Inderpreet Johal v The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The Appellant was a trainee driving instructor who had been granted a trainee licence under s.129 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which permits a candidate who has passed Part 2 of the Approved Driving Instructor qualifying examination to give paid instruction while acquiring practical experience with a view to sitting Part 3, the instructional ability and fitness test. The Appellant had been licensed since 6 January 2025, holding a first six-month licence and then a second. The final part of the qualifying examination was not passed within the relevant period, Part 3 having been failed twice, and on 3 March 2026 the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors refused to grant a third trainee licence, on the basis that insufficient evidence of lost training time had been supplied and that the Appellant had had long enough to progress. By a Notice of Appeal dated 4 March 2026 the Appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal, complaining of the lack of available Part 3 test dates and seeking the chance to train towards the examination. The Registrar responded that the decision letter set out its position and that no proper indication of a lack of training opportunity had been given; a test had been due to take place on 10 August 2026, but no information about it had been supplied. Both parties agreed to determination on the papers, and the Tribunal considered a bundle of 24 pages.