MD Junaed Ahmed v Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

1. This is an appeal against the decision of the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors (“the Registrar”), dated 18 th July 2025, refusing the Appellant’s application for a third trainee licence.

2. I have been provided with a 23-page bundle for the purpose of this appeal, containing a number of documents, including the Notice of Appeal and the Appellant’s written representations which were made upon receipt of notification that the Registrar was considering refusing his application for a third licence.

3. The Appellant was granted two trainee licences by the Respondent, covering the period of 15 th July 2024 to 14 th July 2025. On 30 th June 2025, the Appellant applied for his third trainee licence.

4. On 1 st July 2025, the Registrar notified the Appellant by email that consideration was being given to refusing the application, and they were asked to make written representations in response within 14 days of the date of that email.

5. The Appellant responded with written representations on 4 th July 2025, stating as follows: (i) That his third attempt at the Part 3 test is on hold and his is still awaiting a test date. (ii) That there is a poor availability of Part 3 tests due to the backlog and lack of examiners in his area. Over a period of a year of waiting, he only managed to take two Part 3 tests. (iii) That as a consequence of low pupil numbers provided by his driving school, he did not have enough pupils to practise with on a daily basis. This made things difficult. (iv) That he carried out a pilgrimage with his family in Saudi Arabia and lost some training time because of this. (v) That a further trainee licence would give him the time that he needs to gain the necessary practical experience in preparation for his final attempt at the Part 3 test. (vi) That he is presently working with an ORDIT trainer to plan good lesson structures and how to adapt in a lesson and identify faults and analysis as early as possible.

6. On 18 th July 2025, the Registrar gave the Appellant notice under section 129(4) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 that he was refusing his application for a third trainee licence. The following reasons were given for the Registrar’s refusal of the Appellant’s application for a second licence: (a) That the Appellant had failed to provide any evidence of lost training time. (b) That the Appellant had already been granted two trainee licences of six months’ duration for the purpose of gaining sufficient experience to pass the final part of the Approved Driving Instructors qualifying examination. This is considered to be a more than adequate period of time in which to do this. (c) That it was not Parliament’s intention that candidates should be issued licences for as long as it takes them to pass the examination. (d) That the trainee licence system must not be allowed to become an alternative to registration as a fully qualified Approved Driving Instructor.

7. The Appellant was informed in that notice that he may appeal against the decision to this Tribunal within 14 days from the date of that notification, and that if he did appeal it, his present licence would continue in force until the appeal is decided.

8. The Appellant’s reasons for his appeal are stated in his Notice of Appeal, dated 21 st July 2025, and are summarised as follows: (a) That he is still waiting for a Part 3 test date, having been placed on hold following his request to take the test. This is because of poor availability of Part 3 tests in his area and the lack of examiners. (b) That having a third trainee licence would give him sufficient time to gain extra practical training in preparation for his next attempt at the Part 3 test, and he is currently working with his trainer to improve his skills based upon his previous examiner’s feedback. (c) That low pupil numbers restricted his ability to gain the required practical experience.

9. In the Response to the appeal, dated 5 th January 2026, the Registrar reiterated the reasons for given in his Notice of 18 th July 2025 for refusing the application for a third trainee licence, and made the following additional submissions: (a) 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, providing 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. (b) The Appellant has already had two trainee licences, covering a period of twelve months, and by virtue of having applied for a third licence before the expiry of the first, that licence has remained in force to the present time and has permitted the Appellant to continue to give paid instruction until the determination of this appeal. (c) That the system of issuing licences is not and must not be allowed to become an alternative to the system of registration. (d) Since passing his driving ability test, the Appellant has failed the instructional ability test (Part 3) twice and has cancelled two more such tests booked for 30 th September 2024 and 7 th November 2024. Regrettably, the DVSA cancelled one test booked for 18 th December 2024. However, despite ample time and opportunity, the Appellant has not been able to reach the required standard for qualification as an Approved Driving Instructor. (e) That the refusal of a second licence does not bar the Appellant from attempting the Part 3 test. He does not need to hold a trainee licence for that purpose, nor is it essential for him to give professional tuition under licence in order to obtain further training. By way of example, some trainees acquire registration without obtaining any licences at all, and it is open to an individual to attend a training course, or study or practise with an Approved Driving Instructor or give tuition on his own (provided that he does not receive payment of any kind for this). Legal Framework

10. Section 123(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (“ the Act ”) prohibits the giving of instruction paid for by, or in respect of, a pupil in the driving of a motor car, unless the instructor’s name is on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors or that person is the holder of a current licence issued under section 129(1) of the Act .

11. The circumstances in which a person may be granted a trainee licence are detailed within Section 129 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (“ The Act ”), and the Motor Cars (Driving Instruction) Regulations 2005 (“the Regulations”). The granting of a trainee licence permits applicants to provide instruction for payment before they are qualified and placed on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors. The granting of a trainee licence under section 129(1) of the Act is: “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.”

12. 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’).

13. The whole qualifying examination must be completed within two years of passing the Part 1 examination, and whilst there is no restriction on the number of attempts a candidate may take the Part 1 qualifying examination, Parts 2 and 3 permit only three attempts at each. Should an applicant fail to comply with these requirements, the entire examination would need to be retaken (i.e. Parts, 1, 2 and 3). However, they would not be permitted to retake any part of the examination until 2 years after the date when they passed their Part 1 examination – see Regulation 3(3) of the Regulations .

