the outcome depends on which questions come up.
Log the category behind every miss instead of tracking the score alone. Five wrong across five topics is a broad problem; five wrong all in signs is an evening of work.
Sit full 50-question mocks. Short quizzes are useful for spotting weak areas but they neither replicate the arithmetic nor the sustained concentration a fifty-question paper requires.
Clear three consecutive full mocks at 48 or better and the BTT becomes a formality. Clearing one at 45 means you got the right five questions.
FAQ
What is the passing score for the Basic Theory Test?
45 out of 50, which is 90%. Five wrong answers still passes; six does not.
How many questions are on the BTT?
Fifty multiple-choice questions.
Is the BTT harder than the UK theory test?
By pass mark, yes. Both are 50 questions, but the BTT requires 45 correct against the DVSA test’s 43 — five permitted errors versus seven.
What should I study first?
Traffic signs and road markings, then the penalties and demerit points section — the two blocks that most reliably consume the five-mistake allowance.
Sources: Singapore Police Force — Singapore Driving Licence