Abdul Hamid v The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Abdul Hamid, is a trainee driving instructor who was granted a trainee licence under section 129 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 for a six-month period, and then a second such licence for a further period. To qualify as an Approved Driving Instructor a candidate must pass the qualifying examination, comprising the written examination (Part 1), the driving ability and fitness test (Part 2), and the instructional ability and fitness test (Part 3), with three attempts permitted at each part and the whole examination to be completed within two years of passing Part 1. The appellant had not passed Part 3 within the relevant period, having failed it twice, and applied for a third trainee licence. On 9 April 2026 the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors refused that application, on the basis that the appellant had not passed the final part of the qualifying examination within the relevant period and that insufficient evidence of loss of training time had been supplied, so that he had had long enough to progress. The appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal, contending that it was unfair that he had had the chance to sit only one Part 3 examination because of difficulties in booking tests. Both parties agreed to determination on the papers.