These Terms & Conditions explain how driving lessons with UP Driver Training operate, what you can expect from us and what we ask from you. Please read them carefully before beginning lessons.

Our aim is to provide professional, safe and effective driver training that helps people become confident, responsible and independent drivers for life. Good communication works both ways, and these terms are intended to make expectations clear from the beginning.

Individual UP Driver Training instructors may operate as self-employed driving instructors. Your instructor will confirm their current lesson price, usual lesson duration, payment arrangements, vehicle, contact details and any instructor-specific arrangements before tuition begins.

Where these Terms & Conditions refer to “UP Driver Training”, “UP”, “we” or “us”, this includes UP Driver Training and, where appropriate, the instructor providing your tuition. Where we refer to “you”, “learner” or “student”, we mean the person receiving the tuition.

If the learner is under 18, we ask that a parent or guardian reads these Terms & Conditions with them and understands the arrangements relating to lessons, payments, cancellations and conduct.

1. Your driving licence

You must hold a valid driving licence appropriate for the vehicle in which you are receiving tuition. Before your first practical driving lesson, your instructor may ask you to provide your driving licence details, a photograph of your licence and/or a DVLA licence check code. This allows your instructor to confirm your entitlement to drive and identify any relevant restrictions or endorsements.

You must tell your instructor promptly if your driving entitlement changes, your licence is revoked or suspended, or anything else occurs that may affect your legal entitlement to drive.

2. Eyesight

You must meet the legal eyesight requirements for driving. You may be asked to demonstrate that you can read a vehicle registration number from the legally required distance of 20 metres. If you need glasses or contact lenses to meet the required standard, you must wear them whenever driving.

If you cannot meet the legal eyesight requirement, practical driving tuition cannot continue until the requirement can be met.

3. Fitness to drive

You are responsible for arriving at every lesson fit and legally able to drive. You must tell your instructor about anything that could reasonably affect your ability to drive safely. This may include illness, injury, significant tiredness, medication, a medical condition or any substance that may impair driving.

You must not attend a lesson intending to drive while impaired by alcohol, cannabis, illegal drugs, medication or any other substance that makes driving unsafe. Responsibility for notifying DVLA of a notifiable medical condition remains with the licence holder.

If your instructor reasonably believes you are not fit to drive safely, they may refuse to allow you to drive. Where appropriate, the session may instead include theory, discussion, reflection or observational learning. In other circumstances, the lesson may need to be terminated.

Where the circumstances were reasonably within the learner’s control, the normal lesson fee may remain payable. Safety will always take priority over completing the planned practical driving time.

This section should be read alongside Section 19, Conduct, hygiene, clothing and lesson etiquette, and Section 30, Health information and other sensitive data.

4. Your driving lessons

UP Driver Training provides driver development rather than simply preparation for a driving test. Lessons may include urban and rural roads, higher-speed roads, dual carriageways, parking and manoeuvring, motorway driving, independent driving, unfamiliar areas, journey planning, different traffic conditions and other appropriate real-world driving situations.

Lessons will be adapted to your experience, progress, confidence and individual learning needs. Your instructor may use guidance, coaching, demonstrations, questions, discussion, independent practice and other appropriate teaching methods. The level of support may change as your experience and independence develop.

5. Lesson duration

Your instructor will confirm their normal lesson duration and current price before tuition begins. The booked lesson time includes appropriate briefing, discussion, reflection and review. Learning does not necessarily require the vehicle to be moving throughout the entire session.

Longer sessions may occasionally be recommended where the learning objective requires travelling further afield or where additional experience would be beneficial.

6. Pick-up and drop-off locations

A normal pick-up and drop-off location should be agreed with your instructor. Please give your instructor at least 48 hours’ notice if you would like to change the agreed location.

We will make reasonable efforts to accommodate alternative locations, including school, college, work or another address, but changes cannot always be guaranteed. An alternative address must be somewhere your instructor can reasonably reach without adversely affecting other learners or appointments.

