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The United Kingdom driving test is a test which all United Kingdom learner drivers must pass to obtain a full driving licence. Different tests are available for users of different vehicles, from car drivers, to motorcyclists and HGV drivers. In Great Britain it is administered by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA)[2] and in Northern Ireland by the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA).[3] The test is separated into three distinct parts: a multiple-choice theory test, a hazard perception test and the practical test. It is necessary to pass all three parts before a full driving licence is granted.

The minimum age at which one can take the driving test is currently 17 (or 16 if receiving Disability Living Allowance). There is no maximum upper age limit. All Full UK Licence holders must renew their driving licences at the age of 70 (with the permission of their GP only) otherwise they will no longer be eligible to drive as full licence holders by law.

Around 1.6 million people sit the examination on an annual basis, with a pass rate of around 43%. UK driving licenses were introduced by the Motor Car Act 1903 but no test was required. A test for disabled drivers was introduced by the Road Traffic Act 1930.

Legislation for compulsory testing was introduced for all new drivers with the Road Traffic Act 1934. The test was initially voluntary to avoid a rush of candidates until 1 June 1935 when all people who had started to drive on or after 1 April 1934 needed to have passed the test.

Testing was suspended during World war 2. Testing was suspended again during the Suez Crisis in 1956 to allow examiners help to administer petrol rations. The driving theory test was introduced in July 1996 as a written examination which was updated to a computer based test in 2000. The hazard perception test was introduced in November 2002.

There are two parts to the theory test: the multiple-choice test and the hazard perception test. Both must be taken and passed in the same session in order to obtain a theory test certificate, which can then be used to book the practical driving test within two years of the theory pass.

This part of the theory test is performed on a touch screen computer system. The test has 50 multiple choice questions and the candidate must answer at least 43 of them correctly to pass. Each question may have more than one answer and this will be indicated in the question. All questions are randomly selected from a bank of thousands on a selection of topics.

The test lasts for 57 minutes although candidates with certain special needs can apply for more time. All 50 questions must be answered. The test allows 15 minutes practice time at the start of the exam to get used to answering the questions and how to use the system. To answer a question the candidate simply touches their choice of answer from the listed answers on the computer screen. If a mistake is made the candidate can deselect a choice and reselect a different option. The candidate is allowed to go back to a question at any time and can also flag questions they are unsure of in order to find and return to it quickly and easily later. To pass the test, 43 of the 50 questions (86%) must be answered correctly.

For lorry and bus drivers, 100 questions are asked over a 115-minute period, and 85 out of 100 must be answered correctly to pass. Prior to 3 September 2007, the car and motorcycle multiple-choice tests comprised 35 questions, with a pass mark of 30 within a 40 minute time limit.

Examinees watch fourteen one-minute clips (nineteen clips for lorry and bus candidates) filmed from the perspective of a car driver and have to indicate, usually by clicking a mouse button or touching the screen, when they observe a developing hazard. All of the clips will include one developing hazard, and one will include two such hazards. The sooner an examinee reacts to a developing hazard, the more points are scored, from five down to one, with no score if the examinee reacts too late. Thus the maximum possible score is 75 (100 for lorry and bus tests). The pass mark is 44 for car drivers and motorcyclists and 57 when qualifying as an Approved Driving Instructor. Lorry and Bus drivers must score 67 out of 100.