Reference
Every number you have to memorise for the theory test
Last reviewed against gov.uk on
Most of the theory test can be reasoned out. A stubborn minority cannot — the exact distances, depths, times, ages and limits that either sit in your memory on the day or don’t. This page collects them in one place, each figure tied to the rule or regulation it comes from. Our mnemonics guide has the tricks for making them stick; this page has the figures themselves.
The test itself
Before the road numbers, the test’s own numbers. These are the ones candidates most often half-remember, and the ones that decide how you plan your sitting.
| Figure | What it is |
|---|---|
| 50 | Multiple-choice questions in the first section |
| 57 minutes | Time allowed for those 50 questions. You can finish early. |
| 3 | Questions based on a short silent video clip, which you can replay as often as you like |
| 43 out of 50 | Multiple-choice pass mark |
| Up to 3 minutes | Optional break between the multiple-choice section and hazard perception |
| 14 | Hazard perception clips |
| 15 | Scored developing hazards — every clip has at least one, and one clip has two |
| 5 | Maximum points per developing hazard |
| 44 out of 75 | Hazard perception pass mark. Both sections must be passed in the same sitting. |
| 3 working days | Minimum wait before you can sit the test again |
| 2 years | How long your pass certificate number lasts. You must pass your practical test inside that window, or you sit the theory test again. |
| £23 | Car theory test fee, weekdays and weekends alike |
| £62 / £75 | Car practical test fee in Great Britain — weekday, then evenings, weekends and bank holidays. The DVA charges £65 / £95 in Northern Ireland. |
| £34 | First provisional licence, applied for online with DVLA in Great Britain (£43 by post). The DVA charges £62.50 in Northern Ireland. |
More on what those two pass marks actually mean in the pass mark guide, and on the two-year clock in certificate expiry.
Speed limits — Rule 124
The national speed limit table is the single densest source of memorisable numbers in the whole Highway Code, and questions pull rows from it directly. The trap is the vehicle class: a car and a car towing a trailer have different limits on the same stretch of road.
| Type of vehicle | Built-up areas (England, Scotland) | Built-up areas (Wales) | Single carriageways | Dual carriageways | Motorways |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cars and motorcycles (including car-derived vans up to 2 tonnes maximum laden weight) | 30 | 20 | 60 | 70 | 70 |
| Cars towing caravans or trailers (including car-derived vans and motorcycles) | 30 | 20 | 50 | 60 | 60 |
| Motorhomes or motor caravans not exceeding 3.05 tonnes maximum unladen weight | 30 | 20 | 60 | 70 | 70 |
| Motorhomes or motor caravans exceeding 3.05 tonnes maximum unladen weight | 30 | 20 | 50 | 60 | 70 |
| Buses, coaches and minibuses not exceeding 12 metres in overall length | 30 | 20 | 50 | 60 | 70 |
| Buses, coaches and minibuses exceeding 12 metres in overall length | 30 | 20 | 50 | 60 | 60 |
| Goods vehicles not exceeding 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight | 30 | 20 | 50 | 60 | 70 (60 if articulated or towing a trailer) |
| Goods vehicles exceeding 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight, England and Wales | 30 | 20 | 50 | 60 | 60 |
| Goods vehicles exceeding 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight, Scotland | 30 | 20 | 40 | 50 | 60 |
Two derived numbers hang off that table. A limit of 30 mph — or 20 mph in Wales — generally applies to any road with street lights, motorways excepted, unless signs say otherwise: that is what lets you answer a question about an unsigned residential road. And Rule 125 makes the limit an absolute maximum rather than a target; it never lifts to let you finish an overtake. The full text of both rules, including the table's footnotes, is searchable on the Highway Code.
Stopping distances — Rule 126
Learn the totals and the split. Questions ask for the overall distance at a given speed, and also for the thinking component on its own.
| Speed | Thinking | Braking | Overall | Car lengths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mph | 6 m | 6 m | 12 m (40 ft) | 3 |
| 30 mph | 9 m | 14 m | 23 m (75 ft) | 6 |
| 40 mph | 12 m | 24 m | 36 m (118 ft) | 9 |
| 50 mph | 15 m | 38 m | 53 m (175 ft) | 13 |
| 60 mph | 18 m | 55 m | 73 m (240 ft) | 18 |
| 70 mph | 21 m | 75 m | 96 m (315 ft) | 24 |
The car-length column assumes an average car of 4 metres (13 feet). Wet roads at least double the figures; ice can multiply them by ten. There is a fuller treatment, including what the chevron markers on a motorway measure, in the stopping distances guide.
allow at least a two-second gap between you and the vehicle in front on high-speed roads and in tunnels where visibility is reduced. The gap should be at least doubled on wet roads and up to ten times greater on icy roads
Distances and gaps
Every figure below is a hard number in a rule, not a rule of thumb — which is exactly why they get tested.
