Mark Donnison v Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

NCN: [2026] UKFTT 00669 (GRC) Case Reference: FT/D/2025/1184 First-tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber Transport Decided with a hearing by CVP Decision given on: 07 May 2026 Before TRIBUNAL JUDGE T BARRETT Between Mark donnison Appellant and REGISTRAR OF APPROVED DRIVING INSTRUCTORS Respondent Decision: The appeal is Dismissed. The Registrar’s decision of 24 October 2025 is upheld. REASONS Introduction

1. The Appellant is a trainee driving instructor who was granted two trainee licence under section 129 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (the “Act”), each for a six-month period that ran back-to-back from 16 September 2024 to 15 September 2025.

2. They were refused a third trainee licence by a decision of the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors (‘the Registrar’) made on 24 October 2025.

3. The Appellant now appeals that decision.

4. The Appellant attended the hearing via CVP but the Respondent, in line with its usual practice, did not attend and instead sought to rely on the written submissions alone. The Tribunal was satisfied that it was fair and just to conduct the hearing in this way.

5. What follows is a summary of the submissions, evidence and our view of the law. It does not seek to provide every step of our reasoning. The absence of a reference by us to any specific submission or evidence does not mean it has not been considered. Legal Framework

6. The Appellant's name is not on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors ("the Register") and is therefore prohibited from giving paid driving instructions by section 123 (1) of the Act unless they hold a trainee licence issued by the Registrar pursuant to section 129(1) of the Act.

7. The grant of a trainee licence enables applicants to provide instruction for payment before they are qualified. A trainee licence under section 129(1) of the Act is granted: ‘for the purpose of enabling a person to acquire practical experience in giving instruction in driving motor cars with a view to undergoing such part of the examination… as consists of a practical test of ability and fitness to instruct.’

8. In order to qualify as an Approved Driving Instructor, applicants must pass the ‘Qualifying Examination’ comprised of three parts: the written examination (‘Part 1’); the driving ability and fitness test (‘Part 2’); and the instructional ability and fitness test (‘Part 3’).

9. The whole qualifying examination must be completed within two years of passing Part 1, and only three attempts are allowed for each Part, failure to comply with either of these requirements results in the whole examination needing to be retaken.

10. If a candidate has passed Part 2, they may be granted a trainee licence if they meet all the relevant conditions (including as set out in s.129(2)(b) the requirement in s.125(3)(e) that the individual is a fit and proper person) .

11. The grant of a trainee licence enables applicants to provide instruction for payment before they are qualified. It is possible to qualify as an Approved Driving Instructor without having held a trainee licence and the statutory framework does not require persons to hold trainee licences when undertaking the Part 3 exam.

12. By section 129(3) of the Act "The Registrar may refuse to grant a licence under this section to an applicant to whom such a licence has previously been issued."

13. By section 129(8)(c) of the Act "before deciding whether or not to refuse the application, the Registrar must take into consideration any such representations made within that period."

14. By section 129(6) of the Act:- "Notwithstanding any provision of regulations made by virtue of subsection (5) above prescribing the period for which a licence is to be in force, where a person applies for a new licence in substitution for a licence held by him and current at the date of the application, the previous licence shall not expire— (a)until the commencement of the new licence, or (b) if the Registrar decides to refuse the application, until the time limited for an appeal under the following provisions of this Part of this Act against the decision has expired and, if such an appeal is duly brought, it is finally disposed of."

15. The powers of the Tribunal in determining this appeal are set out in s.131 of the Act. The Tribunal may make such order as it thinks fit.

16. When making its Decision, the Tribunal stands in the shoes of the Registrar and takes a fresh decision on the evidence available to it, giving appropriate weight to the Registrar’s decision as the person tasked by Parliament with making such decisions. The burden of proof in satisfying the Tribunal that the Registrar’s decision was wrong rests with the Appellant. The Appeal

17. The Appellant’s notice of appeal dated 3 November 2025 relies on the following grounds as reasons for the appeal: a. That whilst the Appellant agrees that they have had time to gain said experience to pass Part 3 they have been unable to take the Part 3 test as the DVSA have been unable to provide a slot. b. Whilst there was an unsuccessful attempt in April 2025 attempts to find a second test in the period after that at any centre within a reasonable travelling distance have been fruitless. c. The Appellant has booked and paid for a test ‘on hold’ at Chichester but still no date has been given as of yet. d. There has been no “missed time” and the application is not made on that basis but solely on the basis that the DVSA has not had any tests available. e. The Appellant ‘need(s) to be able to continue teaching whilst (they) await a test date’ because they have many learners under their supervision who are relying on them to get them through the upcoming tests, to refuse the application would jeopardise their learning and their ability to take the tests.