If travelling to or from an alternative location requires additional time compared with the usual arrangement, that additional travelling time may form part of your booked lesson time. An instructor cannot reasonably add additional travelling time to a lesson if doing so would make them late for their next learner.

Where an alternative location is impractical, your instructor may ask you to begin or finish the lesson at the originally agreed location. Changes requested with less than 48 hours’ notice will be considered where possible but may be declined.

7. Lesson bookings

Lesson bookings are subject to instructor availability. Where you have a regular weekly or fortnightly appointment, we will make reasonable efforts to maintain it. However, a regular appointment is not guaranteed indefinitely.

Instructor holidays, driving tests, professional development, illness, vehicle maintenance and other circumstances may occasionally require appointments to be changed.

Repeated cancellation, late payment or frequent rearrangement may result in a regular slot being released to another learner.

8. Payments

Your instructor will confirm the price of your lessons and accepted payment methods. Unless otherwise agreed with your instructor, payment is due at least 48 hours before the scheduled lesson.

Payment and lesson reminders may be issued through Total Drive or another system used by your instructor. If payment has not been received when required, your instructor may contact you and may release the appointment to another learner.

Where an unpaid appointment falls within the cancellation period and has not been cancelled correctly, the applicable lesson charge may remain payable. Any outstanding payment may need to be settled before further tuition is provided.

Repeated late payment may result in future lessons requiring earlier payment or a regular lesson slot being withdrawn.

9. Lesson prices

Prices may occasionally change to reflect operating costs and the services being provided. Where prices change, reasonable advance notice will be given.

Any prepaid credit will normally be honoured at the rate agreed when purchased unless different conditions were clearly stated when payment was made.

10. Cancelling or rearranging lessons

We understand that plans change and genuine emergencies happen. Please contact your instructor as soon as possible if you need to cancel or rearrange a lesson.

We require at least 48 hours’ notice to cancel or change a lesson without charge. Lessons cancelled or rearranged with less than 48 hours’ notice are normally chargeable at the full lesson rate because that time has been reserved specifically for you and may be difficult or impossible to offer to another learner.

Your instructor may waive or reduce the charge where exceptional circumstances reasonably justify doing so. Where the cancelled appointment can be filled and the instructor’s financial loss is reduced or avoided, this may also be taken into consideration.

Repeated cancellations or changes, even where sufficient notice is given, may make it impractical to maintain a regular appointment and may result in that slot being offered to another learner.

11. No-shows

If you are not at the agreed pick-up location when your lesson is due to begin, your instructor will normally attempt to contact you. Unless contact has been made and an alternative arrangement agreed, your instructor will normally wait for up to 20 minutes.

After this time, they may leave and the appointment may be treated as a no-show. A no-show is chargeable at the full lesson rate.

Please contact your instructor as soon as possible if you realise you are going to be late.

12. Learner lateness

If you are late for your lesson, your instructor will normally provide the remaining booked time. The lesson will still finish at the originally agreed time because extending it could make your instructor late for subsequent appointments.

The full lesson fee will remain payable.

13. Instructor lateness

Occasionally, traffic, an incident on the road or another unexpected event may delay your instructor. Where your instructor is late, you will not lose paid tuition time wherever reasonably possible.

The lesson may be extended where practical, or the lost time may be added to a future session by agreement.

14. Instructor cancellations

Occasionally, your instructor may need to cancel because of illness, vehicle problems, severe weather, an emergency or circumstances outside their reasonable control. We will provide as much notice as reasonably possible.

You will not be charged for tuition that your instructor is unable to provide. Where a lesson has already been paid for, the payment may be transferred to a replacement appointment or refunded where appropriate.

15. Severe weather and unsafe conditions

Lessons may be changed, postponed or cancelled where weather or road conditions make practical tuition unsafe or inappropriate. This may include snow, ice, flooding, severe weather or significant disruption to the road network.

