Driving Tests: Personation

To ensure Great Britain’s roads remain among the safest in the world, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has robust measures in place to stop people using false identities when taking a driving test.

At the start of the driving test, all driving examiners (DE) carry out thorough identification and documentation checks to satisfy themselves of the person’s identity, and the validity of the driving licence and theory test pass certificate.

To make it harder for fraudsters to impersonate a candidate, the DVSA has worked in partnership with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to give DEs access to an enlarged photograph of the candidate, as shown on the driving licence, to help the examiner decide if the person presenting for test is the correct candidate. If a candidate fails to satisfy the examiner that they have complied with the requirements, the examiner will, under legislation, refuse to take the test.

All fraudulent activity identified is referred to the DVSA’s Investigations and Counter Fraud team for further investigation. DVSA uses intelligence to identify vehicles and individuals involved in previous fraudulent test attempts and consider this when verifying the identity of people taking a theory or practical driving test. DVSA will revoke fraudulently obtained licences where it detects people impersonating someone else at the theory or practical driving test.