{"id":562902,"date":"2026-04-15T00:26:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T22:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.com\/jurisprudences\/james-william-thompson-v-registrar-for-approved-driving-instructors-2\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T00:26:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T22:26:30","slug":"james-william-thompson-v-registrar-for-approved-driving-instructors-2","status":"publish","type":"kji_decision","link":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.com\/zh-hans\/jurisprudences\/james-william-thompson-v-registrar-for-approved-driving-instructors-2\/","title":{"rendered":"James William Thompson v Registrar for Approved Driving Instructors"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"kji-decision\">\n<div class=\"kji-full-text\">\n<p>Introduction 1. This is an appeal against a decision of the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors (\u2018the Registrar\u2019) made on 24 November 2025 to refuse to grant the Appellant a third trainee licence. Legal framework 2. The grant of a trainee licence enables applicants to provide instruction for payment before they are qualified. 3. A trainee licence may be granted in the circumstances set out in s. 129 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (\u2018the Act\u2019) and the Motor Cars (Driving Instruction) Regulations 2005. 4. A licence under section 129(1) of the Act is granted: \u2018for 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&#8230; as consists of a practical test of ability and fitness to instruct.\u2019 5. In order to qualify as an Approved Driving Instructor, applicants must pass the Qualifying Examination. This comprises: the written examination (\u2018Part 1\u2019); the driving ability and fitness test (\u2018Part 2\u2019); and the instructional ability and fitness test (\u2018Part 3\u2019). 6. Three attempts are permitted at each part. The whole examination must be completed within 2 years of passing Part 1, failing which the whole examination has to be retaken. 7. If a candidate has passed Part 2, they may be granted a trainee licence. 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. 8. 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. 9. 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\u2019s decision as the person tasked by Parliament with making such decisions. The burden of proof in satisfying the Tribunal that the Registrar\u2019s decision was wrong rests with the Appellant. Factual background to the appeal 10. The Appellant passed Part 1 of the Qualifying Examination on 23 September 2024 and passed Part 2 on 11 October 2024. The Appellant applied for two trainee licences which were granted and were valid from 25 November 2024 to 24 November 2025. 11. The Appellant applied for a third trainee licence on 28 October 2025. As the Appellant applied before the licence expired, this means that, at the date of the hearing, the Appellant has been the beneficiary of a trainee licence for 1 year and 3 months. 12. The Appellant took and failed his first attempt at the Part 3 exam on 28 February 2025. He cancelled his second attempt at his Part 3 test booked for 27 June 2025. He failed the second attempt on 14 July 2025. The DSA cancelled a Part 3 exam booked for 9 January 2026. The Appellant\u2019s final attempt is booked for 27 March 2026. Appeal to the Tribunal 13. The Appellant\u2019s grounds of appeal are that the DVSA are not capable of providing the Appellant with 3 attempts at the ADI part 3 test within a 12 month window and it is unfair on him and his leamers with upcoming driving tests that they have waited for months to take the test due to \u2018the complete mess the DVSA has found itself in\u2019 to have to try to \ufb01nd a new instructor at short notice. 14. The Registrar, in his response to the appeal, states: 14.1. 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. 14.2. 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. 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 him to continue to give paid instruction until determination of the appeal. 14.3. Since passing his driving ability test the Appellant has failed the instructional ability test twice and cancelled one test. Despite ample time and opportunity the Appellant has not been able to reach the required standard for qualification as an Approved Driving Instructor. 14.4. The refusal of a third licence does not bar the Appellant from attempting the instructional ability test of the Register examinations. He does not need to hold a licence for that purpose, nor is it essential for him 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 his own (provided that she does not receive payment of any kind for this). These alternatives are used by some trainees who acquire registration without obtaining any licences at all. Evidence 15. I read and took account of a bundle of documents. Discussion and conclusions 16. I accept that the Appellant has had difficulty in booking a test. When he booked his third attempt in July, he was only able to book a date in January 2026, which was after his trainee licence expired. That test was then cancelled by the DVSA and rebooked for March, causing further delay. I accept that if the Appellant is not granted a third licence this will cause inconvenience to him and his pupils. 17. However, the purpose of the trainee licence is not to allow the trainee driving instructors to continue to work or to continue to provide tuition up until the point at which they take their third test. It is to give a reasonable opportunity to obtain the practical experience envisaged by the Act. The Appellant has had adequate time to gain practical experience for his Part 3 test, which is booked for March 2026. 18. Having weighed all matters in the balance, the Appellant has not persuaded me that the Registrar\u2019s decision was wrong in any way. In all the circumstances, I agree with the Registrar\u2019s decision and the appeal is dismissed. Signed Sophie Buckley Date: 26 February 2026 Judge of the First-tier Tribunal<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr class=\"kji-sep\" \/>\n<p class=\"kji-source-links\"><strong>Sources officielles :<\/strong> <a class=\"kji-source-link\" href=\"https:\/\/caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk\/ukftt\/grc\/2026\/312\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">consulter la page source<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"kji-license-note\"><em>Open Justice Licence (The National Archives).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction 1. This is an appeal against a decision of the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors (\u2018the Registrar\u2019) made on 24 November 2025 to refuse to grant the Appellant a third trainee licence. Legal framework 2. The grant of a trainee licence enables applicants to provide instruction for payment before they are qualified. 3. A trainee licence may be granted&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_crdt_document":""},"kji_country":[7608],"kji_court":[7631],"kji_chamber":[],"kji_year":[7610],"kji_subject":[7646],"kji_keyword":[7633,7635,7637,7641,7639],"kji_language":[7611],"class_list":["post-562902","kji_decision","type-kji_decision","status-publish","hentry","kji_country-royaume-uni","kji_court-first-tier-tribunal-general-regulatory-chamber-transport","kji_year-7610","kji_subject-divers","kji_keyword-appellant","kji_keyword-driving","kji_keyword-licence","kji_keyword-registrar","kji_keyword-trainee","kji_language-anglais"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>James William Thompson v Registrar for Approved Driving Instructors - Ma\u00eetre Hassan Kohen, avocat en droit p\u00e9nal \u00e0 Paris<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kohenavocats.com\/zh-hans\/jurisprudences\/james-william-thompson-v-registrar-for-approved-driving-instructors-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"zh_CN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"James William Thompson v Registrar for Approved Driving Instructors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Introduction 1. This is an appeal against a decision of the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors (\u2018the Registrar\u2019) made on 24 November 2025 to refuse to grant the Appellant a third trainee licence. Legal framework 2. The grant of a trainee licence enables applicants to provide instruction for payment before they are qualified. 3. 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