DVSA writes to the ADI asking them to book. At the appointment an examiner watches a client-centred lesson with one of the instructor's own pupils for around 45 minutes, followed by a debrief of about 15 minutes. Marking is on the standards check report form, reference ADI SC1, covering three areas: lesson planning, risk management, and teaching and learning strategies. The pupil can be a partly trained learner, a fully trained learner or a full licence holder. A partly trained learner should be able to drive for 40 minutes without frequent stops. The pupil cannot be an ADI or anyone preparing for the ADI part 3 test. The instructor brings their registration certificate and a car that meets DVSA's requirements, including a valid MOT where the car is three years old or more and working rear seatbelts. Checks are taken in English or Welsh only.
Seventeen competencies at a maximum of 3 marks each give a top score of 51. On the DVSA figures published on GOV.UK and checked in September 2026, 43 to 51 is grade A, 31 to 42 is grade B, and 0 to 30 is unsatisfactory. Grade A and grade B both keep the instructor on the ADI register. Two rules override the total. A score of 7 or less in the risk management section is a fail whatever the overall mark, and the check is failed if the examiner stops the lesson because the instructor has put themselves or someone else in danger. After an unsatisfactory result there are up to two further attempts. Three fails mean removal from the ADI register, with the ADI qualifying tests to be taken again before returning to it.
The routine pattern is one check in each four-year registration period. DVSA also monitors four indicators from driving tests taken with the instructor's badge displayed over a rolling 12 months, applied once an ADI brings five or more pupils to test in that period. In the indicators and triggers guidance last updated 17 May 2023, the trigger points are an average of 6 or more driving faults per test, an average of 0.55 or more serious faults per test, examiner physical action in 10% or more of tests, and a pass rate of 55% or lower. Reaching the trigger point on three or more of the four prompts a letter asking the ADI to book. Attendance is required even from an instructor who has no car or is not currently teaching, and failing to book or attend can mean removal from the register.
The examiner scores the lesson as it is delivered on the day. Lesson planning is assessed from where the pupil already is and what has been agreed with them. The trigger indicators are calculated from test outcomes attributed to a badge. Pass rate and average faults per test can be reconstructed from a school's own data. The physical action figure sits with DVSA.
If standards checks matter to how your school runs, look for software that holds a per-instructor record of the last check date, grade and next due point, with a reminder well before the four-year mark. Pupil progress records should be written lesson by lesson against agreed aims, timestamped when entered, and printable or exportable for a single pupil so an instructor can prepare from the real record. The diary needs to let you block a check slot against a named pupil and move the rest of that day in one operation, since a check occupies a working morning. Test records should sit per pupil and per instructor with test date, centre, result and fault counts, so pass rate and average faults per test can be totalled over a rolling 12 months. In a multi-instructor school, confirm reports filter by ADI and export as data.
All figures are from DVSA guidance on GOV.UK, namely the ADI standards check guide (grades, marking, pupil and vehicle requirements) and the publication "Approved driving instructor (ADI) standards check: indicators and triggers", last updated 17 May 2023; details were checked in September 2026 and DVSA can change them, so confirm current thresholds on GOV.UK before relying on them.