What states don't do parallel parking?

[StAlina]

As of 2024, at least 15 U.S. states do not include a mandatory parallel parking maneuver in their standard road test for a regular passenger vehicle driver's license. These states are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wyoming, along with Washington, D.C.

This policy means examiners in these jurisdictions are not required to evaluate your ability to execute a traditional parallel park between two cars. However, you will still be tested on core parking skills. The road test almost always includes a "curb parking" or "straight-line backing" component, where you must park next to a curb without striking it. This assesses your control of the vehicle, use of mirrors, and spatial awareness—fundamental skills that apply to all parking situations.

The decision to omit the specific parallel parking scenario is often based on practical testing logistics, regional driving patterns, and accident data. For states with vast rural areas or abundant parking lots, highway merging or intersection navigation might be deemed higher-risk skills. For example, the Colorado DMV emphasizes testing for conditions common in the state, like mountain driving and high-speed road handling. In Florida, with its extensive suburban sprawl, examiners focus more on complex lane changes and highway entry/exit.

It is a critical mistake to assume you don't need to learn parallel parking if your state doesn't test it. Market data from insurers like State Farm indicates that parking-related claims, including those from parallel parking, remain a frequent and costly issue for new drivers. Furthermore, the skill is essential for city driving, travel, and is a universal expectation of driver competence. Relying solely on backup cameras can foster bad habits; mastering the manual technique builds crucial judgement.

State / Jurisdiction	Standard Road Test Omits Parallel Parking?	Typical Alternative Parking Test
Alabama	Yes	Backing along a straight line (curb reference)
California	Yes	Angle parking or backing into a stall
Florida	Yes	Straight-line backing beside a curb
Illinois	Yes	Parking at a curb within 12 inches
Maryland	Yes	Stop reasonably close to and parallel to the curb
Virginia	Yes	Stopping close to the curb without touching it
Washington, D.C.	No (Test includes parallel parking)	N/A - Parallel parking is tested

Always verify the latest requirements directly with your local DMV before your test, as administrative rules can change. Even in testing states, some examiners may still ask you to parallel park if time and location permit, using it as an optional scoring point.

[SanIsabela]

I’ve been a driving instructor in Florida for over a decade. Here, the road test doesn’t have you squeeze between two cars. Instead, we have you back up in a straight line next to the curb for about 50 feet. The goal is to see if you can control the car, check your mirrors and blind spots, and not hit the curb.

But I always, always teach my students parallel parking. The test is a minimum standard. Real driving isn’t. If you visit Miami, Tampa, or any downtown area, you’ll need it. I’ve had former students call me from a packed street, stressed because they never learned. My advice is simple: pass the test with what’s required, but become a complete driver by mastering parking in all its forms.

[VanEmilio]

I just got my license in North Carolina last month, and I was so relieved parallel parking wasn’t on the test. I practiced it a few times with my dad and found it really stressful—judging the distance in the mirrors, turning at the right time. It felt like a puzzle.

For the test, I just had to pull over next to a curb and stop smoothly, then back up in a straight line while looking over my shoulder. It was way easier. That said, my brother goes to college in Charlotte and told me I’d better learn it before I visit him. He says finding a spot that’s not parallel is almost impossible in some neighborhoods. So I guess the learning isn’t over.

[LeSamuel]

We travel cross-country in an RV, and the rules for regular cars often apply differently to larger vehicles. Knowing which states skip parallel parking on the car test is a useful clue for general driving culture. States like Wyoming and South Dakota, with wide-open spaces, logically focus their tests on highway safety and rural road hazards.

However, don’t let that trick you as a traveler. If you’re flying into San Francisco, Denver, or Chicago and renting a car, you will absolutely face parallel parking. The absence on a local test reflects common conditions for residents, not visitors. Always assume you’ll need the skill when exploring cities or historic towns where street parking is the only option.

[KingRose]

The discussion around testing parallel parking is more nuanced than a simple checklist. As a traffic safety researcher, I view it through the lens of risk prioritization. State DMVs have limited time for each road test and must allocate it to evaluate the maneuvers most statistically linked to crashes. In many regions, failure to yield right-of-way or improper lane changes are leading causes of accidents, so they become the test's focus.

Omitting the formal parallel park maneuver is not dismissing its importance. It’s often a logistical decision. Setting up a consistent, safe testing scenario with cones or real cars is resource-intensive. Evaluating a driver’s ability to reverse in a straight line to a curb effectively tests core vehicle control competencies without the setup.

Ultimately, the goal of licensing is to ensure a baseline of safe operation on public roads. While a dedicated parallel parking test is a strong indicator of spatial awareness, its absence does not automatically produce less capable drivers. It shifts the responsibility for learning this specific, highly variable skill from the testing moment to the ongoing learning process of the driver.