Get There On Time
You should arrive for your driving test ten minutes before the time it is due to start. If you are having a driving lesson on the hour before your test, then your instructor should get you there ten minutes before the start time.
Park your car nearby, or in the DVSA test centre car park, and make your way into the waiting room. There will be more people waiting to do their driving test at the same time as you.
The Time Is Now
When the time comes the examiners will come into the waiting room and call the name of their candidate. When your examiner calls your name you should step up to the desk.
They will ask to see your driving license and also ask you to sign the test report form. You should sign the form with the same signature that is on your license.
Your examiner will ask if you want your instructor, or another person, to:
- sit in the back of your car during your driving test
- be with you after the test for the result and feedback
This person will usually be your driving instructor, but it could also be a relative or friend.
Before you start the practical driving part of your driving test, you’ll have an eyesight check and be asked 2 vehicle safety questions.
Eyesight check
You’ll have to read a number plate from a distance of:
20 metres for vehicles with a new-style number plate 20.5 metres for vehicles with an old-style number plate
You can write down what you see if you can’t speak English or have difficulty reading.
New-style number plates start with 2 letters followed by 2 numbers, eg AB51 ABC.
You’ll fail your driving test and the test won’t continue if you can’t pass the eyesight test.
Vehicle safety questions: ‘show me, tell me’
The examiner will ask you one:
- ‘tell me’ question (where you explain how you’d carry out a safety task) at the start of your test, before you start driving
- ‘show me’ question (where you show how you’d carry out a safety task) while you’re driving.
The full list of show me tell me questions can be found here.
The Actual Driving Test
The driving part of your test will last about 40 minutes. Throughout the test your examiner will be looking for an overall safe standard of driving.
If you’re taking an extended test pass because of a driving disqualification, the test will last 70 minutes.
Your General Driving Ability
During your test the examiner will give you directions that you should follow. You’ll drive in various road and traffic conditions. You should drive in the way your instructor has trained you.
It should include:
- normal stops
- an angle start (pulling out from behind a parked vehicle)
- a hill start
You might also be asked to carry out an emergency stop.
Reversing Your Vehicle Safely
You’ll have to show how well you can reverse your vehicle. The examiner will ask you to do one of the following exercises:
- reversing around a corner
- turning in the road
- reverse parking – either into a parking bay, or parallel parking at the side of the road
Independent Driving Section
Your driving test will include around 20 minutes of independent driving. It’s designed to assess your ability to drive safely while making decisions on your own.
If you make mistakes
Carry on if you make a mistake, because if it’s not a serious mistake it might not affect your result.
Your examiner will stop your test if they think your driving is a danger to other road users.
Taking someone with you
Your examiner will ask if you want your instructor, or another person, to:
sit in the back of your car during your driving test be with you after the test for the result and feedback
This person will usually be your driving instructor, but it could also be a relative or friend.
They must be over 16 and can’t take any part in the test.
The examiner’s supervisor
The examiner’s supervisor may come along as well. They will be watching the examiner’s performance, not yours. The supervisor won’t have any say in how you’re tested or in your result.
Your test might be cancelled and you could lose your fee if you don’t let the examiner’s supervisor go with you.
