DVSA's position is blunt: "Your test will be cancelled and you will not get your money back if you do not take the right things with you." That is £62 to £75 gone, plus the wait for another date. The list is short enough to check twice.
The essentials
- Your UK driving licence. The photocard. You must be recognisable from the photo.
- A car that meets the rules. Usually your instructor's. If it is yours, work through the section below properly.
That is the whole requirement. Everything else is optional, including your theory test pass certificate — the examiner verifies your theory pass before the test starts, so the paper is not needed.
If you do not have a photocard
Bring a valid passport alongside your paper licence. If you hold a Northern Ireland licence, bring both the photocard and the paper counterpart. No photocard and no passport means no test.
What the car has to satisfy
If you are using your instructor's car, this is their job and it will be fine. If you are taking your own, every item below is a reason DVSA can refuse to conduct the test — and refusing costs you the fee.
Legal
- Taxed
- Insured for a driving test — check with your insurer, as ordinary learner cover is not always enough
- A current MOT if the car is over three years old
- Roadworthy
Condition
- No warning lights showing a safety issue
- No tyre damage, and legal tread depth on every tyre
- No space-saver spare tyre fitted
- Able to reach at least 62mph
- Four wheels, maximum mass no more than 3,500kg
Fitted for the examiner
- An extra interior rear-view mirror
- A passenger seatbelt and a passenger head restraint — slip-on head restraints are not allowed
- An officially fitted mph speedometer, not an add-on display or a phone app
- L-plates front and rear (L or D plates in Wales)
Inside
- Tidy, with no unnecessary items in the car
- Smoke-free
- Any dashcam must face outside the car, must not film the inside, and must not record audio from inside the car
Cars you cannot use
Some models are barred outright, because the examiner cannot see enough from the passenger seat:
- Panel vans of any kind
- BMW 218 convertible
- BMW Mini convertible
- Ford KA convertible
- Polestar 4
- Polestar 5
- Smart Fortwo (2-door)
- Toyota iQ
- VW Beetle convertible
From DVSA's rules on using your own car and what to take, published on GOV.UK. Check both before test day if you are supplying the car — the banned list has changed before.
Worth taking, though not required
- Your booking reference, in case anything needs looking up.
- Glasses or contact lenses if you need them to read a number plate at 20 metres. The eyesight check is the first thing that happens, and failing it ends the test there.
- Your instructor, if you want them in the car. They can sit in on the test and on the feedback, which is the most useful part.
- Water. Nerves dry you out more than people expect.
The night before
- Put the licence somewhere you cannot leave without it.
- Walk round the car: lights, tyres, screenwash, warning lights.
- Check the fuel or charge. A test abandoned because the car ran out is not refundable.
- Find the controls for the show me, tell me questions in that specific car.
- Confirm the test centre address and where you can actually park. Arriving late is treated as not arriving.
If something has gone wrong and you need to move the test instead, you need 10 full working days' notice to avoid paying again — the details are in driving test cancellations. Otherwise, read how to pass first time and get some sleep.
