Minor, serious and dangerous driving faults explained

Understand driving, serious and dangerous faults on the practical car test, with official definitions, examples, repeated-fault rules and result advice.

Last reviewed: 19 August 2026Reading time: 7 minutes

Direct answer: The official terms are driving fault, serious fault and dangerous fault. A driving fault does not cause a fail on its own, but a serious or dangerous fault makes the result unsuccessful; you can pass with no more than 15 driving faults and no serious or dangerous faults.

Use the official fault names

Learners often talk about ‘minors’ and ‘majors’. GOV.UK uses the more precise terms driving fault, serious fault and dangerous fault. Your result email uses those official categories, so learning them makes the feedback easier to understand.

For a practical car test in England, Scotland or Wales, you can pass with up to 15 driving faults, provided you make no serious or dangerous faults. Sixteen driving faults result in an unsuccessful test, even if none is serious or dangerous. One serious or dangerous fault also makes the result unsuccessful, however few driving faults you have.

This page explains how faults are classified. For a focused explanation of the numerical pass mark, read our guide to how many driving-test faults are allowed. Northern Ireland tests are run by the Driver and Vehicle Agency and candidates should use nidirect for the applicable process.

Driving fault: your driving fell short of the expected standard, but the incident was not potentially dangerous on that occasion.
Serious fault: the incident was potentially dangerous or involved a breach of the law.
Dangerous fault: the incident created actual danger to you, the examiner, another person or property.

What is a driving fault?

A driving fault is a recorded departure from the standard expected of a safe and competent driver. It is sometimes informally called a minor. In isolation, it does not cause you to fail, but it is still useful evidence of a skill that needs attention.

Examples in DVSA's examiner guidance include mistiming a blind-spot check when moving off without creating a risk, or needing to reposition safely during a parking exercise. Answering one or both vehicle-safety questions incorrectly also normally produces one driving fault. These examples are illustrations, not a promise that every superficially similar event will receive the same mark.

If you realise you have made a small mistake, keep driving safely. Do not replay it, ask the examiner how it was marked or start counting possible faults. A calm correction may prevent a small error from developing into a more serious situation.

When repeated driving faults become serious

Repeated driving faults are not simply added together to create a serious fault at a published fixed number. DVSA's examiner guidance says that repeatedly making the same fault can reveal a habit or pattern that is potentially dangerous. The examiner can then assess that pattern as serious.

For example, one mirror check that is late but creates no risk might be recorded as a driving fault. Habitually missing the appropriate mirror check before changes of speed or direction can demonstrate that the underlying skill is not reliable. That is different from collecting unrelated driving faults in several areas, although reaching 16 total driving faults still results in a fail.

The practical lesson is to look for patterns during training. If the same fault appears more than once in a mock test, practise the decision-making routine in varied traffic and road conditions rather than trying to perform one memorised action on a familiar route.

What is a serious fault?

A serious fault is potentially dangerous or involves a breach of the law. It makes the test result unsuccessful even if nobody had to take avoiding action and you recorded no other faults.

DVSA's assessment guidance gives ineffective observation before emerging at a junction as an example when the candidate is unaware of another road user who might reasonably be there. Other situations can include moving off into the path of traffic, failing to respond correctly to a red light or stop sign, or driving well above the speed limit. The precise assessment still depends on what happened, the surrounding traffic and the level of risk.

A serious fault does not necessarily mean the examiner will stop the test at that moment. Continue to follow directions and drive as safely as you can unless the examiner tells you otherwise. The examiner normally gives the result after returning to the test centre.

What is a dangerous fault?

A dangerous fault involves actual danger to the candidate, examiner, another member of the public or property. It results in an unsuccessful test. The examiner can record it whether or not they personally had to intervene, because another road user may have taken action or actual danger may already have existed.

One official example is emerging from a junction after completely misjudging an approaching vehicle's speed and distance, requiring the examiner to take action to avoid a collision. Intervention can be physical, such as using dual controls or steering, or verbal when an urgent instruction is needed to prevent danger. The result email may show this as ‘examiner took action’.

If driving becomes so dangerous that continuing would put people at risk, the examiner can terminate the test. That is a safety decision, not an extra category of fault.

Why the same mistake can receive a different mark

Fault categories cannot be assigned from a keyword alone. Examiners assess the completed event, including the safety margin, vehicle control, observations, road conditions, other road users and whether anyone had to react. This is why an online claim such as ‘stalling is always a minor’ or ‘touching the kerb is an automatic fail’ is unreliable.

The official junction example shows the scale clearly: a misjudgement without compromised safety can be a driving fault; ineffective observation creating a potentially dangerous situation can be serious; and emerging in a way that creates actual danger can be dangerous. The underlying subject is the same, but the consequences and risk are not.

Observation: consider what you checked, when you checked it and what road users were present.
Control: consider whether the car remained safely controlled and whether anybody had to react.
Response: correcting safely can limit the problem, while rushing or ignoring it can increase the risk.
Circumstances: speed, visibility, space, road layout and vulnerable road users can change the severity.

Not every imperfect moment is a recorded fault

DVSA's examiner guidance also recognises an insignificant deviation that does not compromise safety or is merely a matter of finesse as ‘not worthy’ of recording. Examples include dry steering or changing through gears sequentially. The test is an assessment of safe, competent driving, not a demand for a flawless performance or a particular driving style where more than one safe method is acceptable.

This does not mean candidates should decide for themselves that a mistake was too small to matter. The examiner observes the full situation and applies the assessment standard. Your best response is to maintain safe control, observations and planning for the rest of the drive.

How to understand your result

After the test, the examiner tells you the result and explains the faults recorded. You also receive an email showing any driving, serious or dangerous faults under the relevant test-report headings. If the examiner had to intervene, the report can show ‘examiner took action’ alongside the affected area. That note does not automatically mean the fault was dangerous; an intervention can prevent a situation from escalating to actual danger.

The heading identifies the skill being assessed, while the examiner's explanation supplies the circumstances. For example, ‘Junctions – Observations’ tells you the assessment area but not, by itself, everything that happened. Listen to the debrief and, if you want your instructor or accompanying driver present, tell the examiner when asked.

If you pass, use any driving faults as a first solo-driving practice list. If you do not pass, work through every serious or dangerous fault first, then look for repeated driving-fault patterns. Ask your instructor to recreate the underlying decision in different safe situations, and rebook only when the skill is consistent rather than relying on a familiar route.

Official sources

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