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We're about to play our first game of Dungeons and Dragons (all things being equal) and we've just noticed a rather basic question that we can't find the answer to in the Player Handbook or on a Web search. (It seems to be a difficult one to search for).

Are all players supposed to be able to see each others' character sheets, or does only the DM have that information?

The bottom line is that it's a playstyle preference.

Some tables let other players see some or all of their character sheet. Some DMs are even open about monster and opponent stats - "He has 5 hit points left!" or at least roll dice openly on the table. These tend to be games where the playstyle is more focused on the game and achievement aspect and less on the exploration or roleplay aspects.

Other tables don't, and maintain various levels of preventing "metagame knowledge" - from the more basic DM not sharing monster/enemy stats and rolling behind a screen, to players not sharing character stats with each other, to even techniques like note-passing and taking people aside so the whole group doesn't know things that only one PC experienced. This focuses on a more "realistic" environment.

I have (and do) play both ways. It's easier and more casual and more goal-oriented to share the information. Right now I'm in a Coriolis game and we're happy to just say "hey, who has the best Data Djinn skill, you take lead on this check..." Easy and gets us through challenges faster so we can go cut up at a space bar. And we have veteran roleplayers who will often do the suboptimal thing anyway if the metagaming would make for a lamer plot.

But it can make a deeper, more engaging game to do the latter. I ran a 5 year AD&D 2e campaign with full information compartmentalization and it was the most immersive experience we'd all had before or since in gaming, but it was also a lot more work, both for the DM and for the players.

There's not a single right answer, so it's something your table and DM should discuss and agree on a common answer to for that specific campaign (you can always switch it up later).

I know of no hard rule in 5e, and have seen it go either way from game to game.

In my experience, it is mostly a matter of how much trust and teamwork is expected (or permitted) through the game.

In a game where significant player-vs-player actions are expected, open character sheets are not the norm-- each player will want to keep the others guessing about how hard they would be to hit, or to steal from, or what they have to steal, etc. Less frequently, some GMs and groups are also a little allergic to too much trust, as they feel it leads to one or a few players who are good with numbers hyper-optimizing battles and plans for their side.

Those are not the only reasons I have seen for secrecy, but those cover a lot of the ground that I have seen.

If I may be so bold as to offer a suggestion for your situation: Unless you know you're going to be doing a lot of player-vs-player, I'd opt for openness and sharing. That way, as new players, you can help each other and bring yourselves more quickly up the learning curves. That is where I would aim if I (as an experienced GM) were running a game for new players.

There are no rules for this in D&D 5e.

This is something you decide as a group, individually or by GM ruling.

When I GM I let each player decide if and how much they would like to share with other players.

There is a wide variety of information contained on a character sheet - which can depend on what style of character sheet you are using, and also what information the GM requires. I generally separate the info into Basic, Advanced and Personal History.

The basics

Almost all players I've ever played with are ok sharing at least their abilities and basic stats (6 abilities, HP, speed, damage, level, etc.). This allows players to work together as a synergistic team when in combat or when any challenging situations arise.

Personal items and advanced features

Class features, feats, spells, loot, magic items and magic weapons are sometimes kept secret. This decision by the players can be based on player sensibilities or on PC sensibilities. I once GMed for a beginner group and the Druid did not want anyone to know they could Wild Shape (transform into animals). This allowed the PC to transform into a kitten and endear itself to the other PCs while learning certain information about them and their belongings. It was tedious to play but it worked out well and was lots of fun for everyone, because kitten.

Personal Histories / Back Stories

I personally prefer not to share my PC's back story. I leave it up to players when I GM. I'd say this decision goes about 50/50 by the players I've played with. Some players like to reveal their back story during game play and others like to share it at the get go.

Minimum required info to share

If a player does not want to share even basic stats (HP, abilities, class, etc.), I do require them to provide a detailed description of what other PCs see. In other words they need to describe to the other players what their character looks like - there's no avoiding this. Often this means that the other PCs/players can guess what class and race they are and maybe other aspects of the character. As GM, I may also add some details to the description as I deem necessary.

In my own experience as a DM, players don’t share character sheets as they keep a good chunk of their backstory on the sheets and my players like to keep the backstory private until personal quests.

However, if your players aren’t bothered about that or want to share backstories, there shouldn’t be an issue with each other seeing that I can think of.

Good answers so far, but here's a caveat:

If you have a player who is pretending to be something else (such as an assassin on a mission to kill one of the other player's characters) when you will probably want some means of enabling the charade.

Having a rule against sharing character sheet information is one way to ensure this. However, if that rule is not in effect then you should have the player keep the sheet of his "cover" in front of him, with his real character sheet behind the DM screen.