Learning to drive is rapidly becoming unaffordable, with the average total cost set to hit £2,596 in 2026, £137 more than in 2025.
This follows a 30% jump in cost over the last five years alone, driven primarily by driving lesson rates that have soared by 37% since 2020.
The full study, led by experts at National Scrap Car, projects the total cost of learning to drive could reach £4,270 by 2035, creating a significant financial barrier for learners, especially when combined with the ongoing DVSA test backlog.
And according to new data from National Scrap Car, the cost of getting behind the wheel is currently an average of £2,459, and the cost is predicted to increase by over 200% by 2045 to £7,588.
National Scrap Car has predicted the future cost of learning to drive based on historical and current price data. Analysing a variety of metrics, including the cost of driving tests, theory tests, and driving lessons. Revealing that over the five-year period, the cost of learning to drive has jumped by 30%, from £1,888 in 2020 to £2,459 in 2025.
Despite significant increases in the overall cost of learning to drive, some prices have remained consistent. In fact, the combined cost of taking a driving and theory test is £85. However, the majority of learner drivers don’t pass the first time.
The price of a provisional driving licence is also set at £34. This is the most reasonable cost and crucial, as you can’t get behind the wheel or even take a lesson without one. With this licence, you must always be accompanied by a qualified driving instructor or someone over the age of 21 who’s held a licence for three years or more.
The analysis shows that the cost of driving lessons is the main reason behind the rapidly increasing cost of driving. Since 2020, the average hourly lesson rate has increased by 37%, rising from £28.47 to £39.00 an hour. This is expected to rise by £14.40 per hour to £53.40 in the next five years and to a whopping £137.30 per lesson in the next 20 years.
Insurance is the second-highest cost when it comes to getting Brits behind the wheel. Increasing significantly over the past 5 years, by almost 28% since 2020, to £335 today. If this predicted increase continues, learner driver insurance is projected to reach nearly £550 in the next ten years, and £900 by 2045.
Fuel for extra driving practice is expected to be almost £200 by 2030
According to the RAC, not only does the average learner require 45 hours of lessons, but also 22 hours of private practice, often in a parent’s or an older sibling’s car. The cost of fuel for these 22 hours of private practice was £140 in 2020, whereas today, it costs the average learner £165. By 2035, this is predicted to rise to £226, and by 2045, to £310.
The system is bottlenecked; recent figures show that learners are waiting an average of almost 22 weeks for their practical tests. And despite recent efforts from the government to address the test backlog, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said that the target to get wait times down to seven weeks by summer 2026 won’t be met.
Predictions show that over the course of the next ten years alone, getting a driving licence will become a significant financial undertaking, set to cost drivers nearly £4,300 by 2035. This increase will undoubtedly create a significant barrier to opportunity for the next generation of drivers.
