Provide driving tests for your employees

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1. Who can provide driving tests

Driving tests are usually provided by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

You can apply to DVSA for permission for your own staff to provide driving tests for your employees if you’re a:

  • bus or haulage operating licence holder
  • police service
  • fire and rescue service

Your staff providing driving tests will be known as ‘delegated driving examiners’.

Tests that can be provided

Delegated driving examiners are allowed to provide theory and practical driving tests for drivers of:

  • lorries
  • buses and coaches
  • cars and trailers
  • emergency service vehicles

Lorry, bus and coach companies

Delegated driving examiners working for lorry, bus and coach companies can test:

  • an employee
  • an employee of a sister company

As a delegated driving examiner, you cannot test someone you’ve trained.

Emergency services

Delegated driving examiners working for police services and fire and rescue services can test:

  • an employee
  • an employee from the same type of service in a different area

The same delegated driving examiner can provide tests for both a police service and a fire and rescue service, but both must appoint them with DVSA.

2. Rules for your driving examiners

When deciding whether to give permission for someone to provide driving tests, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) looks at if they:

  • have a full driving licence for the type of vehicle they’re testing in
  • have had any convictions in the last 3 years
  • have been disqualified from driving
  • have any court proceedings pending against them
  • have any penalty points on their licence

Qualifying as a delegated driving examiner

Your employees must then:

  • complete an initial training course
  • reach an appropriate standard in the delegated driving examiner theory and practical tests

DVSA will send you more information about the qualifying process when you apply to provide driving tests.

3. Apply to provide driving tests

You must email the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to get permission to provide driving tests.

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
delegated.testing@dvsa.gov.uk

You must include information about your organisation, the tests you want to provide, and the people you want to appoint as delegated driving examiners.

Your organisation

You’ll need to include:

  • the full name of the organisation
  • the registered address or headquarters address (if you’re not a registered company)
  • a copy of your certificate of incorporation if you’re a registered company
  • a copy of your operator licence (if you have one)
  • the name, position and contact details of the main contact in your organisation for driving tests
  • confirmation that you, as the person submitting the application, is an approved signatory for the purposes of the application

The tests you want to provide

You’ll need to include:

  • details of the locations at which testing would take place
  • the categories of tests you want to provide, for example, ‘category D - bus’
  • the type of tests you want to provide, for example, licence acquisition theory test, licence acquisition practical test and so on
  • details of where the records about the tests would be stored
  • an estimate of the minimum number of tests you’ll provide in the 12 months following your approval

The people you want to appoint as examiners

You’ll need to include the full names and driving licence numbers of the people you want to appoint as delegated driving examiners.

When DVSA gets your application

DVSA will tell you its decision about your application within 10 working days.

You’ll also get information about:

  • the qualifying process 
  • the detailed rules about providing theory and practical driving tests 
  • the detailed rules about recording tests that you provide