Kaukab Jabin Mirza v The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Kaukab Jabin Mirza, was a trainee driving instructor who had been granted a trainee licence under section 129 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 for a six-month period, and then a second such licence after she produced evidence that she had been signed off work for a month. She had been licensed since 3 February 2025. On 19 February 2026 the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors refused to grant her a third trainee licence, on the basis that she had not passed the final part of the Approved Driving Instructor qualifying examination within the relevant period and that insufficient evidence of lost training time had been supplied, the Registrar taking the view that she had had long enough to progress. By a Notice of Appeal dated 5 March 2026 the appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal, saying that low mood and anxiety brought on by the lack of Part 3 tests had affected her ability to train, that she had been signed off by her GP when matters got too much for her, and that her position had since improved, so that she sought a third badge. The Registrar relied on its decision letter and did not attend. The appeal was determined at an oral hearing held via CVP on 14 August 2026, at which the appellant appeared unrepresented and gave evidence.