Documents to Bring
Your theory test pass certificate (or confirmation) if you’re not exempt from taking the theory test,both parts of your driving licence – the photocard and the paper counterpart
You must take your signed driving licence and a valid passport if you have an old-style paper licence.
Your test will be cancelled and you’ll lose your fee if you don’t bring the right documents.
What Happens During the Test
Before you start the driving ability part of your 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”
You’ll be asked 2 vehicle safety questions. These are also known as the ‘show me, tell me’ questions.The examiner will ask you one ‘show me’ question, where you’ll have to show them how you’d carry out a vehicle safety check.
You’ll also be asked one ‘tell me’ question, where you’ll have to explain to the examiner how you’d carry out the check. 
Driving Ability
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 10 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.
Your driving test result
You’ll pass your test if you make:
- 15 or fewer driving faults
- no serious or dangerous faults
When the driving test has ended, you can call your instructor over if they didn’t go with you on your test. This is so they can listen to the result and help you with any feedback afterwards.
The examiner will:
- tell you if you passed or not
- explain how you did during the test
If you pass your test
The examiner will give you a pass certificate if you pass the test. They will also ask you if you want your full licence to be sent to you automatically.Once you have passed your test you can start driving straight away – you don’t need to wait for your full licence to arrive.
There are 3 types of faults that can be marked:
a dangerous fault – involves actual danger to you, the examiner, the public or propertya serious fault – could potentially be dangerous
a driving fault – not potentially dangerous, but if you make the same fault throughout your test it could become a serious fault