Smart Learning - What to expect on your theory test

When you arrive at the test centre you will need to present both parts of your current driving licence. If you have an old style paper licence you will also need to bring a passport with you. No other photo ID will be accepted and if you don’t have these you will not be permitted to sit the test. Once you have signed in you will be expected to place all personal items in a locker. You are not permitted to take anything (even a bottle of water) into the examination room.

You are then taken into the examination room and shown to a workstation. You are given time to familiarise yourself with the operation of the equipment and given the opportunity to answer some practice questions before the test begins. A question and several answer options will appear onscreen and you have to select the correct answer to the question by touching the screen. Some questions may require more than one answer. You will be asked 50 questions in 57 minutes and the pass mark is 43 out of 50. You can navigate between questions and 'flag' questions that you want to come back to later in the test.

After the multiple-choice part you can choose to have a break of up to three minutes before the hazard perception part starts and you'll then be shown a short tutorial video clip about how the hazard perception part works. The hazard perception part is also delivered on a computer but you respond by clicking a button on the mouse. You'll be presented with a series of 14 video clips which feature every day road scenes. In each clip there'll be at least one developing hazard, but one of the clips will feature two developing hazards.

To achieve a high score you'll need to respond to the developing hazard during the early part of its development. The maximum you can score on each hazard is five. You won't be able to review your answers to the hazard perception test; as on the road, you'll only have one chance to respond to the developing hazard.

The pass mark for the hazard perception part of the theory test is 44 out of 75.

When you have finished the test you may leave the examination room. Once you have left the room, you'll not be allowed to enter it again. You'll then be given your result by the test centre staff.