How to choose a driving instructor training course in 2026
A driving instructor training course costs £1,495 to £2,999 as a package from one of the big schools, or £50 to £60 an hour from an independent trainer you pay as you go (published prices, October 2026). DVSA's own fees come on top: £608.40 for the three tests, the DBS check and your first badge, or £748.40 with a trainee licence.
The headline price is the least useful number on the page. What separates a good course from an expensive mistake is how much one-to-one Part 3 teaching you get, whether the trainer is on DVSA's ORDIT register, and what the contract says about refunds and any commitments after you qualify.
A note on who's writing. Orbit doesn't sell ADI courses. ORDIT-registered trainers can join Orbit as training partners, and when you book and pay for training with one through Orbit we take a platform fee. Trainees who join Orbit can also get training and trainee licence sponsorship from My Four Wheels, a driving school we work with. Weigh those the same as every other option below.
What a driving instructor training course must cover
There are three DVSA qualifying tests, and a course has to get you through all of them. Their fees and 2025/26 pass rates, from DVSA's ADI test data:
| Test | What it is | Fee | Pass rate 2025/26 | Attempts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | 100 multiple-choice questions plus 14 hazard perception clips | £81 | 37.0% | No limit; resit after at least 3 working days |
| Part 2 | About an hour of driving, marked against DVSA's national standard for driving cars | £111 | 55.3% | 3 |
| Part 3 | An examiner watches you teach a real pupil for about 45 minutes | £111 | 27.8% | 3 |
Once you pass Part 1, GOV.UK gives you 2 years to pass the other two or you start again. Fail Part 2 three times and you have to retake Part 1, after waiting out the 2 years from your original pass.
Part 3 is where most of the money should go. It has the lowest pass rate of the three, and for the test you have to bring your own pupil and a suitable car. A course that spends its budget on Part 1 software and squeezes the in-car Part 3 hours is cheap for a reason. Our guide to how hard each ADI test is breaks down why people fail.
The trainee licence
The trainee licence (the "pink badge") is optional. You can apply after passing Part 2, it costs £140 and lasts 6 months, and it lets you charge for lessons while you prepare for Part 3. To get one you need at least 40 hours of training from a qualified ADI, at least 10 of them in a car, recorded on form ADI 21T.
When you apply you choose one of two conditions: be supervised for 20% of all your lessons, or do at least 20 hours of extra training while the licence is valid. You can't switch later. The licence also names your training establishment, and you can only give lessons from there, so you can't use it to work for yourself. You need an ADI or school to sponsor you, so check that a course can do that before you pay. Our trainee licence guide covers the rules in full.
Course formats: package, pay as you go, intensive
Package. One price for a set number of hours across Parts 1 to 3, usually with online Part 1 material. This is what the AA, BSM, RED and Bill Plant sell, often alongside a trainee franchise option.
Pay as you go. You book hours with a trainer as you need them. No lump sum up front, but the bill grows if Part 3 takes longer than you hoped. Some independents sell discounted 10 or 20-hour blocks as a middle ground.
Intensive. Training packed into consecutive days at a set location. Bill Plant's Intensive course is 8 days in total: 10 hours of Part 2 training over 2 days and Part 3 training over 6. The AA schedules its AcademyDrive course as 8 days spread over 4 weeks. Intensive formats suit people who can take the days off. Moving the dates can cost you: on the Intensive course, Bill Plant's terms charge £200 for Part 2 or £500 for Part 3 if you change a course date with less than 28 days' notice.
Blended or VR. The AA and BSM both sell an AcademyVR course that mixes classroom sessions using virtual reality headsets with in-car days.