Your instructor will use their professional judgement when making this decision. Where practical driving is inappropriate but another form of useful training can reasonably be provided, this may be discussed with you.

If a lesson has already begun and your instructor decides that conditions have deteriorated to the point where continuing practical driving would be unsafe, the lesson may finish early. Where practical tuition ends early solely because of unsafe conditions and the remaining paid time cannot reasonably be used for another appropriate form of training, the unused time will normally be credited to a future lesson.

16. Using your own vehicle

Driving tuition may sometimes take place in your own vehicle, subject to your instructor’s agreement. The vehicle must be legal, roadworthy and suitable for tuition.

You or the vehicle owner are responsible for ensuring that the vehicle is correctly taxed, has a valid MOT where required, is appropriately insured, is in a safe and roadworthy condition and can legally be driven by you.

You should specifically confirm with your insurer that the policy permits professional driving tuition or supervision from a driving instructor in the vehicle.

Your instructor may refuse to provide tuition in a vehicle they reasonably believe is unsafe, unsuitable or inadequately insured. Where tuition takes place without dual controls, this remains entirely at the instructor’s professional discretion.

17. Passengers and lesson observers

There may occasionally be opportunities for another person to observe a lesson. This might include another Approved Driving Instructor, trainee instructor, trainer, mentor or assessor as part of professional development.

Where practicable, this will be discussed with you beforehand and the reason for the observer’s presence explained. You may also ask for a parent, guardian or another appropriate person to observe a lesson.

This remains subject to your instructor’s agreement, vehicle capacity and safety considerations. We want learners to feel comfortable within their learning environment, and you should raise any concerns with your instructor.

18. Instructor intervention and risk management

During tuition, your instructor has a professional responsibility to manage risk and protect you, themselves and other road users. Where reasonably necessary for safety, your instructor may give direct verbal instructions, use the dual controls, take appropriate control of the steering wheel or otherwise intervene to prevent or reduce danger.

This type of intervention is a normal part of professional driver training where circumstances require it and does not in itself mean that a learner has failed or deliberately done something wrong.

Learners are expected to respond promptly to safety-critical directions from their instructor. As your competence and independence develop, the level of intervention and support will normally reduce.

19. Conduct, hygiene, clothing and lesson etiquette

Learners and instructors are expected to treat each other with courtesy, consideration and respect. Driving lessons take place for extended periods in a confined shared space, so learners are asked to maintain a reasonable standard of personal hygiene and arrive appropriately prepared for practical tuition.

Clothing should allow you to sit comfortably, move freely and operate the vehicle controls safely. Footwear should provide sufficient control and feel of the pedals. Your instructor may ask you to change footwear or clothing before driving if they reasonably believe it could interfere with your safe control of the vehicle.

Please avoid attending lessons wearing clothing or footwear, or in a physical condition, that makes safe driving unnecessarily difficult. Strong or persistent odours that make the vehicle environment unsuitable for tuition may also need to be addressed. This includes, for example, a strong smell of cannabis or alcohol.

A smell alone will not automatically be treated as proof that a learner has consumed an intoxicating substance. However, where the smell of cannabis, alcohol or another substance, together with the surrounding circumstances, reasonably causes the instructor to have concerns about a learner’s fitness to drive, the instructor may refuse to allow the learner to drive or may terminate the practical lesson.

If the instructor reasonably believes that a learner may be impaired by alcohol, cannabis, illegal drugs, medication or another substance, the learner will not be permitted to drive. Where a lesson cannot proceed because of circumstances reasonably within the learner’s control, the normal lesson fee may remain payable.

Learners should also avoid attending practical lessons when suffering from an infectious illness or condition that could reasonably place the instructor or subsequent learners at unnecessary risk. Where possible, contact your instructor in advance so that appropriate arrangements can be discussed.

Abusive, threatening, discriminatory, sexually inappropriate, deliberately dangerous or seriously disruptive behaviour will not be accepted. Your instructor may stop a lesson immediately where continuing would create a significant safety, welfare or professional concern.

