Failed Your HGV Test? What Happens Next and How to Pass

How the result is decided

The examiner records three kinds of fault. Driving faults are minor errors; you can have up to 15 and still pass. A serious fault is something potentially dangerous, and a dangerous fault involves actual danger to you, the examiner, the public or property. One serious or dangerous fault means a fail, however well the rest of the drive went. That is why many people who fail say the test was mostly fine: a single misjudged junction or mirror check can decide it.

What happens straight after a fail

1. 1The examiner tells you the result and goes through the faults with you.
2. 2You get a driving test report showing where each fault was marked.
3. 3Your theory and case study passes remain valid, so you only retake the part you failed.
4. 4You book a new test, at least three working days later.

The faults that most often cause a fail

• Mirrors not checked before changing speed, direction or lane.
• Poor positioning at junctions and roundabouts, especially with a long trailer.
• Failing to respond to signs, road markings or speed limits.
• Too many shunts or touching a cone on the reversing exercise.
• Coupling and uncoupling errors on the C+E test.

Our reversing exercise guide explains the off-road manoeuvre that catches many candidates out.

Failed your HGV test twice or three times?

Repeated fails usually point to one habit that has not been fixed, rather than general poor driving. Lay your test reports side by side and look for the same fault appearing more than once. Nerves play a part too: people who have failed before often drive too cautiously, hesitating at junctions or going too slowly for the road, and that can be marked as a fault in its own right. Focused practice on the specific weakness, followed by a mock test under test conditions, tends to work better than simply booking again and hoping.

How refresher training helps

Our HGV refresher training is built around the driver in front of us, so if you have failed a test elsewhere or with us, we can concentrate the time on the faults in your report. It also suits drivers whose skills have gone rusty between training and test. Ask us about dates and what fits your situation.

Getting ready for the next attempt

Treat the days before a retest like the last days of a course rather than a break. Revisit the route types that caught you out, practise the reversing exercise until it is routine, and run through your vehicle safety questions again. On the day, arrive early, take your photocard licence and get into the cab calm. A fail on one day says nothing about your next drive except where to focus.

What about the pass rate?

DVSA publishes national pass rates for lorry and bus tests on GOV.UK, broken down by test centre, so you can see how results compare across the country. Our own published first time pass rate is 85%. Whatever the figures, the next test comes down to whether the faults in your last report have been fixed.

All our course prices, including the Driver CPC Module 4 practical demonstration test at £199, are set out on our pricing page.