Apply for a trainee licence to give driving lessons – you’ll need to have passed the approved driving instructor (ADI) part 2 test and have done at least 40 hours of training with a qualified ADI.

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) have merged to form the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

It costs £140.

The online service is available from 6am to 11:30pm.

You will need:

• your online user ID from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)
• your password

Finishing your application

To finish your application you will need to send:

• a print out of the last screen
• a passport-sized photo with your ADI personal reference number on the back
• the ‘instructor training declaration’ form to prove you have done 40 hours of training
• the ‘application for trainee licence: declaration of manager/owner’ form if it’s your first trainee licence

Download ‘ADI 21T – Instruction training declaration’ form (PDF, 217KB)

Download ‘ADI 3L(MD) – Application for trainee licence: declaration of manager/owner’ form (PDF, 240KB)

There’s a different process to apply for a trainee licence in Northern Ireland.

Your user ID and password

Your user ID can be found on all letters sent to you by DSA. It’s not the same as your ADI personal reference number.

You can email DVSA if you’ve never had a user ID or have lost yours. You’ll need to include 2 of these in your email:

• your personal reference number
• your driving licence number
• your date of birth

DVSA
customer.services@dsa.gsi.gov.uk

Rules for passwords
You can’t use any of your 5 previously used passwords.

Your password must be at least 9 characters long. It must include at least 3 of these 4 types of characters:

• uppercase characters, eg A B C
• lowercase characters, eg a b c
• numeric digits, eg 1 2 3
• special characters, eg £ % &

Help with your application

Email the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) if you have any problems applying online.

DVSA
customer.services@dsa.gsi.gov.uk