Serious or repeated inappropriate behaviour may result in further tuition being refused. This section should be read alongside Section 3, Fitness to drive.

20. Mobile phones and distractions

The use of handheld mobile phones while driving is prohibited by law. Phones and other devices should not be used in a way that creates unnecessary distraction during tuition.

Your instructor may encourage the safe use of technology where it forms a legitimate part of driver development, such as satellite navigation.

21. Driving tests

You are responsible for booking and managing your practical driving test unless another arrangement has specifically been agreed. We strongly recommend discussing potential test dates with your instructor before booking.

Any estimate of when you may be ready for a test is based on your progress at that time and is not a guarantee. Progress is not always linear, and readiness may change as training develops.

Our aim is for learners to demonstrate safe, responsible and independent driving consistently rather than simply reach the minimum level necessary to attempt a test. Where possible, the aim should be to reach a genuinely independent, real-world standard before test day.

22. Use of the instructor’s vehicle for a driving test

Booking a practical driving test does not automatically guarantee use of your instructor’s vehicle. The instructor must be available and reasonably satisfied that you can use the vehicle safely and independently to an appropriate standard.

Your instructor may decline use of their vehicle where they reasonably believe that your driving presents an unacceptable safety risk, you have not demonstrated sufficient competence or independence, the test was booked without checking their availability, the vehicle is unavailable or unsuitable, or another reasonable circumstance prevents its use.

Where possible, concerns about test readiness will be discussed with you in good time and the reasons explained. The final decision about whether an instructor is prepared to provide their vehicle for a practical test remains with the instructor.

Your instructor will confirm their current arrangements and charges for test-day use of the vehicle separately.

23. Driving tests in your own vehicle

If you intend to take your practical test in your own vehicle, you are responsible for ensuring that it meets all DVSA requirements for use on a driving test. You must also ensure that your insurance covers the practical test.

If you pass, your licence status changes immediately. Insurance that covered you as a provisional licence holder may no longer cover you to drive home. You should check this with your insurer beforehand and make appropriate arrangements.

24. Test cancellations and changes

UP Driver Training and individual instructors cannot accept responsibility for tests cancelled, postponed or changed by DVSA or for losses arising from circumstances outside our reasonable control.

Where your instructor is available, reasonable efforts will be made to rearrange any associated tuition. If your practical test date or time changes, please tell your instructor as soon as possible.

25. Traffic offences

Your instructor will supervise you and take reasonable steps to prevent unsafe driving and traffic offences. This may include verbal intervention, use of dual controls or other appropriate intervention as described in Section 18.

However, you remain the driver of the vehicle and may be legally responsible for your actions while driving. This may include speeding, traffic-light offences or other breaches of road traffic law.

Where legally required, your instructor may provide driver-identification information to the police or another appropriate authority.

26. Collisions and incidents

Despite appropriate supervision and intervention, collisions or incidents can occasionally occur during driver training. Your instructor will deal with matters relating to their tuition vehicle and insurance.

As the driver, you may also have legal responsibilities following an incident. Information relating to you and the incident may be provided to insurers, police, legal representatives or other appropriate parties where necessary and lawful.

27. Learning records and Total Drive

UP Driver Training may use Total Drive or another learner-management system to administer tuition. This may include lesson bookings, reminders, payment information, progress records, reflections, lesson notes and communication relating to your training.

Learners may be encouraged to use these systems to reflect on lessons, monitor progress and undertake learning between sessions.

Automated reminders are provided as a convenience. Not receiving a reminder does not cancel an appointment or remove responsibility for attending a lesson you have booked.

28. Personal information and data protection

UP Driver Training takes the privacy and security of personal information seriously. We process personal information in accordance with applicable UK data-protection legislation, including the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

Information we may need to process includes your name, address, telephone number and email address; date of birth; driving licence details; lesson bookings and attendance; payment and transaction records; progress and learning records; theory and practical test information; communications relating to tuition; parent, guardian or emergency contact information where appropriate; information reasonably required to support your learning or safety; and records relating to incidents, complaints or insurance matters where necessary.

