How many driving-test faults are allowed?

See the 15-fault limit for the practical car test, compare example pass-and-fail scores, and learn how to read your result.

Last reviewed: 19 August 2026Reading time: 5 minutes

Direct answer: You can pass a practical car test in Great Britain with no more than 15 driving faults, provided you make no serious or dangerous faults. The 16th driving fault means an unsuccessful result, and one serious or dangerous fault also means you do not pass.

The pass mark at a glance

GOV.UK records driving faults, serious faults and dangerous faults. These are sometimes informally called ‘minors’ and ‘majors’, but your official result keeps the three categories separate.

For the standard car test run by DVSA in England, Scotland and Wales, two conditions must both be met. Your total must be no more than 15 driving faults, and there must be no serious or dangerous faults. Northern Ireland tests are administered separately by the Driver and Vehicle Agency.

0 to 15 driving faults, with no serious or dangerous faults: pass.
16 or more driving faults: unsuccessful result.
One or more serious faults: unsuccessful result, whatever the driving-fault total.
One or more dangerous faults: unsuccessful result, whatever the driving-fault total.

Worked driving-test result examples

These simplified examples apply the published pass standard. They do not predict how an examiner would classify a particular incident, because that decision depends on the risk and circumstances at the time.

0 driving faults, 0 serious, 0 dangerous: pass.
6 driving faults, 0 serious, 0 dangerous: pass.
15 driving faults, 0 serious, 0 dangerous: pass.
16 driving faults, 0 serious, 0 dangerous: unsuccessful result.
2 driving faults, 1 serious, 0 dangerous: unsuccessful result.
0 driving faults, 0 serious, 1 dangerous: unsuccessful result.

Fifteen is a limit, not a target

Passing with 15 driving faults is still a pass, provided none is serious or dangerous. It does not create a lower grade of full driving licence. However, treating 15 as an allowance to use up is the wrong preparation strategy: faults show places where the drive fell short of the expected standard, and a similar event can be more serious in different circumstances.

The examiner assesses each event as it happens. They do not wait until the end and turn a percentage score into faults. A safe correction matters more than trying to calculate a running total, and a candidate cannot recover or cancel an earlier recorded fault by performing the same skill correctly later.

If you think you made a mistake, keep driving safely. Asking whether it was marked, watching the examiner's screen or replaying it mentally can distract you from the next hazard. Your estimate cannot change how the examiner records each event.

Repeated driving faults do not follow a fixed formula

There is no published rule that three driving faults in one area automatically become a serious fault. DVSA's examiner guidance instead refers to habitual or constant repetition: a pattern can show that a skill is not reliable and can be assessed as potentially dangerous.

Repetition can therefore affect the result before the overall total reaches 16, but unrelated driving faults do not automatically become serious merely because several report headings contain a mark. All recorded driving faults still count towards the overall limit.

One serious or dangerous fault overrides the total

Serious and dangerous faults are separate conditions, not points added to the driving-fault total. One fault in either category means an unsuccessful result even when the rest of the drive contains no recorded driving faults.

This is why two candidates with the same number of driving faults can receive different results. A candidate with 8 driving faults and no serious or dangerous faults meets the published standard; a candidate with 8 driving faults and 1 serious fault does not.

The related guide to minor, serious and dangerous faults explains how those categories differ and why the circumstances of an incident affect its classification.

How the safety questions affect the count

The examiner asks one ‘tell me’ vehicle-safety question before the driving starts and one ‘show me’ question while you are driving. DVSA's guidance says that answering one or both questions incorrectly results in one driving fault, rather than one fault for each wrong answer.

The moving demonstration is also an assessment of safe control. A serious loss of control can be recorded as a serious fault, and actual danger can be recorded as dangerous. In that situation, the result is determined by the severity of the driving rather than simply adding one ordinary fault for the answer.

The eyesight check is different from the ordinary fault count. If you cannot meet the eyesight requirement, the test ends and the result is unsuccessful; examiner guidance records this as serious. Bring the glasses or contact lenses you need to meet the standard.

What the 16th-fault rule means to examiners

DVSA's examiner manual uses the phrase ‘16th driving fault’ in a second, technical sense. Examiners use it as a check when deciding whether a small deviation is substantial enough to record: if that mark happened to be the 16th, would it fairly justify the candidate not passing?

This does not give candidates a special warning at fault 15 and it does not change the public pass standard. It helps examiners distinguish a recordable driving fault from an insignificant matter of finesse that is not worthy of a mark. Candidates are not expected to apply this assessment rule while driving.

How to read and use your result

At the end of the test, the examiner tells you the result and explains the faults recorded. Your end-of-test summary shows driving, serious and dangerous faults under the relevant assessment headings. If the examiner intervened, it can also show ‘examiner took action’; read that note alongside the recorded category and explanation.

Read the result in this order: check for any dangerous fault, check for any serious fault, then total the driving faults. After that, look for repeated marks under the same heading before considering isolated faults. This turns the number into a focused discussion with your instructor or supervising driver.

Official sources

This guide paraphrases the official pages below. Open them to check the current rule or service.