You can take your driving test in your own car rather than your driving instructor's if it meets certain rules. Your test will be cancelled and you will have to pay again if your car does not meet the rules.
1. Rules About the Car
Your car must:
- •Not have any warning lights on showing safety issues with the car (like the airbag warning light).
- •Have no tyre damage and meet the legal tread depth on each tyre. You must not have a space-saver spare tyre fitted.
- •Be roadworthy.
- •Be fitted with an extra interior rear-view mirror for the examiner.
- •Be fitted with a passenger seatbelt and a passenger head restraint for the examiner (slip-on types are not allowed).
- •Be able to reach at least 62mph.
- •Have an officially fitted mph speedometer (not just an extra display or smart phone app).
- •Be fitted with L-plates ('L' or 'D' plates in Wales) on the front and rear.
- •Have 4 wheels and meet the maximum authorised mass (MAM) of no more than 3,500 kg. The MAM is the limit on how much the car can weigh when it is loaded, and it will be in the car's handbook.
2. Tax, Insurance and Cleaning
Your car must be taxed, have a current MOT (if it is over 3 years old), and be insured for a driving test (you must check this with your insurance company).
You should tidy your car before your test, which includes removing any rubbish or unnecessary items from the dashboard, footwells, door pockets, cup holders and seats. Your car must be smoke-free, which means you cannot smoke in it just before or during the test.
3. Dashcams and Vehicle Features
You can use a camera fitted for insurance purposes (dashcam), as long as it faces outside of the car, does not film the inside, and does not record audio from inside the car.
- •Allowed features: You can use a car with an electronic parking brake, hill-start assist, cruise control, speed limiters, parking sensors and cameras, lane assist, blind spot monitoring, and traffic sign recognition.
- •Banned features: If your car has self-parking, Tesla autopilot, or your own sat nav, you cannot use them during the test.
If you are using your own car, it does not need to have dual controls. You can also take your test in a hire car if it is fitted with dual controls and meets all the other rules.
4. Cars You Cannot Use
Some cars cannot be used in the test because they do not give the examiner all-round vision. You cannot use the following:
- •Any panel van (cars without rear seats or rear side windows).
- •BMW 218 convertible, BMW Mini convertible, Ford KA convertible, VW Beetle convertible.
- •Polestar 4, Polestar 5.
- •Smart Fortwo (2-door), Toyota iQ.
There might be other cars that you cannot use because not every model has been used in a test before. Always contact your test centre to ask about a specific vehicle if you want to use a convertible car or a coupe (a car with a fixed roof, two doors and a sloping rear). You can contact the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) if you need general advice or contact details for your test centre.
5. Cars With Known Safety Faults (Recalls)
You cannot use certain cars unless you have proof that they are safe because they have been recalled for a safety reason. You must bring the proof that it is safe with you when you take your test. The affected vehicles (due to Airbag issues) are:
- •Citroen C3 and Citroen DS3 (Vehicles built between 2009 and 2016).
- •Citroen C4, Citroen DS4, and Citroen DS5 (Vehicles built between 2 February 2010 and 20 May 2018).
- •DS Automobiles DS3 (Some vehicles built between 2016 and 2019).
You can check if your car is recalled or has been fixed before your test using Citroen's online vehicle recall service by using your car's 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN). The examiner will also check this online before your test starts. If the examiner cannot check online, you will need to bring proof that says either the car was recalled and the work has been done, the car was recalled but did not need any work, or the car was not part of the recall. The proof must be either the recall letter/safety notice stamped by the manufacturer/dealer, on official headed notepaper from the manufacturer/dealer, or a screenshot from the online vehicle recall service. Your test will be cancelled and you could lose your fee if you do not bring the right proof.