We will only collect and use information that is reasonably necessary for legitimate purposes connected with providing and administering driver training. More detailed information about how personal information is handled will be provided in the UP Driver Training Privacy Notice.

29. Why we use your information

Depending on the information and purpose involved, personal information may be processed because it is necessary to provide the driving tuition you have requested, manage bookings, payments and accounts, communicate with you about your tuition, maintain appropriate learning and business records, meet legal, regulatory, tax or insurance obligations, establish, exercise or defend legal claims, protect legitimate business, safety or legal interests, or, where appropriate, because you have given valid consent for a particular use.

Not every use of personal information relies upon consent. Where consent is the appropriate lawful basis, you may normally withdraw it at any time without affecting processing that was lawful before withdrawal.

The UP Driver Training Privacy Notice provides further information about the lawful bases used for different types of processing.

30. Health information and other sensitive data

Sometimes you may need or choose to tell your instructor about a medical condition, disability, medication, mental-health consideration, neurodiversity, additional learning need or another circumstance relevant to your safety or learning.

Some health information is classed as special-category personal data and receives additional legal protection. We will only ask for information that is reasonably relevant. Where possible, we are more interested in understanding what support or adjustment may help you than collecting unnecessary details about diagnoses or medical histories.

Where special-category information is processed, an appropriate lawful basis and additional condition for processing will be used together with suitable safeguards. Responsibility for declaring legally notifiable medical conditions to DVLA remains with the licence holder.

This section concerns how information is handled. Matters concerning whether you are currently fit to drive are dealt with in Section 3 and Section 19.

31. Sharing information

We do not sell learner information. Information may be shared with third-party organisations where reasonably necessary to operate our services. These may include learner-management systems, payment providers, accountants, insurers, professional advisers, IT providers or other organisations supporting the operation of the business.

Where appropriate, organisations processing information on our behalf will be expected to handle it securely and in accordance with applicable data-protection requirements.

Information may also be disclosed where required or permitted by law, including to police, DVLA, DVSA, insurers, courts, regulators or other appropriate authorities.

Where you ask to transfer to another instructor, progress information may be shared where you request or authorise us to do so.

32. Data security

Reasonable technical and organisational measures will be used to protect personal information. Information may be stored within secure learner-management systems, password-protected devices, business systems and appropriately secured records.

Access will be limited to people who reasonably require the information. No electronic system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but reasonable steps will be taken to protect information against unauthorised access, loss, alteration or disclosure.

33. How long we keep information

Personal information will not be retained indefinitely simply because it has been collected. Different types of information may need to be retained for different periods depending on their purpose.

For example, financial information may need to be retained for tax and accounting purposes, while information connected with an insurance incident, complaint or legal matter may need to be retained for an appropriate period after tuition ends.

Learning records and routine customer information will be reviewed and securely deleted or anonymised when there is no longer a legitimate or legal reason to retain them. Further information about retention periods will be contained in our Privacy Notice and internal data-retention policy.

34. Dashcams and recordings

Individual tuition vehicles may use dashcams or other recording equipment. Depending on the equipment installed, this may record external footage and, in some vehicles, internal footage and/or audio.

Where recording equipment is used, learners should be informed of its presence. Footage may be used where reasonably necessary for road safety, security, insurance, incident investigation, complaint handling or legal purposes.

Relevant footage may be downloaded and retained following a collision, allegation, traffic offence, complaint or other significant incident. Where lawful and necessary, footage may be provided to insurers, police, legal representatives or other appropriate authorities.

Routine footage will normally be overwritten according to the recording system and instructor’s retention arrangements unless there is a legitimate reason to preserve it.

35. Photographs, videos and social media

Photographs or videos may occasionally be offered following a driving-test pass or for other appropriate purposes. We will not assume that agreeing to driving lessons means agreeing to appear on social media or in UP Driver Training marketing.

