Driving instructor shares how many hours most people need to pass their test

A driving instructor has shared the average number of hours people need behind the wheel before they are ready to pass their test, and how some learners may hugely misjudge how many lessons they've had

13:40, 29 May 2026Updated 13:45, 29 May 2026

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Some people learn to drive very quickly, while for others it can take a long time (stock image)(Image: Getty Images)

Learning to drive varies enormously from person to person. Some people take to it naturally and pass their test[1] shortly after turning 17, while for others the journey takes considerably longer. However, it's evident that getting to grips with a vehicle for the first time is not something to be treated casually, and there's a tremendous amount to absorb and become accustomed to.

Now one driving instructor[2] has revealed how long it usually takes people to be prepared to obtain their full licence[3], and why learners[4] may believe they've spent far longer behind the wheel than they actually have.

Ros, who operates Drive School of Motoring in Cheltenham, recently shared a video on TikTok highlighting a substantial difference between how many lessons one of her pupils had completed, compared with how many they believed they had undertaken, reports the Express[5].

"My student made me giggle today because her perception of how many lessons we'd had[6] was so off," she said. "Oh my goodness, it was so off.

"So, I can't remember how we got onto the conversation, but I said to her the DVSA were trying to get every single student to do 120 hours, just one of the changes, like ages and ages ago they were trying to do it, and it didn't pass, it didn't come through. But I can see what they were trying to do because they're trying to get everybody to be, like, super safe and everything.

"And my student turned round to me today, and she goes: 'Well, I've had about 100 hours'. I was like: 'There's no way you've had, absolutely not, no, absolutely not, no.

You just haven't had anywhere near 100 hours'.

"And she was like: 'Yeah I have, it's been about 100'. I said: 'Honestly, I don't know how many it is, but there is no way'. That's somebody who, I've been with that student for a very long time, and no, we have not had that many.

"And anyway, we got all fascinated about it, and we pulled up, and it turns out that she's had 21 hours.

So her perception of it was 100 hours.

100 hours! That's insane! I just can't get my head around the fact that she may have been telling people that she's had 100 hours when she's had 21.

It's just crazy. It's just massively funny."

Shedding light on how many hours the majority of learners require before passing their test, she went on: "The statistics are that you need 45 hours with a professional driving instructor, and 22 hours of your own training. That's what's written on the internet.

"But I've taught people in one hour because they learned with their parents.

I've taught people five hours because they've learned with their parents. It's the hours in the car."

She added: "If you're going to be a pilot, there's so many hours, there's so many hoops to jump through. If you're going to be a train driver, there's so many hours, you have to do so many tests.

And driving, you can just go out with Uncle Bob.

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"It's crazy, it's actually crazy when you think about it, that you don't have to be with a professional driving instructor. It's pretty bonkers when you think about it."

Commenters shared the wide range of hours it had taken them to get behind the wheel independently. One remarked: "I think I had max 10 hours total, two with an instructor and eight with parents."

Another wrote: "Took me 69 hours.

But I passed first time no minors." A third added: "30 hours in three months, passed first time. Absolutely don't need 100+ hours."

One user recalled: "When I was 19 I took 20 lessons, I didn't want to drive but relying on buses to get to work wasn't working. I passed first time.

I then had two one-hour lessons for driving on the motorway. I had always been a slow driver so doing 70 was out of my comfort zone. Now I love driving on the motorway."

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Yet another commented: "I had 1hr lessons once a week...

120hrs would be more than two years." Meanwhile, a fellow instructor noted: "I've had one pass at eight hours and another at 135 hours.

It's mad but practice between lessons is the key."

References

1. ^ pass their test (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
2. ^ driving instructor (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
3. ^ obtain their full licence (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
4. ^ learners (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
5. ^ the Express (www.express.co.uk)
6. ^ how many lessons we'd had (www.birminghammail.co.uk)