Learning hub / Prepare for your test
Ready to pass
The DVSA’s Ready to Pass campaign says you are usually ready when you can say yes to five things. This is our short version. The campaign site has the full advice.
PassNear is not the DVSA and this is not official advice. For the rules that count on test day, use GOV.UK.
1. You do not need prompts from your instructor
If they are still saying “mirror” before every turn, you are not dealing with the drive on your own yet.
2. You do not make serious or dangerous mistakes
Brushing a serious fault off as a silly mistake is how people book too early. Safe, not flashy.
3. You can pass mock driving tests
One lucky loop is not a mock. You want a few that look like the real thing, at the centre you will actually use.
4. You have practised managing your nerves
Nerves are normal. A routine you have already used — water, a familiar warm-up, one thing you do well — is the point of this line.
5. Your instructor agrees you are ready
They have seen the test standard more times than you have. If they say wait, wait. They are not selling you extra hours for fun.
Leave a point on “not yet” if it is not true yet. Moving a test you are not ready for frees the slot for someone who is.
What a mock should include
A useful mock is about the length of the real test — around 40 minutes — not a ten-minute loop of your street. It should include a tell-me and a show-me, a manoeuvre, independent driving, and sometimes an emergency stop. Do it on the roads for the centre you will use.
Nerves, and moving the test
Name it, then use a routine you have already practised. The examiner wants a safe drive, not a perfect one. If the nerves are winning, move the test. It is your booking: only the learner can change it, on GOV.UK, and since June 2026 a move stays at one of the three nearest centres.
Only book when you’re ready — moving a test frees a slot for someone else.