DVSA and DVLA · Great Britain
Get licensed to drive for a living
Qualified drivers earn up to £55,000 a year.
Answer three questions and we will tell you whether you can start, what it costs and what to do first. Every fee comes from DVSA and DVLA, not from us.
What do you want to drive?
How old are you?
Which of these do you already have?
Your route
Car licence, in full
See every route if this is not the one.
Car licence £157 to qualify · 4 steps
The standard full car licence, and the prerequisite for every lorry and bus route.
- 1
Apply for your provisional licence
Apply online through gov.uk from 15 years and 9 months old.
- Apply at gov.uk. It costs £34 online or £43 by post, so the online route saves you £9 for the same outcome.
- You need an identity document, addresses for the last three years and your National Insurance number.
- It usually arrives within a week online. Do not use third-party sites — they charge a fee to fill in the same form.
Fees at this step Item Standard Premium slot Paid to Provisional licence (online) £34 — regulator Provisional licence (by post) alternative — not added to the total £43 — regulator Where people get stuck
- No valid identity document, which pushes you onto the slower postal route.
- 2
Start lessons
Learn with an approved driving instructor and, if you can, add private practice alongside.
- DVSA data suggests around 45 hours of professional instruction plus 22 hours of private practice is typical. Averages hide a lot of variation — some people need far fewer, some far more.
- Check your instructor holds a green ADI badge. A pink badge means a trainee instructor, which is legal but means they are still qualifying.
- A supervising driver for private practice must be over 21 and have held a full licence for that category for at least three years.
- You must display L plates, and you cannot use motorways unless you are with an approved instructor in a dual-control car.
Fees at this step Item Standard Premium slot Paid to Driving lessons estimate £30–£48 £38 — provider Where people get stuck
- Insurance for private practice. Learner cover is a separate product and is often forgotten.
- 3
Pass the theory test
One booking covering multiple choice and hazard perception.
- Multiple choice is 50 questions in 57 minutes with a pass mark of 43. Three of the 50 are now based on video clips testing real-world judgement.
- Hazard perception is 14 clips containing 15 developing hazards, scored out of 75 with a pass mark of 44.
- You must pass both parts in the same sitting. Passing one and failing the other means retaking both.
- The certificate is valid for two years from the date you sit it, not the date you book it. Book your practical straight away.
Fees at this step Item Standard Premium slot Paid to Theory test £23 — regulator Where people get stuck
- Letting the two-year certificate expire while sitting in the practical test queue. This is the most expensive avoidable mistake in the whole process.
- Turning up without a valid licence, which forfeits the fee.
- 4
Pass the practical test
About 40 minutes of driving assessed by a DVSA examiner.
- The test covers an eyesight check, one "tell me" safety question before you drive and one "show me" question while driving, general driving, one reversing manoeuvre, and roughly 20 minutes of independent driving.
- One in seven tests includes an emergency stop.
- You may accumulate up to 15 driving faults. A single serious or dangerous fault fails the test.
- The fee is £62 on weekdays and £75 in evenings, at weekends and on bank holidays.
- Cancel with fewer than three clear working days notice and you lose the fee.
Fees at this step Item Standard Premium slot Paid to Practical test £62 £75 regulator Where people get stuck
- Test centre waiting lists, which vary enormously by region.
- Using an instructor car on test day without confirming it meets DVSA requirements.
What it qualifies you for
- Car licence driver
What is coming
In build: talk to an instructor now, ask us to ring you, practise before you pay, watch a live lesson. Ask on the form and we will tell you when yours is ready.
Work out your own total Retakes, evening and weekend test slots
Totals come from the same figures as the routes. Change anything and the number changes with it.
About these figures
Fees checked against DVSA and DVLA on July 2026. They change without much notice — confirm before you book.
Northern Ireland is run by the DVA, not DVSA/DVLA. Fees, forms and rules differ, and new NI drivers must display R plates and stay under 45 mph for a year after passing. Check nidirect.gov.uk before booking anything.
Questions people actually ask
Do I need to pass Category C before C+E?
No. SI 2021/1251 removed staged testing, so a full car licence is enough to go straight to C+E.
Who sets these fees?
DVSA and DVLA set the statutory ones under the Road Traffic Act 1988. Training prices are set by providers and vary.
Does any of this apply in Northern Ireland?
Northern Ireland is run by the DVA, not DVSA/DVLA. Fees, forms and rules differ, and new NI drivers must display R plates and stay under 45 mph for a year after passing. Check nidirect.gov.uk before booking anything.
Talk to someone
Leave your number and we will call you back with a plan for your route.