Claim expenses if DVSA cancelled your theory test
Claim expenses if your test was cancelled with less than 3 full working days' notice, including travel costs or lost pay from unpaid leave.
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
Eligibility
You can apply to claim expenses if the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) cancelled your theory 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 have to claim within 6 months of the date of your cancelled test.
There’s a different process to claim expenses if DVSA cancelled your driving test at short notice.
When you cannot claim
You cannot claim if your test is cancelled because:
- there was bad weather
- you couldn’t attend the test (for example, you were ill on the day)
What you can and cannot claim for
You can claim for:
- travel costs to and from the test centre
- lost pay or earnings from taking unpaid leave
- any other reasonable expenses you had to pay because you were supposed to be taking your theory test
Travel costs
You can claim for any travel you had to take get to and from the test centre on the day of your cancelled test. This includes if you had to pay for:
- public transport
- taxi
- fuel, if you used your own vehicle or got a lift
- parking
Using your own vehicle or getting a lift
You can claim 25p per mile if you travelled to and from the test centre on the day of your cancelled test using your own vehicle or by getting a lift.
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
Fill in the online form to apply to claim expenses.
You need:
- your driving licence number
- your theory test booking reference number
- a scanned copy or photo of your receipts or evidence
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.