Guidance

Claim expenses if DVSA cancelled your driving test

You can apply to claim expenses if DVSA cancelled your driving test at short notice, including vehicle hire, fuel costs or lost pay from unpaid leave.

• From: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
• Published: 1 June 2026

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Eligibility

You can apply to claim expenses if the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) cancelled your driving test at short notice.

‘Short notice’ means less than 3 full working days’ notice. Working days are Monday to Saturday, but do not include Sundays and bank holidays.

You need to apply within 6 months of the date of your cancelled test.

There’s a different process to claim expenses if DVSA cancelled your theory test at short notice.

When you cannot claim

You cannot claim if DVSA cancelled your test because of:

• bad weather
• poor light
• problems with your vehicle
• driver problems, for example, you were became unwell during the test

You cannot claim for expenses if you change or cancel your test at short notice. However, you may be able to apply for a refund in certain situations, for example, if you were ill.

What you can and cannot claim for

You can claim expenses for:

• using your instructor’s vehicle
• using a hire vehicle
• fuel costs if you used your own vehicle

You can also claim for:

• lost pay or earnings from taking unpaid leave
• any other reasonable expenses you had to pay because you were supposed to be taking your driving test

Using your instructor’s vehicle

You can apply to claim expenses for using your instructor’s vehicle on the day of the test.

DVSA will refund the cost of up to 2 hours of driving lessons or training at your instructor’s standard hourly rate for a cancelled:

• car test
• approved driving instructor (ADI) part 2 or part 3 test

DVSA will refund the cost of up to 4 hours of driving lessons or training at your instructor’s standard hourly rate for a cancelled:

• motorcycle test
• lorry test
• bus or coach test

You need a receipt from your instructor that shows:

• their hourly lesson rate
• their signature
• the date - this needs to be the same date as your cancelled driving test
• their personal reference number
• their phone number

Using a hire vehicle

You can apply to claim up to £76 if you used a hire vehicle on the day of your cancelled driving test.

This is because £76 is the average cost of 2 hours of driving lessons.

If your vehicle hire cost less than £76, DVSA will only refund the amount you paid.

You cannot claim for any other services that were part of the hire agreement (for example, a driver to take the vehicle to and from the test centre).

You need a receipt that shows:

• the price you paid for the basic vehicle hire
• the date the vehicle was hired for (this must be the same as your cancelled test date)

Using your own vehicle

You can claim 25p per mile if you used your own vehicle to travel to and from the test centre on the day of your cancelled test.

Lost pay or earnings from taking unpaid leave

You can claim for lost pay or earnings if you took unpaid leave on the day of the test.

DVSA will refund up to half a day of your standard take-home pay or earnings.

This means that DVSA will not refund the amount you would have paid in income tax and National Insurance.

This is known as your ‘net pay’.

You will need to provide a copy of a letter or email from your employer that confirms:

• that you took unpaid leave
• your net pay for half a day

It must either:

• be on headed paper if it’s a letter
• show that it’s from a work email address

You cannot use any of the following as evidence:

• a payslip
• a bank statement
• timesheets
• an employment contract
• a P60 form

What you cannot claim for

You cannot claim expenses for:

• the cost of driving lessons before the date of your test
• any training course you arranged before your test
• extra lessons you decide to take while waiting for your rearranged test
• overtime or commission payments you lost

 Apply to claim expenses

The way you apply depends on what type of test you were taking.

Car driving test

Fill in the online form to apply to claim expenses.

You need:

• your driving licence number
• your driving test reference number or theory test pass certificate number
• a scanned copy or photo of your receipts or evidence

If the date of the cancelled car driving test was from 12 May 2026 onwards, only the learner driver can apply for expenses.

Motorcycle, lorry, bus or coach, ADI or specialist vehicle tests

1. Download and save the form to apply for expenses for a cancelled driving test (PDF, 177 KB, 3 pages) to your device.

2. Open the form on your device and fill it in.

3. Print the filled in form and sign it.

4. Scan or take a clear photo of each page of the form.

5. Email the scan or photos to DVSA. You also need to attach scans or photos of the supporting documents the form asks for (for example, receipts).

DVSA driving test expenses claims
opec@dvsa.gov.uk

What happens next

DVSA will send you an email to let you know the outcome. You’ll usually get a response within 6 weeks.

If your application is successful, DVSA will post a cheque to the address on your driving licence.

Most major UK banks now let you deposit a cheque by taking a photo of it in their mobile banking app.

If your bank’s app does not support cheque deposits, you can either:

• deposit the cheque at your bank’s local branch
• deposit the cheque at a Post Office branch
• post the cheque to your bank

Check with your bank about what options are available for you.

Published 1 June 2026