| Figure | What it applies to | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 2 seconds | Minimum gap to the vehicle in front on high-speed roads and in tunnels with reduced visibility | Rule 126 |
| 4 seconds | Gap to leave if you are driving a large vehicle in a tunnel | Rule 126 |
| 5 metres | Minimum gap to leave to the vehicle in front if you have to stop inside a tunnel | Rule 126 |
| 20 metres | The distance from which you must be able to read a number plate in good daylight — 20.5 m for an old-style plate. Roughly five parked cars. | Rule 92 and the eyesight standard |
| 10 metres (32 feet) | Do not stop or park opposite or within this distance of a junction, unless you are in an authorised parking space | Rule 243 |
| 100 metres (328 feet) | Visibility is “seriously reduced” below this, so headlights become compulsory and fog lights become permitted — switch the fog lights off again once visibility improves | Rule 226 |
| 1.5 metres | Minimum clearance when overtaking a cyclist at speeds up to 30 mph, and more above that | Rule 163 |
| 2 metres | Clearance when passing horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles (at under 10 mph), and when passing a pedestrian walking in the road | Rule 163 |
Depths, weights and dimensions
| Figure | What it measures |
|---|---|
| 1.6 mm | Minimum tyre tread depth for a car, across a continuous band comprising the central three-quarters of the breadth of tread and round the entire outer circumference. Every tyre on the car has to meet it independently. |
| 135 cm | Height at which a child can stop using a child car seat — or their 12th birthday, whichever comes first |
| 2 tonnes | Maximum laden weight up to which a car-derived van keeps car speed limits |
| 3.05 tonnes | Maximum unladen weight that separates the two motorhome rows of the speed-limit table |
| 7.5 tonnes | Maximum laden weight that separates the two goods-vehicle rows of the speed-limit table |
| 12 metres | Overall length above which a bus or coach drops to 60 mph on the motorway |
| 4 metres (13 feet) | The average car length the stopping-distance diagram is drawn to |
Times, ages and deadlines
| Figure | What it governs |
|---|---|
| 11.30 pm to 7.00 am | Rule 112 puts a MUST NOT on sounding the horn while stationary on the road, and on sounding it in a built-up area between these hours. One exception covers both: when another road user poses a danger. |
| 15 minutes every 2 hours | The minimum recommended break on a long journey |
| Midnight to 6 am | The window to avoid long journeys in — natural alertness is at its lowest |
| Half an hour | “Night” runs from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise. Sidelights and rear registration plate lights, though, must be lit from sunset to sunrise. |
| 15 years and 9 months | Earliest age you can apply for a first provisional licence |
| 17 | The age most people can start learning to drive a car |
| 3 years | A vehicle needs its first MOT by the third anniversary of its registration |
| 24 hours | Outer limit for reporting a collision to the police where you could not give your details at the scene — and the law also requires it as soon as is reasonably practicable, so 24 hours is a ceiling, not an allowance |
| 4 or 11 years | How long an endorsement stays on your driving record, depending on the offence |
The 24-hour figure is the most misread number on this page; there is a full breakdown of the duty to stop, give details and report in after a collision.
Limits and penalties
| Figure | What it is |
|---|---|
| 35 µg / 80 mg / 107 mg | Alcohol limits in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — micrograms per 100 ml of breath, milligrammes per 100 ml of blood, milligrammes per 100 ml of urine |
| 22 µg / 50 mg / 67 mg | The same three limits in Scotland, all lower |
| 6 points and £200 | Penalty for holding and using a phone or similar device while driving |
| 6 points in 2 years | Reach this within two years of passing your first test and your licence is revoked — back to a provisional, and back through both tests |
| 12 points in 3 years | Builds up to a disqualification for any driver |
| Up to £500 | Fine for not wearing a seat belt, and for carrying a child under 14 who is not in the correct car seat or wearing a seat belt |
| Up to £1,000 | Fine for driving without a valid MOT |
The two-year probation is stricter than most new drivers expect, and it starts the day you pass — see the New Drivers Act. Several of the other penalties attach to habits people don’t realise are offences at all, which this guide covers.
Making them stick
Reading a table is not the same as recalling a figure under time pressure. Two things move these from recognition to recall: the memory hooks in the mnemonics guide, and repetition against real question wording. Work through the figures by chapter in the DVSA topics, then sit a mock test and see which numbers still wobble. The full rule text behind every figure above is searchable on the Highway Code, and the terms are defined in the glossary.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Theory test: multiple-choice questions
- GOV.UK — Theory test: hazard perception test
- GOV.UK — Theory test: pass mark and result
- GOV.UK — Driving test cost
- GOV.UK — Highway Code Rules 89 to 102 (breaks, eyesight, alcohol limits)
- GOV.UK — Highway Code Rules 103 to 158 (horn, lighting, speed limits, stopping distances)
- GOV.UK — Typical stopping distances (PDF)
- GOV.UK — Highway Code Rules 159 to 203 (overtaking clearances)
- GOV.UK — Highway Code Rules 226 to 237 (visibility, wet and icy roads)
- GOV.UK — Highway Code Rules 238 to 252 (waiting and parking)
- GOV.UK — Driving eyesight rules
- GOV.UK — The drink drive limit
- GOV.UK — Child car seats: the law
- GOV.UK — Seat belts: the law
- GOV.UK — Using a phone, sat nav or other device when driving
- GOV.UK — Penalty points (endorsements)
- GOV.UK — Penalty points (endorsements): new drivers
- GOV.UK — Vehicles you can drive (learning to drive at 17)
- GOV.UK — Getting an MOT
- GOV.UK — Apply for your first provisional driving licence
- legislation.gov.uk — Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, Reg 27 (tyre tread depth)
- legislation.gov.uk — Road Traffic Act 1988, section 170 (duty to report within 24 hours)
- legislation.gov.uk — Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995, section 2 (six points)
Highway Code excerpts are reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0.