Part 1 · Topic 07 of 11
What the Part 1 test covers
The four question bands of the ADI Part 1 theory test, what each one covers, the pass marks for both sections, and the official DVSA books and documents the questions are drawn from.
Key facts
- 100 multiple-choice questions, 25 in each of 4 bands, in 1 hour 30 minutes
- You need 85 out of 100 overall AND at least 20 out of 25 in every band
- The hazard perception section needs 57 out of 75 — higher than the learner test
Part 1 is booked and sat as a single test with two sections — multiple choice and hazard perception — and you must pass both in the same sitting. (Test structure and source list from DVSA, gov.uk, under the Open Government Licence.)
The four bands
The 100 multiple-choice questions are split evenly, 25 per band:
- Road procedure.
- Traffic signs and signals, car control, pedestrians, and mechanical knowledge.
- Driving test, disabilities, and the law.
- Publications and instructional techniques.
The banding is the part that catches people out. You need 85 out of 100 overall, but also at least 20 out of 25 in every single band — so a strong score in three bands cannot rescue a weak fourth. Revise to your weakest band, not your average.
Bands 3 and 4 are where trainee instructors most often lose marks, because they are the least like the learner theory test: the conduct of the driving test, disability and equality duties, the law as it applies to instruction, and the official publications and teaching methods. If you have come straight from driving rather than teaching, budget most of your revision there.
Hazard perception
The second section is a video test of your ability to spot developing hazards. The pass mark is 57 out of 75 — noticeably higher than the learner threshold, because you are being held to an instructor's standard. There is more on technique and scoring in hazard perception.
What the questions come from
DVSA draws the questions from a published list of source materials. These are the books to work from — and the ones worth owning as an instructor anyway:
- The Highway Code
- Know Your Traffic Signs
- Driving — the Essential Skills
- The Official DVSA Guide to Learning to Drive
- The Driving Instructor's Handbook
- Practical Teaching Skills for Driving Instructors
- The national standards — for driving and for driver and rider training
- The driving instructor code of practice
- DVSA's examiner guidance (DT1) — excluding sections 2, 3, 4, 5 and 15
That is ten publications, and the last four were added in August 2025. Each one is listed in study materials.
Because band 4 covers publications and instructional techniques, knowing what these documents are and what each is for is itself examinable — not only what is inside them.
Timing, booking and what to expect on the day are covered in booking your test and test day tips; the recommended reading is listed in study materials.