Mahfooz Sayed v Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Mahfooz Sayed, was a trainee driving instructor who had been granted two trainee licences covering a total of 12 months, from 10 February 2025 to 9 February 2026, in order to gain sufficient expertise to pass the Part 3 test required for registration as an approved driving instructor. On 24 January 2026 he applied to the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors for a further, third, trainee licence. In written representations dated 7 February 2026 he explained that his vehicle had suffered a mechanical breakdown lasting several weeks, that his trainer had been unavailable for four months, and that he had developed health issues which temporarily prevented him from attending further training or re-booking a Part 3 test within the time available. By a decision dated 6 March 2026 the Registrar refused the application, on the grounds that no evidence had been supplied to support those claims or to demonstrate lost training time, that the period already allowed was more than adequate, that Parliament had not intended a trainee licence to be issued for however long a candidate might take, that the trainee licence system must not become an alternative to full registration, that a trainee licence was not required in order to sit a Part 3 test, and that the second licence remained valid pending this appeal, giving him just over 18 months in practical terms. The appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal.