Getting your driving license is one of the great highlights of growing up. Suddenly the whole world seems to open up for you as you can take the open road and go anywhere you want to!

However, there are a few steps you need to take before you can taste this freedom and be on your way. You don’t have to wait until your 17 either. You can get your provisional license sorted early, so the day you turn 17, you can start learning to drive and take the first steps towards getting your driving license.

Get a Provisional Driving License

People who are 15 years and 9 months and older can apply online to get their first provisional driving license. It costs £34 to apply, and you need an identity document, your National Insurance number, and the address where you’ve lived for the past three years to complete the registration.

Once you have your provisional driving license, you are ready to start learning to drive as soon as you turn 17. Your provisional license allows you to take to the road once you turn 17, so long as you are accompanied by an adult who is over 21 and has held a full driving license for at least three years.

Driving Lessons

As soon as you wake up on your 17th birthday, and you’ve got your provisional driving license, it’s time to start taking driving lessons and practicing your skills ready to pass your test.

You can take the lessons at your own pace, or, if you like, fit in intensive driving crash courses that are designed to get you road ready in no time at all. What’s important is that you find an instructor you feel comfortable with and continue to keep learning the skills that are going to help you pass your test.

Theory Test

While you’re busy practicing your skills on the road, you can also improve your knowledge off the road by practicing for your theory test. You can book this as soon as you turn 17 and have your provisional driving license. Again, you can book online, and it will cost £23.

Once you’ve passed your theory test, you have two years to pass the driving test before your theory expires and you have to take it again. So, as soon as you’ve passed this test, you’re free to crack on with taking the practical part of your test.

Driving Test

Once you’ve passed your theory test, the only thing that’s standing between you and the freedom of the open roads is your driving test.

You can book your driving test online. It costs between £62 and £75. If you fail, then you will have to rebook again, so it’s well worth making sure you feel confident in passing before you book. Those few extra lessons might just mean the difference between a pass and a fail and will save you from the expense of booking another test.