Leah Marriott v The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Leah Marriott, was a trainee driving instructor who had been granted a trainee licence under section 129 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, permitting her to give paid driving instruction before qualifying as an Approved Driving Instructor. She had been licensed since 24 February 2025 and was granted a second six-month licence, but the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors refused her application for a third licence by a decision of 23 March 2026. The Registrar's reasons were that she had not passed the final part of the qualifying examination within the relevant period and that she had supplied insufficient evidence of loss of training time, having had long enough to progress. By a notice of appeal dated 31 March 2026 the appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal, arguing that the shortage of Part 3 test dates was the difficulty, that she had invested considerable time, effort and financial resources in the process and had shown clear commitment to progression, and that her position could be considered exceptional. The Registrar's response maintained that no proper indication of a lack of training opportunity had been given. The appellant had failed her Part 3 examination twice; a test due on 21 July 2026 was cancelled and she awaited a further date. Both parties agreed to determination on the papers.