Learning to Drive

You need a valid provisional driving licence before you can learn to drive a car on public roads.

You can apply for your first provisional driving licence from the age of 15 years and 9 months, although most people cannot start driving a car until they are 17.

To apply, you must also meet the driving eyesight requirement. This includes being able to read a number plate made after 1 September 2001 from 20 metres away.

The current cost of a first provisional driving licence is £34 when applying online or £43 by post.

Apply for your first provisional driving licence

Some medical conditions and disabilities can affect when you can start driving or whether you need to tell DVLA. GOV.UK provides separate guidance if this applies to you.

No. You do not have to take professional driving lessons before taking your practical driving test. You can learn through:

• Lessons with an approved driving instructor
• Lessons with a trainee driving instructor who is legally permitted to charge for instruction
• Private practice with an eligible family member or friend
• A combination of professional lessons and private practice

Whatever route you use, you must hold the correct provisional licence and be properly supervised whenever you drive on public roads as a learner.

There is also no legally required minimum number of professional lessons or private practice hours. The amount of experience you need will depend on how your driving develops.

If you decide to take professional driving lessons, anyone you pay to teach you must be either a qualified approved driving instructor (ADI) or a trainee driving instructor authorised to provide paid instruction.

A qualified ADI displays a green badge in the windscreen. A trainee driving instructor displays a pink badge.

When choosing an instructor, practical considerations can include whether they teach manual or automatic, the area they cover, their availability and whether they can support any individual learning requirements you have.

The relationship between learner and instructor matters too. Learning involves asking questions, making mistakes, receiving feedback and discussing things you may find difficult. You should feel comfortable communicating with the person teaching you.

You do not have to stay with the first instructor you choose. If the relationship or approach is not working for you, you can discuss it with your instructor or choose to learn with someone else.

Find an Instruct IQ driving instructor

You can also use the official DVSA service to search for approved driving instructors. Not every ADI chooses to appear on the DVSA service, so absence from the search does not necessarily mean somebody is not qualified.

Find driving schools, lessons and instructors on GOV.UK

There is no single format that every first driving lesson should follow.

Your previous experience, confidence, individual needs and the environment in which you are learning can all influence where your driving starts and how it develops.

If you are learning with an instructor, they will need to establish your previous experience and what you need from the lesson before deciding where to begin. Relevant checks, including your driving licence and eyesight, may also form part of getting started.

From there, your learning should develop as your knowledge, skills and ability develop. Different learners will progress at different rates, and progress may be quicker in some areas than others.

The objective is not simply to complete a certain number of lessons. It is to develop the ability to drive safely, responsibly and increasingly independently.

DVSA identifies 27 driving skills involved in learning to drive safely. They cover much more than controlling the car or practising manoeuvres. The skills include areas such as:

• Preparing yourself and the vehicle
• Vehicle control and positioning
• Observation, signalling and planning
• Junctions, roundabouts and crossings
• Manoeuvres
• Different types of road
• Driving in different conditions
• Independent driving and following routes

DVSA uses five levels to describe how each skill develops, from being introduced to a skill through to being able to use it independently and reflect on your own performance.

The highest level is Level 5: Reflection. At this level, you can not only perform the skill but consider what you did, why it mattered and what you might do differently next time.

DVSA's current guidance describes consistently reaching Level 5 across all 27 skills as an indicator that you are ready to take your practical driving test.

There is no fixed number of lessons required to reach that point. Different skills, situations and learners develop at different rates.

Explore DVSA's 27 driving skills

Yes. Private practice is permitted as long as the learner, supervising driver and vehicle meet the legal requirements. The person supervising you must:

• Be at least 21 years old
• Be qualified to drive the type of vehicle you are learning in
• Have held a full driving licence for at least 3 years

The qualifying full licence can be from the UK, EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. For example, someone supervising you in a manual car must themselves be qualified to drive a manual car.

The supervising driver has responsibilities while you are driving. They must not use a handheld mobile phone while supervising you and must remain fit to supervise, including complying with alcohol and drug-driving laws.

You must be correctly insured whenever you practise privately. If you are learning in your own car, you need insurance that covers you as a learner driver.

If you are using somebody else's car, you must either be covered as a learner under their insurance policy or have your own policy that covers you to drive that vehicle.

Check the specific insurance policy before driving. Some insurers place additional conditions on who can supervise a learner. The vehicle must also be legal and suitable for use on the road.

When a learner is driving, the vehicle must display an L plate on the front and rear so they can be clearly seen. In Wales, D plates can be used instead of L plates.

Learner car drivers can drive on motorways in England, Scotland and Wales, but only under specific conditions. You must be:

• Accompanied by an approved driving instructor
• Driving a car fitted with dual controls
• Displaying the required learner plates

You cannot practise motorway driving with a family member or friend, even if they otherwise meet the legal requirements to supervise you.

Motorway driving is not part of the practical driving test, but developing experience of different road types can help prepare you for independent driving after you pass.

Private practice can give you additional experience of different roads, traffic situations, times of day and driving conditions.

If you are also taking professional lessons, it can be useful for your instructor and the person supervising your private practice to understand what you are currently working on. This can help your private practice complement your lessons rather than treating the two as completely separate activities.

This is good practice rather than a legal requirement. You do not need an instructor's permission to practise privately as long as you and your supervisor meet the legal requirements.

DVSA also provides a record that can be used to keep track of private driving practice.

Read the DVSA guidance on supervising a learner driver

There is no minimum number of lessons or hours you must complete before taking your practical driving test. Readiness is therefore better judged by the standard and consistency of your driving than by the amount of time you have spent learning.

You should be developing towards being able to deal with different roads, traffic situations and driving conditions safely, consistently and independently, rather than relying on repeated prompts or help from the person supervising you.

DVSA's 27 driving skills and five progress levels provide one way of assessing that development. Its current guidance describes consistently achieving Level 5 across the 27 skills as the point at which a learner should be ready to take the test.

If you are learning with an instructor, they can also help you assess your progress and whether your driving is consistently at the required standard.

Being able to perform something correctly once is different from being able to do it reliably when the road, traffic or situation changes.

Check whether you're ready to take your driving test

Passing your practical driving test shows that you met the minimum standard required to drive independently on that particular day. It does not mean that your development as a driver is complete.

The National Standard for driving cars and light vans recognises that drivers can continue to improve their ability to drive safely and responsibly throughout their driving career.

It includes learning from experience, assessing your own driving against good practice, using feedback from others, keeping your knowledge and skills current and recognising when your driving could be improved.

Development after your test can happen through your own experience and reflection, feedback from others or further professional support.

You can continue working with a driving instructor after you have passed your test if there are areas of your driving you want to develop, if you want experience in situations you have not encountered before, or if you would benefit from professional feedback on your driving.

Passing the test allows you to begin driving independently. Continuing to reflect and learn is part of becoming a more experienced driver.

Read the National Standard for driving cars and light vans