---
type: "Public Service Route"
title: "Great Britain car-learning and licensing route"
description: "Official Great Britain route through provisional licensing, supervised learning, tests and full-licence output."
status: "observed"
assertion_status: "official"
service_family: "learn-to-drive-car"
jurisdiction: "great-britain"
providers:
  - "driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency"
  - "driver-and-vehicle-standards-agency"
observed_at: "2026-08-07"
sources:
  - id: "govuk-learn-to-drive-car"
    title: "Learn to drive a car: step by step"
    resource: "https://www.gov.uk/learn-to-drive-a-car"
    author: "organisation:government-digital-service"
    observed_at: "2026-08-07"
  - id: "govuk-first-provisional-licence"
    title: "Apply for your first provisional driving licence"
    resource: "https://www.gov.uk/apply-first-provisional-driving-licence"
    author: "organisation:driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency"
    observed_at: "2026-08-07"
  - id: "govuk-private-practice"
    title: "Practising with family or friends"
    resource: "https://www.gov.uk/driving-lessons-learning-to-drive/practising-with-family-or-friends"
    author: "organisation:driver-and-vehicle-standards-agency"
    observed_at: "2026-08-07"
  - id: "govuk-book-theory-test"
    title: "Book your theory test"
    resource: "https://www.gov.uk/book-theory-test"
    author: "organisation:driver-and-vehicle-standards-agency"
    observed_at: "2026-08-07"
  - id: "govuk-driving-test-result"
    title: "Driving test faults and your result"
    resource: "https://www.gov.uk/driving-test/driving-test-faults-result"
    author: "organisation:driver-and-vehicle-standards-agency"
    observed_at: "2026-08-07"
  - id: "govuk-full-driving-licence"
    title: "Getting your full driving licence"
    resource: "https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-your-full-driving-licence"
    author: "organisation:driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency"
    observed_at: "2026-08-07"
---

# Great Britain car-learning and licensing route

[DVLA](../organisations/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency.md) provides the
selected provisional and full-licence stages, while
[DVSA](../organisations/driver-and-vehicle-standards-agency.md) provides the
theory and practical test stages. This route applies in the
[England](../jurisdictions/england.md), [Scotland](../jurisdictions/scotland.md)
and [Wales](../jurisdictions/wales.md) contexts; it is not the Northern Ireland
DVA route.

The observed sequence requires provisional entitlement before lessons or
practice, and a theory-test pass before booking the practical test. Private
practice requires the sourced supervisor conditions and applicable
[insurance](../organisations/motor-insurer.md). An
[instructor](../organisations/driving-instructor.md) is one possible training
provider, not the licensing authority.

A practical-test result produces a pass certificate or failure output. Where
the official conditions are met, the pass can lead to the DVLA full-licence
handoff. The test-result page supplies a complaint and court boundary if the
examiner is alleged not to have followed the law, but it states that the test
result itself cannot be changed through the DVSA complaint.

All facts were observed on 2026-08-07 and remain subject to the
[evidence limitations](../evidence/learning-to-drive-speeding-sources.md).
