Thinking about training as a driving instructor?
Talk to Clint before you spend a penny. No hard sell, no packages, no pressure.
Becoming an instructor
Driving instructor training in the North East
Most people who look into this get sold a package before they get told a single honest number.
We do it the other way round.
There are no packages here. No four figure bundle you pay for up front and then discover you needed something else. Your training is delivered by an ORDIT registered trainer we work with, at £45 an hour, and you pay for the hours you use. If you need twenty, you pay for twenty. If you need sixty, you pay for sixty.
Some people need more hours than others. Anyone who tells you they know how many you need before they have sat next to you is guessing.
Below is what the qualification actually costs, what the three parts involve, and what happens after you pass. Read it before you speak to anybody, including us.
The money
What it actually costs
These are the government fees. Nobody can charge them for you and nobody can discount them. Correct as at September 2026.
| What you pay for | Cost |
|---|---|
| Enhanced DBS check, needed before anything else | approx. £17 |
| Part 1 theory and hazard perception, per attempt | £81 |
| Part 2 driving ability, per attempt | £111 |
| Part 3 instructional ability, per attempt | £111 |
| ADI registration, lasts four years | £300 |
| Total, if you pass everything first time | approx. £620 |
| Trainee licence, optional, lasts six months | £140 |
| Training with an ORDIT registered trainer, per hour | £45 |
Parts 2 and 3 are capped at three attempts each. Every attempt costs the full fee again. All three parts must be passed within two years of passing Part 1, and if you use up your attempts you wait out that two year window and start over.
Training is the variable, and it cannot start until your PRN comes through. Forty hours at £45 is £1,800. That is the minimum before you can apply for a trainee licence. Plenty of people need more than the minimum.
The route
How you actually qualify
Step one: your DBS check
Nothing starts until this is done. You need an enhanced DBS check through the DVSA, it costs around £17, and the DVSA walk you through the online verification themselves.
Start it today. Not once you have decided, not once you have shopped around. It takes weeks and everyone who leaves it until last ends up waiting.
Begin at the DVSA criminal record disclosure service on GOV.UK.
Step two: your PRN
Once your DBS is cleared you apply to the DVSA and they issue your Personal Reference Number. Your PRN is the number every later step hangs off, so keep it somewhere safe.
You cannot begin training until you hold it. That is the DVSA’s rule, not ours, and it is the single biggest reason people lose months at the start.
Come back to us with your PRN and we will get you moving.
Part 1: theory and hazard perception
One hundred multiple choice questions and a hazard perception test, in one sitting. £81 an attempt, and you can take it as many times as you need.
Most people pass this. It is the part you can revise your way through, and it is the cheapest mistake to make.
Part 2: your own driving
An hour of driving assessed to a far higher standard than the test you took as a learner. £111 an attempt, three attempts maximum.
People who have driven for twenty years often struggle here. Two decades of habits get picked apart in sixty minutes. This is where training starts earning its money.
Part 3: teaching
You teach a real lesson while an examiner watches. £111 an attempt, three attempts maximum. Fail one and you must do five hours of extra training before the next.
Part 3 has the lowest pass rate of the three by a distance, and it is the one nobody warns you about properly. Being a good driver has nothing to do with it. Being able to teach does.
Register and start work
Pass Part 3 and you pay £300 to join the ADI register. That gets you the green badge and it lasts four years. You have twelve months from passing Part 3 to register.
From that point you can legally charge for lessons.
The pink badge
You can earn before you finish
Once you have passed Part 2 and completed at least forty hours of training, you can apply for a trainee licence. It costs £140 and lasts six months. It lets you teach paid lessons while you work towards Part 3.
There is a catch worth knowing before you apply. You choose one of two supervision routes on the form, and you cannot change it afterwards. We will talk you through which one suits you.
Ask Us About The Trainee LicenceWorth knowing
Before you commit
This takes most people six to twelve months. Anyone promising you a badge in eight weeks is selling you a timetable, not a qualification.
Be careful with big upfront payments. If a school wants two or three thousand pounds before you have sat in a car with anyone, ask what happens to that money if you fail Part 2 twice, or if you change your mind, or if the trainer turns out to be nothing like the advert. Get the answer in writing.
Ask who is actually teaching you. Not the name on the website. The person who will be in the passenger seat. Ask how long they have done it and how many people they have got through Part 3.
Our training team includes former DVSA driving examiners, people who sat on the other side of that test and marked it. That is not a badge we bought. It is who we are.
And if it turns out this career is not for you, better you find that out after five hours than after five grand.
After you pass
What happens once you have the badge
You can stay with us. Weekly fee is £53 with Total Drive or £50 without, dropping to £43 and £40 after twelve months. No percentage cut of your lessons. No charge while you are sick or on holiday. You do not pay anything until we have put ten paying pupils in front of you.
Or you can go elsewhere. We will not stop you and we will not claw your pupils back. People who leave us go on good terms and several have come back.
See The Full Franchise TermsFAQ
Questions we get all the time
What is the first thing I should do?
Your enhanced DBS check. It costs around £17 and the DVSA guide you through the online verification. Once it clears you apply for your Personal Reference Number, and only once you hold your PRN can training begin. Get the DBS moving today and get in touch when you have your number.
How much does training cost?
£45 an hour, paid as you go. There are no packages and nothing to pay up front. Forty hours is the minimum before you can apply for a trainee licence, which comes to £1,800.
Who delivers the training?
An ORDIT registered trainer we work with. You will meet them before you commit to anything, and you can ask them whatever you like.
How long does it take?
Six to twelve months for most people. You have two years from passing Part 1 to pass all three parts, so there is room, but the clock is real.
Do I have to train in an automatic?
Not at all. But you will be teaching in one with us, because automatic is all we teach.
Am I guaranteed a job at the end?
You are guaranteed an offer of a place with us. We are short of instructors and long on learners, so if you qualify with us and we get on, there is work here.
I am already a qualified ADI. Is this page for me?
No. You do not need training, you need terms. Have a look at our page for qualified instructors instead.
Instructor training near you
We train across the North East. Pick the page closest to you.
Start With A Conversation, Not A Deposit
Call or text Clint on 07870 809 373. Ask him anything. What it costs, how long it takes, whether you are cut out for it. He will tell you straight, including when the answer is no.
Enquire about instructor training
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