What Happens on the Day
of Your Driving Test

What to take, what the test involves, and what happens when you get your result.

Knowing exactly what happens on driving test day takes away a lot of the worry. Here’s the day step by step, from what to bring to getting your result.

What to take

Your UK driving licence (photocard).
Your theory test pass certificate, if you have it. If you’ve lost it, the examiner can check you passed.
A car. Most people use their instructor’s car.

If you don’t bring the right things, your test will be cancelled and you won’t get your money back. If your licence is lost, a replacement can take up to 15 days, so check well before.

Before the test

Most of our pupils have a lesson just before their test. It’s a chance to warm up, settle your nerves and arrive at the test centre in good time, in a car you know.

What the test involves

The test lasts about 35 minutes. It includes:

an eyesight check, reading a number plate from 20 metres
a ‘tell me’ question before you drive, and a ‘show me’ question while you’re driving (see show me, tell me questions explained)
general driving on a mix of roads, but not motorways
independent driving, following a sat nav or road signs
one reversing exercise: parallel parking, parking in a bay, or pulling up on the right and reversing about 2 car lengths

You can have your instructor sit in the back, and they can listen to your result too.

If you make a mistake

Carry on. A mistake doesn’t mean you’ve failed, and if it isn’t serious, it may not affect your result at all. You can make up to 15 driving faults and still pass, as long as none are serious or dangerous.

Getting your result

The examiner tells you whether you’ve passed and talks through any faults.
If you pass: you get a pass certificate. You can choose to have your full licence sent automatically, and you can drive straight away (with insurance that covers you to drive alone).
If you don’t pass: you can book another test at least 10 working days away. We’ll go through what happened and work on it together.