A car driving test costs £62 on a weekday and £75 in the evening, at the weekend or on a bank holiday. Those are the official DVSA fees, and they are the same at every test centre in England, Scotland and Wales. Here is everything else you might pay along the way, and what you get back if plans change.
The practical test fee
An evening test is anything from 4:30pm onwards. Evening and weekend slots are not offered at every centre, and where they are they tend to go first, so most learners end up paying the weekday rate.
The fee is paid when you book and it stays with the booking. If you move your test to another date or centre, you do not pay again.
The theory test fee
The theory test costs £23, whenever you take it. You have to pass it before you can book a practical, and the pass lasts two years. If it runs out before you pass the practical, you sit the theory again and pay the £23 again.
What a retake costs
If you fail, a retake is a fresh booking at the full fee: £62 or £75 again. There is no reduced rate for a second attempt and nothing from the failed test carries over. You can book straight away, but the new date has to be at least 10 working days after the failed one.
With half of all car tests ending in a fail, that second fee is one most learners end up paying. It is the strongest argument for only sitting the test when you are ready.
When you get the fee back
- Cancel with 10 full working days' notice and the fee is refunded. Monday to Saturday count as working days, Sundays and bank holidays do not.
- Cancel with less notice and you lose it, unless you have a reason the DVSA accepts, such as illness, bereavement or a school exam, with evidence.
- If the DVSA cancels your test, for example because of bad weather or no examiner, you get a new date at no cost and can claim out-of-pocket expenses.
What it costs to change your test
Nothing. You get two changes on a car test, and moving to an earlier date is one of them. The only rule is the same 10 working days' notice: change inside that window and you are treated as cancelling, which means paying again.
That matters more than it sounds. The booking service typically shows a wait of around 23 weeks, but half of all learners sat their test inside 11.9 weeks, because earlier dates come free every day when other learners move or cancel theirs. Moving to one of those costs you nothing.
The other costs people forget
- The car. Most learners use their instructor's car, and most instructors charge for the test slot plus a warm-up lesson, usually the price of a two-hour lesson. Using your own car is free, but it has to be insured for you and meet the rules for a test car.
- Your licence. You need a provisional licence before the theory test. That is a separate DVLA fee and is not part of the test cost.
- Waiting. Not a fee, but the biggest cost of all. Every extra month without a licence is another month of lessons to stay sharp, and another month of lifts and bus fares.
If you would rather not wait
Tell us your centre and the months that suit you, and we watch for an earlier date on your behalf. You hear by SMS and WhatsApp the moment one appears, and you decide whether to take it. Nothing to pay upfront, and you only pay if we find you a test and you take it.
Find me an earlier testNothing to pay upfront
Questions about driving test costs
How much does a driving test cost?
£62 on a weekday, or £75 in the evening, at the weekend or on a bank holiday. The theory test is £23.
Is a driving test more expensive at the weekend?
Yes. Evening, weekend and bank holiday tests cost £75 against £62 on a weekday. Not every centre offers them.
Do you pay again if you fail your driving test?
Yes, the full fee again. There is no discount for a retake.
Do you get a refund if you cancel your driving test?
Only with at least 10 full working days' notice. Less than that and you lose the fee, with a few exceptions such as illness with evidence.
Does it cost anything to change your driving test date?
No. You get two free changes, as long as you give 10 working days' notice each time.
How much does the theory test cost?
£23, and the pass lasts two years.