18. The Appellant’s notice of appeal also stated that the desired outcome of the appeal is to obtain “The grant of a further Trainee Instructor licence… in order that I can continue to teach my students whilst I wait for the DVSA to make a Part 3 test available to me.”.

19. The Appellant’s representations to the Registrar of the 20 September 2025 set out essentially the same grounds as those in the Notice of Appeal.

20. The Registrar’s notice of refusal dated 27 November 2025, takes the representations made by the Appellant into consideration and states the reasons for the refusal as: a. The Appellant provided no evidence of lost training time. b. The Appellant had already been granted previous licences each of six months duration which is considered to be a more than adequate period of time. c. It was not Parliament’s intention that the candidates should be issued licences for as long as it takes them to pass the examination and the trainee licence system must not be allowed to become an alternative to registration as a fully qualified Approved Driving Instructor.

21. The Registrar’s statement of case dated 3 February 2026 resists the appeal. The Registrar states that: a. The Appellant has had the benefit of two trainee licences for a combined period of 12 months and provided no evidence of lost training time (para 5). b. The purpose of the provisions governing the issue of licences is to afford applicants the opportunity of giving instruction to members of the public whilst endeavouring to achieve registration. The system of issuing licences is not and must not be allowed to become an alternative to the system of registration (para 6(i)). c. The licence granted to applicants is not to enable the instructor to teach for however long it takes to pass the examinations, but to allow up to six months experience of instruction. This provides a very reasonable period in which to reach the qualifying standard in the examination and in particular, to obtain any necessary practical experience in tuition. Moreover, by virtue of the Appellant having applied for a third licence before the expiry date of the second, that licence has remained in force to the present time and will allow the Appellant to continue to give paid instruction until determination of the appeal; (para 6(ii)). d. Since passing the driving ability test the Appellant has failed the instructional ability test once. Despite ample time and opportunity the Appellant has not been able to reach the required standard for qualification as an Approved Driving Instructor. (para 6(iii)). e. The refusal of a third licence does not bar the Appellant from attempting the instructional ability test of the Register examinations. They do not need to hold a trainee licence for that purpose, nor is it essential for them to give professional tuition under licence in order to obtain further training. The Appellant could attend a training course, or study and practice with an Approved Driving Instructor or give tuition on their own (provided that they do not receive payment of any kind for this). These alternatives are used by some trainees who acquire registration without obtaining any licences at all (para 6(iv)). The evidence

22. We considered a bundle of evidence containing 21 numbered pages, and heard from the Appellant. The Appellant carefully and sincerely presented their case in a fair and considerate manner that the Tribunal greatly appreciated. In summary the Appellant set out in their submissions or in answer to questions from the Tribunal the following: a. That the Appellant agrees with and does not disapprove of the DVSA system for Trainee instructors, but that in their opinion it can only work if they are able to ensure test availability for every candidate within the six month period of such licences. However, the shortage of examiners means they had to wait a year between occasions where a Part 3 test was available to them. b. That since the Appellant launched this appeal their circumstances have changed and the passage of time has meant that they have now spent around 18 months with a Trainee licence and now have a final attempt for a Part 3 test booked in for 28 days time. Consequently the seeking of a third six-month licence is now largely redundant and they are now only seeking a 28 day extension in order that they can continue teaching till the Part 3 Test date. c. Whilst benefiting from a Trainee licence the Appellant has taught a total of approximately 70 students with approximately 50 of those passing their test on first or second try and a number of students currently being taught pending a future test. d. The application for a final extension of the Trainee licence is not just on the basis of a consideration of the Appellant’s own circumstances but also on a consideration of the effect it would have on the significant number of current students of the Appellant who will be punished though no fault of their own if the extension isn’t granted. e. The Appellant acknowledges the process that applies to Trainee instructors but argues that there is a significant process failure if within the statutory period it is impossible for Trainees to obtain 3 dates for a Part 3 test as they are entitled to within the framework. This issue is fundamental because regardless of whether experience could be gained by other means than a Trainee licence (e.g. teaching for free) the Appellant would still be at the fundamental disadvantage that he could not take the tests intime to qualify. However upon questioning the Appellant accepted that this was a wider issue rather than one specifically relevant to the correctness of the decision of the Respondent to refuse the application for a further licence. f. The Appellant confirmed that his students were aware that he was a Trainee instructor and not a fully qualified one. So should know that the Appellant’s ability to provide paid for training would not be available for an unlimited period of time unless and until they passed their full qualification. g. There are other instructors that work for the same driving school as the Appellant, but only one of those covers a similar area to the Appellant and that instructor is already at full capacity. Other instructors in that firm work a significant distance away. If the Appellant is unable to continue to offer training the Students are likely to be stranded because there are few (if any) other options in the area and even those are unlikely to be willing to take on any of the students who are imminently due to take their tests. h. The Appellant agreed that they could take the scheduled Part 3 test in 28 days even without the extension to their Trainee licence but noted that the current roster of students he had would have to be abandoned or go elsewhere until he passed Part

