Published 4 November 2025, updated 3 August 2026

Electrical work means carrying test equipment, tools and materials between jobs that aren’t always on a bus route. Here’s a straightforward checklist for what to sort before, during and after an intensive course, without the padding.

Before you book: what you need ready

• A valid UK provisional driving licence, since lessons can’t start without one.
• An idea of your realistic experience level, complete beginner, lapsed learner, or someone who’s driven a work van under supervision but never finished a test.
• A week that’s genuinely clear of callouts, not just one that looks clear a month out on the job sheet.
• An honest view on whether you want manual or automatic before you’re asked to decide.

Provisional licence and theory test

If you haven’t passed your theory test yet, sort that before your practical course starts, since it’s a legal requirement before you can take the practical test and it’s much easier to study for in advance than to squeeze in mid-course while you’re also trying to concentrate on driving. The theory test costs £23, paid directly to the DVSA, separate from anything you pay LPOD or your instructor. Leaving it until the last minute tends to add stress to a week that’s already fairly full.

Choosing manual or automatic

Most vans used for electrical work are manual, so think about what you’ll actually be driving for work before you commit to automatic. An automatic licence only covers automatic vehicles, which matters if you ever need to jump into a colleague’s manual van or a hire vehicle for a job. The balance you pay your instructor differs depending on which you choose, so it’s worth deciding early rather than switching partway through, since that usually means restarting part of your training.

Squaring your call sheet with your firm before day one

If you’re PAYE, let your employer or scheduling team know the exact week as soon as you book, since callout rotas and job sheets are often set weeks ahead and someone else will need to cover your slot. If you’re self-employed or subcontracting, tell whoever allocates you jobs with the same notice, a week blocked out at short notice is harder for a contractor to absorb than one flagged a month in advance.

Bring your provisional licence to the first session, your theory pass certificate if you’ve already taken it, and glasses or contact lenses if you need them to drive. If you are coming straight from a job in steel-toecap boots, bring a pair of trainers to change into, since work boots make it harder to feel the pedals accurately. Your instructor covers the rest, and courses include tuition hours plus three hours of car hire on test day, so there’s nothing else to arrange.

What a typical training day looks like

Expect several hours behind the wheel each day with a DVSA-approved instructor, building from the basics through to independent driving, junctions, and manoeuvres at whatever pace matches your starting point. Daily practice is the whole point of an intensive course, it keeps what you learned yesterday fresh instead of letting a week pass before your next session, which is exactly the gap that causes people on standard weekly lessons to keep relearning the same things. Your instructor will give you honest feedback each day rather than waiting until the end of the course to tell you where things stand.

Getting to site on time when you’re on a call-out rota

If you’re currently relying on lifts, public transport or a colleague’s van to reach jobs, factor that into which week you book, since you’ll want the course finished with enough runway before you’d otherwise need to be driving yourself to a new site. It’s also worth checking with your employer or the firm you contract for about whether a short block of leave is easier to arrange than the same total time spread thinly across months of missed evenings. Some electricians find it easier to book a course between contracts, once one job has finished and before the next one starts, rather than trying to fit it around live work.

Test day: what changes for you

Since 12 May 2026, only you can book and manage your own DVSA practical test, not LPOD. Your instructor can advise on when you’re realistically ready and flag earlier slots if they come up, but the booking itself is yours. On the day, you’ll pay the DVSA £62 for a weekday test, on top of your course costs, so budget for that separately. Check the FAQs page if you want more detail on what test day itself involves, from what to bring to what happens if you need to reschedule.

After you pass: what’s next

Once you’ve passed, you’re free to drive unsupervised, including for work if that’s the plan, whether that means your own vehicle or one supplied by your employer. If you’re not sure how many hours you need before you start, get a course recommendation first, or look at the Platinum 50 course if you’re starting from nothing and want the most thorough option available. The price guide is worth a read too, since the deposit you pay to book isn’t the full cost, the balance is your instructor’s tuition fee, agreed after booking and varying by area and by manual or automatic, so it pays to know the full picture before you commit.