Published 4 November 2025, updated 3 August 2026

Private and peripatetic tutors often spend as much time travelling between pupils as they do teaching, and being self-employed usually means the flexibility to book an intensive course is entirely in your own hands, no line manager to ask, no rota to work around. This is a practical checklist for getting from booking to passing with as little friction as possible.

Before you book: what to have sorted first

• A valid UK provisional driving licence.
• A decision on manual or automatic. Manual keeps both options open for the future; automatic can simplify learning if you would rather focus on one thing at a time.
• A realistic view of your starting point, complete beginner or someone returning to driving after lessons some time ago, since this determines how many hours you need. LPOD’s course recommendation tool can help if you are unsure.
• A cleared diary. As a self-employed tutor you control your own bookings, so block the course dates out with pupils well in advance rather than trying to fit lessons around whatever sessions come in.
• A rough sense of your budget, since the deposit and the balance are two separate payments and it helps to plan for both.

Letting pupils and parents know before day one arrives

Because you’re self-employed, nobody else clears your diary for you, so tell pupils and their parents about the gap as soon as you have dates, not the week before. A short message explaining you’re off the road for a week of intensive driving lessons, with a note on when sessions resume, heads off any confusion and gives families time to arrange alternative revision for the days you’re away.

Bring your provisional licence to your first session, since your instructor needs to see it before you can drive. If you already keep notes on pupil progress for your own teaching, the same habit is worth bringing into the car, jotting down what your instructor flags as needing extra practice saves time revisiting the same point later in the course.

What each day of the course covers

Early days focus on control of the car, moving off, stopping, steering, before moving on to junctions, roundabouts and busier roads as your confidence builds. Instructors adjust the pace to how you are progressing, so a stronger start usually means more time on test-standard routes later in the course. Courses run from 10 hours up to 50, and the length you choose should reflect your starting point rather than how many days you happen to have free.

As a tutor, you may already spend time navigating to addresses you have not visited before for your own sessions, and it is worth mentioning that to your instructor since some of your course time can be weighted towards navigation and unfamiliar roads rather than only the standard test route.

Fitting lessons around a full diary of pupils

Because you set your own pupil schedule, this is one of the more straightforward professions to book an intensive course around, provided you plan ahead rather than trying to slot a course into a week you have already half-filled with tutoring sessions. Give pupils good notice if you need to pause sessions for a week, most will be able to work around a short break booked well in advance.

If pausing a full week of tutoring is not realistic, consider whether a shorter, less compressed course could work around a lighter run of sessions instead, rather than cancelling pupils outright.

What happens after you pass

Your course includes three hours of car hire on test day, so you sit the test in the car you trained in. From 12 May 2026, only you can book and manage your DVSA practical test, LPOD will advise on timing and flag earlier slots but cannot book the test or access your DVSA account for you. DVSA charges £62 for a weekday practical test and £23 for theory, paid directly to them.

Once you have passed, driving yourself between pupils rather than relying on public transport or lifts can open up areas you were previously unable to cover, worth factoring into how you plan your tutoring patch going forward.

Two questions tutors ask before booking

Can I space the course across two shorter blocks instead of one solid week?

Speak to LPOD about what is possible, consistency helps you retain what you learn, so tightly spaced blocks tend to work better than sessions spread thinly over many weeks.

What is the deposit actually covering?

The deposit, from £180 up to £900 depending on course length, secures your course booking. It is not the full cost, the balance is your instructor’s tuition fee, arranged after booking and due before training starts, and it varies by area and transmission choice. Full detail is on the price guide.