Dale Fletcher v The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

This appeal concerns a decision of the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors (“the Registrar”) made 21^st May 2026 to refuse to grant the Appellant a third trainee licence.

The Appellant was a trainee driving instructor who was granted a trainee licence under s.129 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (Footnote: ¹) (‘the Act’) for a six-month period, then another, but was refused a further licence at the end of the relevant period.

The Registrar’s reasons for refusal, in summary, were that the Appellant had not passed the final part of the ADI qualifying examination within the relevant period and as insufficient evidence of loss of training time was supplied that the Appellant had had long enough to progress, and the application to issue a third trainee licence was therefore refused.

The Appellant appeals the Registrar’s decision.

The Appellant’s Notice of Appeal, dated 27^th May 2026, indicated that it has not been possible to complete three attempts at his Part 3 examination within his first two licences and therefore seeks a further licence. No detail is provided to assist with the exact difficulties that the Appellant faced are given.

The Appellant sought a quick determination of his appeal.

The Respondent’s position is set out in the decision letter.

The case was determined on the papers. The Tribunal considered the papers and came to the conclusion that such a determination was fair and appropriate, and in accordance with the Tribunal Rules and the wider interests of justice.

The Tribunal considered a bundle of evidence.

The grant of a trainee licence enables applicants to provide instruction for payment before they are qualified. The circumstances in which trainee licences may be granted are set out in s. 129 of the Act and the Motor Cars (Driving Instruction) Regulations 2005 (Footnote: ²).

A licence under section 129(1) of the Act is granted:

In order to qualify as an Approved Driving Instructor, applicants must pass the Qualifying Examination. This comprises: the written examination (‘Part 1’); the driving ability and fitness test (‘Part 2’); and the instructional ability and fitness test (‘Part 3’). Three attempts are permitted at each part. The whole examination must be completed within 2 years of passing Part 1, failing which the whole examination has to be retaken.

If a candidate has passed part 2, they may be granted a trainee licence. However, holding a trainee licence is not a prerequisite to qualification as an Approved Driving Instructor and many people qualify as an Approved Driving Instructor without having held a trainee licence.

The powers of the Tribunal in determining this appeal are set out in s. 131 of the Act. The Tribunal may make such order as it thinks fit.

When making its Decision, the Tribunal stands in the shoes of the Registrar of approved Driving Instructors and takes a fresh decision on the evidence available to it, giving appropriate weight to the Registrar’s decision (Footnote: ³) as the person tasked by Parliament with making such decisions. The burden of proof in satisfying the Tribunal that the Registrar’s decision was wrong rests with the Appellant.

The Tribunal considered carefully all the papers before it.

In fixing a period of 6 month to allow for trainee instructors to progress Parliament must have had in mind that we are all subject to differing life events that affect our ability to undertake certain tasks. Sometimes those events are so unusual or have such a bearing on an individual that it will be entirely appropriate to find that a longer than normal period of time should be allowed to complete a task. Here the Appellant raises that there were difficulties completing three attempts at his Part 3 even with the benefit of 2 trainee licences. No real detail was given to assist the Tribunal. No lack of training opportunity is stipulated. The Tribunal therefore finds that there has been appropriate time to train.

In all the circumstances, the Tribunal is driven to the conclusion that the Registrar’s initial decision was correct, and the appeal must fail.

The Appellant is not precluded from taking his Part 3 examinations as a result of this decision. The Tribunal wishes him well in his examination if he chooses to continue with the same.

This appeal is dismissed with immediate effect.

DATE: 18^th June 2026