14. Upon passing Part 2, an applicant may be granted a trainee licence. The granting of a trainee licence permits applicants to provide driving instruction for payment before they are fully qualified and on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors ( s.123(1) of the Act ). It is possible to qualify as an Approved Driving Instructor without having held a trainee licence.

15. Section 129(3) of the Act permits the Registrar to “refuse to grant a licence under this section to an applicant to whom such a licence has previously been issued” . However, he must give written notice stating that he is considering the refusal of the application and give particulars of the grounds upon which he is considering this ( s.129(7) of the Act ). Once notice of this consideration has been given, section 129(8) (c) provides that: “before deciding whether or not to refuse the application, the Registrar must take into consideration any such representations made within that period.”

16. The period referred to within that section is a period of 14 days from the date when notice was given by the Registrar ( s.129(8) (a) of the Act ), and the Registrar is not permitted to decide to refuse the application for the licence until after this period has come to an end ( s.129(8) (b)).

17. Section 129(6) provides as follows: “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.”

18. The Appellant’s right of appeal and the powers of the Tribunal to determine this appeal are set out within s.131 of the Act . The Tribunal may make such an order as it thinks fit.

19. 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.

20. It is for the Appellant to show, on the balance of probabilities, that the Respondent’s decision was wrong. The Appeal Hearing

21. The Appellant attended by video for the purposes of today’s hearing and explained that he cancelled his final Part 3 test, which was scheduled for 7 th November 2025, as his trainer had told him that he needed more training before he was ready for the test. However, he confirmed that he expects to take his final Part 3 test on the 16 th of February 2026. He explained that he sometimes struggled to secure sufficient number of students for him to teach. He had raised this with the driving school, and although they had told him that they would try their best to provide him with students, they were not obligated to do so.

22. The Appellant confirmed that he understood that he does not need a trainee licence to take his final Part 3 test, but he explained that not having a licence would have financial implications for him, in that he would still need to pay for the vehicle he uses to provide tuition in, and he would struggle to do so if he is not able to be paid for providing instruction. He additionally explained that he has a big family to provide for, with 4 children, a wife, and two parents who financially depend upon him. Not having an income would make things difficult and he would need to be able to pay £280 each week towards his vehicle.

23. No other oral evidence was heard at the hearing. Discussion and Conclusions

24. The Appellant acknowledged in the hearing that he was not ready to pass his Part 3 test when it was scheduled to be take on 7 th November 2025, and that was the reason he cancelled that test. This was, of course, outside the period which would ordinarily have been permitted by his second licence, which, but for this appeal being lodged, would have expired on 14 th July 2025. Whilst he has pointed to the lack of available students to teach, he has not provided any evidence to support the contention that he has lost training time. This could have come by way of a letter from his driving school, and to carry any weight it would need to have shown that he was without students for a significant period of time. That has not been forthcoming however, and although the Appellant has referred to having gone on a pilgrimage with his family, this does not amount to an enforced or unanticipated period without any available students. The period over which a trainee licence runs is limited to six months. Anybody embarking upon the pursuit of a career as an Approved Driving Instructor would therefore be well aware that there is a need to act expeditiously in gaining sufficient practical experience to be in a position to successfully pass the Part 3 test within that timeframe. In this instance, the Appellant did manage to take two Part 3 tests on 26 th February 2025 and 3 rd June 2025. However, he was unsuccessful on each of those occasions.

25. Despite it being a common misunderstanding, it is not the case that individuals are entitled to the continual renewal of trainee licences until they pass their Part 3 test. The six-month period of such licences is set on the basis that this is an adequate period to prepare for the Part 3 assessment, as it is not necessary to hold a trainee licence in order to either prepare for or take the Part 3 test. It is submitted by the Respondent that six months is a very reasonable period within which to reach the qualifying standard in the examination, and in particular, to obtain any necessary practical experience in tuition. In this instance, the Appellant’s trainee licence has run far beyond the six-month period granted by a single licence. He was granted a second licence, which granted him a further six-month period which was due to expire on 14 th July 2025. As his application for a third licence was made before the expiry of his second licence, his second licence has continued to run since that time. The appellant has therefore had the benefit of a further six months in which to gain practical experience of providing instruction for payment, though I do not take this into account in reaching my decision.

26. I have regard to the fact that the Registrar is tasked by Parliament with making decisions on licence applications, and that it was not Parliament’s intention that candidates should be given licences for as long as it takes them to pass the examination. However, as the Respondent has pointed out, the Appellant does not need to hold a trainee licence in order to take the Part 3 test. Should he fail his scheduled test on 16 th February 2026, or should he not take his final attempt at the Part 3 test by 6 th March 2026, which is when the two-year period in which he must complete the examination elapses, he would then need to restart the entire examination process again, commencing with the Part 1 test. He would not be able to restart that process, however, until 7 th March 2026.

27. In all the circumstances of this case, I do not consider that the Appellant’s reasons are such that it can be shown that the Registrar’s decision was wrong.

28. The appeal is dismissed. Signed: Date: Judge Armstrong-Holmes 13 th January 2026