3. i. The Appellant confirmed that in terms of training and gaining experience they agreed that they did not need a further Trainee licence for any of these purposes, because they had not had any “missed time” in their training. The sole purpose of the application now was to obtain a grace period to cover the 28 days remaining until the Part 3 test date that is scheduled, so as to allow him to continue to work and fulfil the obligations he has to his current roster of students. The Appellant stated this entire predicament arises from the DVSA’s failure to provide sufficient test availability and had they done so this issue would never have arisen as he would have passed the test by now and not need an extension. Conclusions

23. Trainee licences are granted for the “purpose of enabling a person to acquire practical experience in giving instruction in driving motor cars” as set out in the legislation. They do not exist to perform a continuous ‘on-ramp’ function for individuals to seamlessly transition from Trainee instructor to fully qualified instructor with an unbroken stream of income from teaching driving.

24. The Trainee licence is designed as a specifically time limited training facility, that exceptionally provides a means to gain relevant experience for the Part 3 test. Whilst individuals are entitled to (and do) derive an income from teaching whilst relying on a Trainee licence, that is designed to be an exceptional and temporary circumstance because the purpose of the licence is to provide necessary experience and any other benefit (such as income) is purely incidental. In particular the system is not designed to guarantee that Trainee instructors will be able to take on students and continue to teach them without interruption, unless by pure chance the Trainee Instructor is able to take and pass their Part 3 test during the period of their initial 6 month Trainee Licence.

25. Individuals are not entitled to continual renewal of trainee licences until they pass their Part 3 test. The six month period of such licences is set on the basis this alone is an adequate period to prepare for the Part 3 Test, and in any event as acknowledged by the Appellant it is not necessary to hold a Trainee Licence in order to either prepare for or to take the Part 3 test. Individuals using Trainee instructors for their lessons should therefore be aware that the default position is always that the Trainee Instructor can only guarantee availability for that period of six months, no more. An instructor might happily qualify in that period, alternatively they might exceptionally be granted a further Trainee licence or a similar extension but neither of these things are in the Trainee instructor’s gift and neither can be guaranteed. It is therefore an inherent risk when using Trainee instructors that they may be unable to continue to teach for reward at a point before the Student has taken their test. It is of course unfortunate when this happens, but it is a known and inevitable risk that Students and their Trainee instructors must acknowledge and manage appropriately.

26. The Tribunal is aware that it can be difficult to book a Part 3 test but that in itself is not a reason to grant further licences given it is not necessary to have such a licence in order to take and pass the Part 3 test.An individual might have a single Trainee licence and then not take the test for 9 months but still pass, similarly there are persons who take and pass the test having never had a Trainee licence. It is not designed to (and cannot be allowed to) become a valid alternative to obtaining full qualification and/or a method for providing a regular income. The Trainee licence is an exceptional dispensation that is granted to provide an educational benefit to the Trainee instructor. Further grants of such licences must further that aim and cannot simply be for income or similar such reasons. As the Appellant themselves acknowledged to the Tribunal, there is in this case no question of there being any ‘missing time’ nor any need for further training or experience given the near 20 months the Appellant has held a Trainee licence. A further Trainee licence would not provide any material benefit to the Appellant in terms of further training or experience, but rather would just serve the purposes of providing a ‘grace period’ allowing the Appellant to continue to carry out paid-for instruction and to prevent the Appellant’s existing roster of students from having to find a replacement instructor in the period up to the scheduled Part 3 test.

27. In conclusion, the Appellant has not persuaded the Tribunal that the Registrar’s decision was wrong in any way. In all the circumstances, we agree with the Registrar’s decision and dismiss this appeal. SignedTribunal Judge T BarrettDate: 5/5/2026