Theory test: booking and taking your test
When you’re ready to take your heavy goods vehicle (HGV) instructor theory test, book your test at a local test centre using the guide below. Remember, you must pass your theory test before you can take your practical test.
The HGV instructor theory test costs £66: for full details of test costs, visit GOV.UK.
Booking your theory test
It’s best to book your test using the official site, GOV.UK. If you use an unofficial site, you might pay more than you need to or you may not get a booking at all.
If you’ve already used an unofficial booking website, you might have 7 working days to cancel your order and get all your money back but this will depend on the terms and conditions of the website you used.
You can find your nearest test centre at GOV.UK.
You can also use GOV.UK if you need to check or change the test date or centre, or cancel your test.
Multiple choice test
Before you start the multiple choice test, you can have a 15-minute practice session to get used to the format of the test.
In the test there are 100 questions: you’ll need to get at least 85 correct to pass, with at least 20 correct in each band (see Preparing for the HGV instructor theory test for details). You’ll have 90 minutes for this part of the test.
The multiple choice questions appear on-screen and you’ll use the mouse or touch the screen to choose the correct answer. For some questions, you’ll need to select more than one correct answer – there’ll be a message if you do not choose enough answers.
If you’re not sure about any of the questions, you can ‘flag’ them and come back to them later.
The hazard perception test
When you’ve finished the multiple choice part, you can go straight on to the hazard perception part or take a 3-minute break. The test will take about 20 minutes.
You’ll need to click the mouse or touch the screen when you see a developing hazard (something that would need you, the driver, to take some action such as changing speed or direction): the sooner you spot the hazard, the more points you’ll score. You can score up to 5 points for each hazard. You’ll need to score at least 57 out of 75 points. Each film shows one hazard apart from one film, which has two.
If you click the mouse too much or if you click in a pattern, you’ll be given a warning message and you’ll score no points for that film.
Getting your results
You’ll be given your results shortly after you’ve finished the theory test. If you pass, you’ll be given a letter with your pass certificate number on it. Make sure you keep this safe because you’ll need the number when you book your practical test.
Your theory test certificate is valid for one year. If you do not pass your practical test in that time, you’ll have to take the theory test again before you can take the practical test.
If you lose the letter, you can find a lost pass certificate number on GOV.UK.
If you do not pass the theory test, you can reapply immediately but you may want to take some time to do some more preparation before you retake the test.