What driving instructor courses cost in 2026
Published prices as of October 2026, with the training each provider says is included. The last column divides the price by the stated hours. Treat it as a rough guide: classroom, group and "up to" hours are not the same as one-to-one time in a car.
| Provider and course | Price | Training stated | Price per stated hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA AcademyDrive | £2,349 | 50 in-car hours, described as peer-to-peer | £47 |
| AA AcademyVR | £1,549 | 20 classroom and 20 in-car hours | £39 |
| BSM AcademyVR | £1,549 | 3 VR days and 3 in-car days | not stated in hours |
| RED, 100% refund option | £2,999 | Up to 80 hours | £37 |
| RED, 50% refund option | £2,299 | Up to 80 hours | £29 |
| Bill Plant Intensive | £1,495 paid in full, £1,695 by instalments | 10 hours Part 2, 40 hours Part 3 (online and in-car) | £30 |
| Bill Plant Flexible | £2,495 | 10 hours Part 2, 40 hours Part 3 (online and in-car) | £50 |
| Pass N Go | £1,499 | 60 hours | £25 |
| Independent ORDIT trainers we checked | £50 to £60 an hour | As many hours as you buy | £50 to £60 |
Sources: AA courses, BSM, RED, Bill Plant course options, Pass N Go. Independent examples: Instructor Instructor lists £50 an hour, £495 for 10 hours and £950 for 20, and Ordit Driving Instructor Training lists £60 an hour for 2-hour Part 2 and Part 3 sessions, or £1,440 for a 48-hour in-car Part 3 module (£30 an hour).
Add DVSA's fees of £608.40, or £748.40 with a trainee licence, plus retakes at full price, any extra hours (BSM charges £40 an hour) and the car for your Part 2 and Part 3 tests. Our funding guide covers payment plans and the few grants that might apply.
The big providers compared: AA, RED, BSM, Bill Plant
Everything here is from each company's own site as of October 2026.
AA
Two courses: AcademyDrive at £2,349 and AcademyVR at £1,549, both with interest-free instalments after a £499 or £399 deposit. The AA says it has 48 training hubs: 38 for AcademyDrive and 10 for AcademyVR. The AA describes AcademyDrive's in-car hours as peer-to-peer, so ask how many trainees share the car and how many hours you spend at the wheel.
After Part 2 and 40 hours of Part 3 training, the AA offers a trainee partner franchise with up to 30 hours of extra training, a £180 admin fee and a £170 deposit. Both versions run for the trainee licence period plus a 12 or 24-month franchise once you qualify.
RED
RED sells two versions of the same course, both with up to 80 hours of training. The £2,999 option offers up to £2,999 back and the £2,299 option up to £1,150 back. In RED's words, both are "refunded over your first 24 months as a RED franchised driving instructor, subject to the terms of your agreements". The refund applies only if you join RED after qualifying.
BSM
BSM lists one course, AcademyVR at £1,549, with the same name and price as the AA's. You can pay up front or in up to 11 instalments after a £399 deposit, and extra training costs £40 an hour. You can cancel within 14 days of booking, and after that the fee is non-refundable.
Bill Plant
The cheapest headline of the four: the Intensive course is £1,495 paid in full or £1,695 by instalments, and the Flexible course £2,495. Bill Plant's FAQ says joining its franchise is "not compulsory". Its course terms add detail worth reading:
- In-car training on the Intensive course is usually 2 trainees to 1 trainer. The Flexible course is one-to-one.
- A reduced-rate Part 3 course is available to trainees who commit to its PDI franchise, signed within 14 days of buying the course and before any Part 3 training. If you withdraw from the franchise, the difference between the full Part 3 price and what you paid becomes due.
- You lose the right to a full refund in the 14-day cooling-off period once you open the Part 1 material in its app.
- Withdraw for most other reasons and there's no refund, and you still owe any outstanding instalments.
- If Bill Plant can't deliver the course or you withdraw on medical grounds, any partial refund values Part 1 at 30%, Part 2 at 30% and Part 3 at 40% of the fee, then deducts a £250 admin fee.
- All training must be completed within 12 months of your first payment unless agreed in writing.
Its PDI programme adds 20 hours of extra training at no cost while Bill Plant sponsors you as a franchise partner.
