At what age you can drive?

If you’re under 16😭

You’re not old enough to learn to drive a car yet

You can apply for a provisional licence at 15 years and 9 months old. You can learn to drive a car and take a test at 17.

If you already have a provisional licence to ride a moped, you do not need to reapply.

If you have a disability or long-term health condition

In England and Wales

You can learn to drive a car and take a test when you’re 16 if you get either:

• the ‘mobility part’ of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) at the higher rate
• the mobility or care component at the higher rate of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children and have applied for PIP – you must be receiving DLA before you turn 16 to be eligible

In Scotland

You can learn to drive a car and take a test when you’re 16 if you get any of the following:

• the ‘mobility part’ of PIP at the higher rate
• the ‘mobility part’ of Child Disability Payment (CDP) at the higher rate – you must be receiving CDP before you turn 16 to be eligible
• the mobility or care component at the higher rate of DLA for children and are waiting to be transferred to get CDP

If you’re 16😀

You normally need to be 17 to learn to drive a car

You can apply for a provisional licence. You can learn to drive a car and take a test at 17.

If you already have a provisional licence to ride a moped, you do not need to reapply.

If you have a disability or long-term health condition

In England and Wales

You can learn to drive a car and take a test when you’re 16 if you get any of the following:

• the ‘mobility part’ of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) at the higher rate
• the mobility or care component at the higher rate of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children and have applied for PIP – you must be receiving DLA before you turn 16 to be eligible

In Scotland

You can learn to drive a car and take a test when you’re 16 if you get either:

• the ‘mobility part’ of PIP at the higher rate
• the ‘mobility part’ of Child Disability Payment (CDP) at the higher rate – you must be receiving CDP before you turn 16 to be eligible
• the mobility or care component at the higher rate of DLA for children and are waiting to be transferred to get CDP

If you’re under 17 and over😎

You can apply for a provisional licence and learn to drive a car

Apply for a provisional licence. If you already have a provisional licence to ride a moped, you do not need to reapply.

You must obey the rules for learning to drive a car.

If you take your driving test in an automatic car you can only drive automatic cars.