Checking your driving instructor — the ADI register, the badge and the official complaint route

Learning to drive is one of the larger sums a young adult ever hands over, and almost all of it goes to one person you found through a website or a friend. There is a national register behind that person, a badge in the windscreen you are entitled to read, a written code covering money and conduct, and a DVSA mailbox that takes complaints. All of it is free to check — most learners simply never hear it exists.

Only a registered instructor can charge for lessons

Paid driving instruction in a car is restricted by statute to two groups: approved driving instructors (ADIs) whose names are on the DVSA register, and trainees holding a current licence to instruct. Charging for lessons outside that is a criminal offence, and so is instructing without the paperwork on display.

No paid instruction in the driving of a motor car shall be given unless there is fixed to and exhibited on that motor car in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations either— (a) a certificate in such form as may be so prescribed that the name of the person giving the instruction is in the register, or (b) a current licence granted under this Part of this Act authorising the person giving the instruction to give such instruction.

That is the badge in the windscreen, and displaying it is not a courtesy.

You must display your ADI registration certificate (commonly known as an ‘ADI badge’) or trainee licence while giving paid instruction.

So the first check needs no website at all: look at the windscreen on lesson one. A fully qualified ADI and a trainee carry visibly different certificates, and our guide to supervising a learner sets out which is which. Either is lawful. Nothing at all is not.

Checking the register: two free routes

DVSA runs a public service listing approved instructors, which also shows a grade where the instructor has chosen to publish one. It has one important limit.

Approved driving instructors (ADIs) choose whether or not to be on this service, so not all ADIs will be listed.

Being absent from the search is therefore not evidence of anything. When someone is not listed, the register itself is still checkable — DVSA will confirm whether a named person is qualified if you contact them with the name and, if you have it, the ADI number.

What being on the register actually screens for

Registration is not a formality that lapses quietly in the background. Entry to the register requires passing three qualifying tests and satisfying the Registrar that the applicant is a fit and proper person — a statutory condition in section 125 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 that the law deliberately leaves undefined.

ADIs are in a position of considerable trust. The ADI Registrar protects the image of the register and maintains the public’s confidence in the ADI industry.

The assessment behind that phrase draws on an enhanced-level Disclosure and Barring Service check, DVLA records, police and barring information, and complaints made to DVSA by the public. A new DBS check is required to start an application — an existing one cannot be reused — and again at every renewal.

Four numbers are worth knowing:

• Registration lasts four years, and renewing it means passing the fit and proper test again with a fresh criminal record check.
• A standards check normally comes round every four years, and can be triggered earlier by pupils’ test results.
• Grades run A, B or fail. A score of 43 to 51 is grade A, 31 to 42 is grade B, and 0 to 30 is unsatisfactory. Both A and B keep an instructor on the register, so a grade B is a pass, not a warning.
• Three failed standards checks means removal from the register and starting the qualifying tests again.

The Registrar can also suspend a registration immediately where an instructor is judged to pose a significant threat to public safety, and a suspended instructor cannot be paid for instruction at all. Removal normally takes effect 28 days after the decision letter to allow an appeal to the General Regulatory Chamber; an immediate-removal process runs on a 14-day clock.

The code of practice: what it commits your instructor to

Beyond the statutory floor sits the driving instructor code of practice — an industry code agreed between DVSA and the National Associations Strategic Partnership (NASP). It is voluntary rather than statute, and instructors who follow it can record that agreement on their DVSA registration. Its personal conduct section opens on the line that sets the tone for everything below it.

Driver trainers will be professional, comply with the law, keep clients safe and treat them with respect.

Under it, an instructor who has signed up agrees to avoid inappropriate physical contact and inappropriate language, not to initiate inappropriate discussions about their own personal relationships and to take care not to become involved in a client’s personal affairs, to avoid circumstances that are or could be perceived to be of an inappropriate nature, and not to use a mobile phone while driving or supervising driving except when parked somewhere safe and legal. Recordings made in and around the tuition vehicle fall under data protection rules, and test footage from in-car cameras is not to be published without DVSA’s and the client’s permission.

The business half is just as specific, and it is the half most learners never see. The code commits the instructor to:

• Safeguard and account for money paid in advance — for lessons, test fees or anything else — and make the details available to the client on request.
• Give the client the code and their terms of business on or before the first lesson. Those terms are meant to state the legal identity of the school or instructor with a full postal address and contact number, the current price and duration of lessons, the current price and conditions for use of the school car for the practical test, the cancellation terms on both sides, the terms for a refund, and the complaints procedure.
• Check entitlement to drive and eyesight on the first lesson and regularly afterwards.
• Keep a record of progress, including the number of lessons given, and keep the client aware of it.
• Discuss and advise when to apply for tests, taking account of DVSA’s cancellation rules, local waiting times and a realistic forecast of readiness.
• Advertise clearly and fairly. Claims must be capable of verification, and any advertised pass rate has to make clear how it was calculated.

A prepaid block of lessons and a test-day car fee are exactly the things the terms of business are supposed to pin down in writing before any money changes hands. If a price for the test-day car has never been stated, the code’s answer is that it should have been — on or before lesson one. Budgeting for the whole journey is covered in our guide to the cost of learning to drive.

Your test booking belongs to you

Since 12 May 2026 only the learner can book, change, swap or cancel a car driving test. An instructor cannot do it for you, and booking a test for someone else is against the law. What your instructor gives you instead is their driving instructor reference number, which you enter yourself when booking so DVSA can check they are free on the day. The full sequence of 2026 booking rule changes, and the third-party services that sit around them, are covered in our guide to theory test booking scams.

The code still governs the car. An instructor who decides to withhold the school car for a test is expected to give enough notice for the client to avoid losing the DVSA test fee — which is another reason the price and conditions for the test car belong in writing at the start.

If something goes wrong: the official route

The code sets out a two-stage path, and the first stage is the instructor’s or school’s own complaints procedure.

complaints by clients should be made in the first instance to the driving instructor, driving school or contractor following the training provider’s complaints procedure

Where that does not resolve it, the destination depends on what kind of problem it is. Dissatisfaction with the business service points to Citizens Advice. Dissatisfaction with the professional service or conduct goes to the ADI Registrar at DVSA, and there is a single mailbox for it: instructorconduct@dvsa.gov.uk, or DVSA, PO Box 967, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE99 2GU.

Both categories are spelled out. On service: lessons shorter than agreed, repeated cancellations or lateness, and lessons already paid for that are not provided. On behaviour: using a mobile phone while you are driving, shouting or swearing at you, inappropriate language in person or in messages, and unnecessary physical contact.

Two limits shape what happens next. The first is on remedies:

DVSA can ask the instructor about the matter on your behalf, but they cannot help you get any money back.

The second is on how far anything is taken:

DVSA will not make you report the incident to the police unless you want to.

An investigation runs better on detail, so gather what you have before writing: your full name and email address, the full name of the instructor and the driving school, the ADI number, the instructor’s phone number or email, the vehicle registration, and any evidence such as receipts or screenshots of messages.

Complaints to DVSA are not filed and forgotten. Substantiated complaints of inappropriate behaviour or misconduct, and substantiated complaints of financially inappropriate or fraudulent activity, are among the things the Registrar weighs when deciding whether someone remains a fit and proper person to stay on the register.

Northern Ireland: the DVA register

Northern Ireland runs its own register through the Driver and Vehicle Agency, and the underlying principle is identical.

It is illegal for a person to give driving or riding instruction for a fee if they are not registered.

Only ADIs and approved motorcycle instructors (AMIs) can charge for teaching. They should carry their licence at all times and you can ask to see it; for ADIs and trainee instructors it may instead be displayed on the windscreen of the car. There is a DVA service to check whether an instructor is registered, and suspected unregistered tuition is reported in writing to the DVA Business Support Unit with as much detail as possible — why you suspect it, where and when, vehicle registrations, and any advert or business card. DVA investigates every allegation of unregistered tuition and refers matters to the PSNI where needed. The other NI differences that catch learners out are in our guide to the Northern Ireland theory test.

Common questions

“My instructor is not on the gov.uk search. Are they unqualified?”

Not necessarily — listing is optional, so a fully registered ADI can be absent from it. Read the badge in the windscreen, and if you want confirmation, contact DVSA with the instructor’s name and ADI number and ask whether they are qualified.

“Is the code of practice the law?”

No. It is a voluntary industry code agreed between DVSA and NASP, and instructors record their agreement to follow it on their registration. The law sits underneath it: registration and the fit and proper condition in sections 123 and 125 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and complaints about conduct feed straight back into whether that condition is still met.

“Can DVSA get my money back?”

No. DVSA can put the matter to the instructor on your behalf, but recovering money is not something it does. The code’s business-service route points to Citizens Advice.

“What is a grade B instructor?”

A pass. Standards check scores of 31 to 42 are grade B and 43 to 51 are grade A, and both keep an instructor on the register. Only 0 to 30 is a fail, and grades are shown on the public search only when the instructor has chosen to declare one.

“Can my instructor book my driving test for me?”

No. Since 12 May 2026 only you can book, change, swap or cancel your own car driving test. Enter your instructor’s reference number when you book so DVSA can check their availability.

While you are revising

Choosing well and checking early protects the money; the theory test is the part you control outright. Work through the 14 DVSA topics, read the Highway Code end to end, and sit full mock theory tests under the real timer until the score stops moving. It is free to get started.

Sources

• legislation.gov.uk — Road Traffic Act 1988, section 123 — paid driving instruction restricted to registered or licensed persons; certificate to be exhibited on the vehicle
• legislation.gov.uk — Road Traffic Act 1988, section 125 — the register of approved instructors and the ‘fit and proper person’ condition
• GOV.UK — Find driving schools, lessons and instructors — the DVSA search, and how to check an instructor who is not listed
• GOV.UK — Complain about a driving instructor — service and behaviour complaints, the DVSA contact and the information to provide
• GOV.UK — Approved driving instructor (ADI) code of practice — personal conduct, business dealings, advertising and conciliation
• GOV.UK — Approved driving instructor (ADI) register guide — displaying the badge, ‘fit and proper’, enhanced DBS, suspension and removal
• GOV.UK — Become a car driving instructor: step by step — new DBS check to apply, registration and DBS renewed every 4 years
• GOV.UK — Approved driving instructor (ADI) standards check — normally every 4 years; grade A, grade B and fail thresholds; removal after 3 failures
• GOV.UK — Changes to driving test booking rules in 2026 — only the learner may book or manage a car test since 12 May 2026
• GOV.UK — Report an illegal driving instructor — the green and pink badges, and the DVSA intelligence unit contact
• nidirect — Choosing a driving instructor (Northern Ireland) — DVA registration, checking a licence and reporting unregistered tuition

GOV.UK, DVSA, legislation.gov.uk and nidirect excerpts are reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0.