Driving test marking, faults and results (2024)

Driving test marking, faults and results (1)

There are 3 categories of faults you can make in your driving test.

Dangerous faults

A dangerous fault involves actual danger to you, the examiner, the public or property.

You will fail your test if you make any dangerous faults.

Driving test marking, faults and results (3)

Serious faults

A serious fault is something that has the potential to be dangerous.

You will fail your test if you make any serious faults.

Driving faults

A driving fault is not potentially dangerous, but if you keep making the same fault, it could become a serious fault.

Pass mark

To pass your test, you must have:

no serious or dangerous faults (sometimes called ‘majors’)
15 or fewer driving faults (sometimes called ‘minors’)

Your results

At the end of your driving test, your examiner will:

tell you whether you have passed or not
explain any serious or dangerous faults you made

You’ll also get an email that gives you your result.

51 out of every 100 driving tests were failed in Great Britain during July 2024

Common mistakes people make

Driving test marking, faults and results (5)

To help you understand examples of the mistakes people make in their driving test, we’ve put together the list of top 10 reasons people fail the driving test.

Remember, if you regularly make any of these mistakes during your driving lessons or private practice, it means you’ve still got more work to do until you’ll be ready to take your driving test.

You can use the examples with your driving instructor and supervising driver to help identify any areas where you still need to develop your knowledge, skills and understanding.