Independent ORDIT trainers
ORDIT is the official register of driving instructor training, a voluntary scheme run by DVSA. To join, a trainer must be an ADI, have a grade A at their latest standards check, and pass a DVSA assessment of their training skills. Registered trainers are listed on GOV.UK's find driving instructor training service, which is the first place to look for "driving instructor training near me".
Two things to know about the register. First, it's voluntary: any ADI can legally train you, and good trainers exist off the list. Second, as of October 2026 GOV.UK says DVSA is not currently accepting new ORDIT applications, so a trainer who isn't listed may not have had the chance. Ask an unlisted trainer for their latest standards check grade and their Part 3 results.
What you gain with an independent: one trainer from start to finish and hours bought as you need them. What you have to sort out yourself: a sponsor for your trainee licence if you want one, a car for your tests, and your own pupils once you qualify. If you plan to work for yourself, our guide to going independent as a driving instructor and the franchise vs independent comparison set out the options.
Guarantees, refunds and commitments
Pass guarantees. Nobody but DVSA decides who passes. Bill Plant says so directly: "No we cannot guarantee a pass". Pass N Go offers a "Pass Promise" instead: course fees refunded if you follow its programme and do not qualify, "subject to programme conditions". It also quotes an 82% pass rate, counted as PDIs who passed Part 3 or failed the full course between 26 February 2025 and 26 February 2026. That's its own method, not DVSA's per-test Part 3 rate of 27.8%, so don't compare the two. Ask for any promise's conditions in writing: attendance rules, deadlines and what "following the programme" means.
Refunds. Bill Plant and BSM both give you 14 days to cancel, but on different terms. BSM's fee is non-refundable after 14 days. Bill Plant ends your right to a full refund inside that window once you open the course material.
Commitments after qualifying. Some courses are linked to the provider's franchise. Check for:
- Refunds paid back over time once you join (RED).
- A cheaper course or extra hours that depend on signing the trainee franchise, with a balancing payment if you withdraw (Bill Plant).
- A trainee franchise that runs into a fixed term after you qualify (the AA's 12 or 24 months).
Factor any commitment into the price you compare. Our earnings calculator helps you model what you'd take home either way.
Expiry. Two clocks run at once. DVSA's 2 years from your Part 1 pass, and the provider's own deadline: Bill Plant's is 12 months from payment. Hours you don't use in time can be forfeited.
12 questions to ask before you pay
- Are you on the ORDIT register? If not, what grade did you get at your last standards check?
- How many hours of one-to-one in-car Part 3 training are included?
- How many trainees share the car in a session?
- Who will train me, and will it be the same trainer throughout?
- Where does in-car training happen, and how far will I travel?
- Can you sponsor my trainee licence, and which of the two conditions do you support?
- What does an extra hour cost after the package runs out?
- What is the refund policy if I withdraw, fail Part 2 three times or my Part 1 pass expires?
- When do my hours expire, and what does it cost to change a booked date?
- Is any discount or refund conditional on joining your franchise? Show me that clause.
- If I don't join your franchise after qualifying, what happens, and what does it cost me?
- Can I see the full terms and conditions before I pay a deposit?
If a provider won't answer one of these in writing, treat that as the answer.
Free tools for trainees
Part 1 is a theory test, and you don't need to buy a course to start revising for it. Our ADI Part 1 practice questions are free with no sign-up and cover three of the four categories DVSA tests (traffic signs, car control and mechanical knowledge aren't in the set yet).
A free Orbit trainee account adds timed mock tests and hazard perception practice, lets you log your training hours and helps you find a trainer. Once you've passed Part 1, Orbit can match you with an ORDIT-registered trainer covering your area where one is available, and you can book and pay for sessions with them through Orbit.
For the wider picture, read how to become a driving instructor in the UK, our become an instructor hub, and whether now is a good time to become a driving instructor. If you're already on a trainee licence and it's running out, see the trainee licence recovery plan.
When you're ready, create a free trainee account. Once you qualify, Orbit runs your diary, bookings and payments free for instructors.