Where identifiable photographs, video or lesson footage are intended for promotional, marketing or social-media use, appropriate permission will be sought. Declining permission will not affect the tuition you receive.

Where consent is relied upon, you may subsequently ask us to stop using your image for future purposes where reasonably practicable, although this may not always allow material already lawfully published or distributed to be completely withdrawn.

36. Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data-protection law provides individuals with rights relating to their personal information. These may include rights to access personal information held about you, request correction of inaccurate information, request deletion or restriction in certain circumstances, object to certain processing, withdraw consent where processing relies upon consent, and raise concerns about how your information has been handled.

These rights are not absolute, and some information may need to be retained where there is a legitimate or legal requirement to do so. Full details are contained in our separate Privacy Notice.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

37. Refunds and prepaid credit

Where lessons have been prepaid and tuition subsequently ends, unused credit will be refunded, subject to legitimate outstanding charges and lessons falling within the cancellation policy.

Lessons that have already been provided are not refundable simply because the learner later decides to discontinue tuition. Where a refund is due, your instructor may need appropriate payment information to process it.

Refund information will only be used for legitimate payment and accounting purposes.

38. Ending tuition

You are free to stop taking lessons at any time. We ask that you tell your instructor rather than simply stopping communication, particularly where future appointments have been reserved.

UP Driver Training or an individual instructor may also discontinue tuition where there is a reasonable reason to do so. Examples may include persistent non-payment, repeated cancellations, abusive or threatening behaviour, deliberately unsafe conduct, persistent failure to follow reasonable safety instructions or a breakdown in the professional relationship that makes continuing tuition unreasonable.

Where tuition is discontinued by the instructor, any unused prepaid credit for services that will not be supplied will normally be refunded after legitimate outstanding charges have been accounted for.

39. Communication

Please keep your instructor informed of changes that affect your lessons. This includes changes to your telephone number, address, pick-up location, licence status or circumstances that materially affect your ability to undertake tuition.

Your instructor may communicate with you through telephone, SMS, WhatsApp, email, Total Drive or another agreed method. Where an important change affects a forthcoming lesson, please contact your instructor directly rather than relying solely on an app notification.

40. Complaints and concerns

We want learners to feel comfortable raising concerns. If you are unhappy with any aspect of your tuition, we encourage you to discuss it with your instructor as soon as possible. Many concerns can be resolved quickly through an open conversation.

Where the matter cannot be resolved directly, or where you would prefer not to raise it with your instructor, you may contact UP Driver Training at hello@updrivertraining.com.

Please provide enough information for us to understand the concern and investigate it fairly. Formal complaints will be acknowledged within a reasonable period and we will aim to provide a substantive response as soon as reasonably practicable.

Complaints will be handled respectfully and objectively. Making a genuine complaint will not result in a learner being treated unfairly.

41. Instructor-specific information

Because individual UP Driver Training instructors may have different vehicles, schedules and operating arrangements, your instructor may provide additional information relating specifically to their tuition.

This may include the lesson price and duration, payment details, vehicle information, normal operating area, test-day charges, normal working hours and contact arrangements.

Any instructor-specific terms must be consistent with these UP Driver Training Terms & Conditions and must be explained before they are relied upon.

42. Changes to these Terms & Conditions

These Terms & Conditions may occasionally be updated to reflect changes to our services, business practices, legislation or regulatory guidance. Where a change materially affects existing learners, reasonable notice will be provided.

The current version will be available through the UP Driver Training website.

43. Agreement

By booking and undertaking driving tuition with UP Driver Training after being provided with these Terms & Conditions, you acknowledge the arrangements under which tuition is provided.

Nothing in these Terms & Conditions is intended to remove or restrict any statutory rights you have as a consumer.

UP Driver Training

Elevating Driving Standards for Life

Website: updrivertraining.com

Email: hello@updrivertraining.com

Last updated: September 2026