Can learner drivers drive on motorways?

Quick answer

• In England, Scotland and Wales, a learner can drive on a motorway only with a qualified driving instructor, in a car with dual controls that displays L plates (or D plates in Wales).
• Practising on a motorway with a parent, partner or friend is illegal, and so is a motorway lesson with a trainee instructor.
• Motorway lessons are voluntary. The driving test does not go on motorways.
• Once you pass, the learner rule stops applying. You can drive on a motorway straight away, on your own.
• Northern Ireland has its own rules, and driver licensing and tests there are run by the DVA, not DVSA.

Until 4 June 2018, learners in England, Scotland and Wales could not drive on motorways at all. Plenty of parents learned under that rule, so it is worth knowing exactly what changed and what did not. Learners can now have motorway lessons, but only with an instructor and only in a dual-control car.

The rule in England, Scotland and Wales

Highway Code rule 253 says provisional car licence holders MUST NOT drive on a motorway unless all three of these are true:

• a fully qualified driving instructor (not a trainee) is with you;
• the car has dual controls;
• the car displays red L plates, or D plates in Wales.

GOV.UK's learning-to-drive guidance also requires the instructor and the dual controls, and adds a condition that is easy to miss: you have to be driving in England, Scotland or Wales.

When the law changed in 2018, GOV.UK also said trainee driving instructors would not be allowed to take learners on the motorway. GOV.UK's guidance on taking driving lessons says a qualified driving instructor shows a green badge and a trainee a pink one, so check the badge before a motorway lesson.

Why a parent or friend cannot take you

GOV.UK says it is illegal for you to drive on a motorway when you are practising with family or friends. It does not matter how experienced they are, or whether they meet every other rule for supervising you. A car without dual controls would rule it out on its own.

Dual carriageways are a different matter. The motorway rule does not cover them, so you can practise there with a supervisor who meets the normal rules. Joining at speed, overtaking, changing lanes and leaving by a slip road are the same skills.

Do you need a motorway lesson?

No. GOV.UK's announcement of the change said motorway lessons would be voluntary, and that it would be up to the instructor to decide when a learner was ready for one. The driving test does not include them: GOV.UK says you will drive in various road and traffic conditions, but not on motorways.

The case for having one anyway is simple. The day you pass, you are allowed onto a motorway alone. A first motorway drive with an instructor beside you and a second brake pedal under their foot is a much gentler introduction than a first motorway drive on your own.

After you pass

Rule 253's restriction is on provisional licence holders. Once you have passed, it no longer applies to you. Neither the Highway Code nor GOV.UK's guidance sets a separate motorway rule for new drivers in England, Scotland or Wales, so you follow the same motorway rules as every other driver.

Northern Ireland is different

Driver licensing and tests in Northern Ireland are run by the DVA, not DVSA, so none of the rules above are its rules. nidirect says its Graduated Driver Licensing scheme applies to learners whose provisional entitlement began on or after 1 October 2026. Under it, motorway driving is an optional module, and a learner can only do it with an approved instructor. Once they pass, they do not need supervision to drive on a motorway. If your provisional licence started before that date, check nidirect for the rules that apply to you.

Joining a motorway

Rule 259 describes how to join. All of it is should rather than MUST, but it is the shape every good join takes.

1. 01

   Use the slip road to build speed

   Check the traffic on the motorway and match your speed so you fit safely into the flow in the left-hand lane.

2. 02

   Give priority to traffic already on the motorway

   The vehicles in the left lane are not obliged to make room for you. Find the gap and fit into it.

3. 03

   Stay out of the hard shoulder and the solid white lines

   Do not cross solid white lines separating lanes, and do not use the hard shoulder to join. If the slip road carries on as an extra lane, stay in it.

4. 04

   Settle in the left lane

   Stay there long enough to adjust to the speed of the traffic before you think about overtaking.

On the motorway: what is law and what is advice

• Speed (rule 261): you MUST NOT go over a limit shown in a red circle, or the maximum limit for the road and your vehicle.
• Lane discipline (rule 264, advice): you should keep in the left lane unless you are overtaking, and return to it when it is safe.
• Overtaking (rule 268): do not overtake on the left or move into a lane on your left to overtake. In congested traffic, where lanes are moving at similar speeds, you may keep up with your own lane even if it passes traffic on your right.
• Missed your exit (rule 263): you MUST NOT reverse along any part of a motorway, including slip roads, the hard shoulder and emergency areas, unless directed to by a police or traffic officer. Carry on to the next exit.
• Closed lanes (rule 258): a red X or red flashing lights mark a closed lane, and you MUST NOT drive in it.
• Hard shoulder (rule 269): you MUST NOT use it except in an emergency, or when directed by the police, traffic officers or a sign. Where it is used as an extra lane, only drive in it when a speed limit is shown above it.

Leaving a motorway

Rule 273 asks you to watch for the signs telling you your exit is near, move into the left lane well before it, signal left in good time and reduce speed on the slip road. Rule 274 adds the warning that catches new drivers out: after a long stretch at speed, 50 mph may feel like 30 mph. Check the speedometer rather than trusting the feel of it.