20 questions to ask a driving franchise before you join
Before you join a driving school franchise, ask these questions first.
Whether you’re weighing up an ADI franchise or a PDI franchise, the questions are the same.
Most instructors don’t ask them.
Most instructors regret that later.
What the brochure doesn’t tell you
Every driving instructor franchise sells the same dream.
Guaranteed pupils.
Full support.
A business in a box, ready to go.
The dream mostly runs out at the signature line.
Reality looks very different.
Driving instructor franchise fees keep coming out whether your diary is full or empty.
The support promised at the sales meeting turns into a phone number nobody answers and an email to an account at an address nobody reads.
Search driving instructor jobs North East England and you’ll find plenty of promises from plenty of franchises.
‘Honest’ answers vary, and are rarer.
20 questions to ask a driving franchise before you join
Print this list. Take it to the meeting. Watch which ones get a straight answer and which ones get talked around.
How much is the franchise?
Do I have to sign a contract?
How long is the contract?
What happens if I leave early?
Are there any charges I have to pay if I miss a franchise payment?
Do I get payment holidays for annual leave or sickness?
If I leave, are the pupils mine? Or do I have to give them back to you?
Do you take a percentage of lesson fees?
Am I allowed to take on my own private work and If I am, will you take a percentage of that too?
Once your contract is up and you’re free to leave without penalty, what’s the retention rate then?
Can I speak to three current instructors and three who’ve left, of my choosing, not yours?
Is there a non-compete clause stopping me teaching in my own area afterwards?
What’s the average number of pupils per week your instructors actually get, not the number in your marketing? Is that average guaranteed in writing, or just implied at the sales meeting?
Can the franchise fee increase without my agreement?
Who covers the cost if a pupil cancels last minute or doesn’t pay?
Do you set my lesson prices, or can I set my own?
Is there a cap on how many instructors you take on in my area, or will you flood my patch with competition next month?
Read the driving instructor franchise contract properly
Most instructors skim the contract and focus on the fee.
The fee is the easy part but the real damage sits in the small print about leaving.
Ask what leaving a driving instructor franchise actually costs.
Early exit fees, notice periods, non-compete clauses, who keeps your pupils, who keeps your Google reviews.
A franchise confident in its own service doesn’t need a 2, 3, etc year tie in to keep you there.
If a franchise stalls on the retention question once the contract stops holding people hostage, or won’t let you speak to instructors who’ve already left, write that down. It’s your answer!!
Why ADIs and PDIs across the North East choose DrewMatic
This is DrewMatic driving instructor recruitment, and it’s built on the answers most franchises won’t give you.
Flat driving instructor franchise fees, whatever your postcode.
There are no non compete clauses stopping you teaching in your own patch.
Neither is there any cut taken from your private work.
Pupils and reviews stay yours, though most instructors who join us don’t end up wanting to leave.
If you’re already qualified, see what changes when you switch.
Join as an experienced ADI →
If you’re mid-licence, find out how the trainee route works with us.
PDI and trainee licence instructors →
New to the industry and starting from scratch, this is where you begin.
Driving instructor training →
Whatever stage you’re at, have a confidential conversation before you sign anything else.
Get in touch →
No obligation nor announcement and no one else needs to know you asked.
Theres a really high probability someone from another driving school who hates our success or just wants to emulate it, is reading this entire article right now, just to see how to copy, share or compete.
It’s because we’ve done it right, right from the start.
