Once you have your provisional licence you can apply for the Theory Test, you do not need a theory test certificate if you are upgrading in the same category, for example those wishing to take the B+E test will not need a theory test certificate.  Those wishing to take the category C or D course will, unless they sat a Theory Test for category C1 or D1.  Drivers who already posses category C1 or D1 from passing a car before the 1st January 1997 test will have to sit a theory test.

    The Theory Test can be booked by clicking HERE.  You will need your driving licence number and provisional entitlement for the group you wish to take the test in.  The test costs £32.00.  If you do not have a credit or debit card then please use the mail in form available by clicking HERE.

    We can supply theory test materials and training to help you through the test.

    The Theory Test is in 2 parts, the multiple choice question part and the video based hazard perception test.

Multiple Choice:

    Before the test starts you will be given instructions on how the test works.

    You can also choose to go through a practice session of the multiple choice questions to get used to the layout of the test. At the end of the practice session the real test will begin.

    A question and several answer options will appear onscreen and you have to select the correct answer to the question by touching the screen or using the mouse. Some questions may require more than one answer. 

    You will be asked 60 questions in 70 minutes. You can navigate between questions and ‘flag’ questions that you want to come back to later in the test.

    The pass mark for the multiple choice part of the theory test is 51 out of 60.

    After the multiple choice part you can choose to have a break of up to three minutes before the hazard perception part starts.

Hazard Perception:

    After the break you will then be shown a short tutorial video clip about how the hazard perception part works.

    The hazard perception part is also delivered on a computer but you respond by clicking a button on the mouse. You will be presented with a series of 14 video clips which feature every day road scenes. In each clip there will be at least one developing hazard, but one of the clips will feature two developing hazards. 

    To achieve a high score you will need to respond to the developing hazard during the early part of its development.  The maximum you can score on each hazard is five. You will not be able to review your answers to the hazard perception test; as on the road, you will only have one chance to respond to the developing hazard.

    The pass mark for the hazard perception part of the theory test is 50 out of 75.

    Please click on one of the examples below.  These clips require Windows Media Player 7 or higher to play.

  Narrowband Video for users on dial-up modems.

  Broadband Video for users with a high-speed connection.

Did you know???

• A sample multiple choice question theory test is available on the DSA website, click HERE and try it out.
• It is advisable to study for the Theory and Hazard Perception Test.

Updated 11th November 2007