Fast Pass Driving Courses

How much does a Fast Pass intensive course cost?

Each course has a fixed deposit paid to Fast Pass and a balance paid to the instructor, and the total depends on the number of hours, the gearbox and the area. Prices appear once a postcode is entered or a town page is opened. In Bolton in October 2026 the manual courses cost:

• 6 hours: £472 (£262 deposit, £210 to the instructor)
• 12 hours: £712 (£292 deposit, £420 to the instructor)
• 24 hours: £1,292 (£452 deposit, £840 to the instructor)
• 48 hours: £2,512 (£832 deposit, £1,680 to the instructor)

The deposits were the same in Bexley in Greater London, where the instructor's share was higher, so a 6-hour manual course came to £502. Automatic courses cost a little more: £490 for 6 hours in Bolton. The site showed no sales, bundles or multi-buy prices in October 2026, so choosing the right number of hours and avoiding the cancellation charges below is where most of the money is saved.

Which course length should a learner choose?

Fast Pass recommends 6 or 12 hours for experienced learners, 18 to 24 hours for part-trained learners and 30 hours or more for beginners. Its town pages put a 6-hour course at 1 to 2 days and a 48-hour course at 10 to 14 days. Two or three of the booked hours are normally used on the day of the practical test, and extra hours can be booked with the instructor at their usual rate. Any course can also be spread out over several weeks.

Some areas can start a course within 7 days, but Fast Pass says 4 to 6 weeks is the usual wait for larger courses. A provisional licence has to be shown at the first lesson, and a valid theory test pass is needed before a practical test can be booked.

What is Test Swap Pro and can it get an earlier test?

Test Swap Pro is Fast Pass's free support service for finding another learner willing to swap practical test slots, and it cannot guarantee an earlier date. Since 12 May 2026 only learners can book, change, cancel or swap their own DVSA test, so Fast Pass looks for possible matches through its network of instructors and pupils and the learners complete the swap themselves. Fast Pass says it uses no bots or booking software.

GOV.UK sets the rules for swaps in England, Scotland and Wales:

• Both learners call DVSA separately on the same day.
• The swap has to be requested at least 10 full working days before the earlier test.
• The tests must be at the same centre, one of its 3 nearest centres or the centre first booked.
• A swap counts as one of the 2 changes allowed on each booking.

What happens if a booking is cancelled?

The deposit is refunded in full within 14 days of paying it, and after that the charges rise as the start date gets closer. Under the terms in October 2026:

• Cancelling after the 14-day cooling-off period but more than 14 days before the start costs £200, taken from the deposit.
• Cancelling within 14 days of the start date means no refund.
• A course not started within 6 months of the deposit is cancelled and the money is lost.
• Lessons cancelled with less than 48 hours' notice are still charged.
• Unused hours paid to an instructor last 3 months, and any refund counts used hours at £45 each.

The money-back guarantee on the site covers one case: the deposit is refunded in full if Fast Pass cannot arrange an instructor. Failing the theory test before the course counts as a cancellation, and no pass is guaranteed.

How do Fast Pass bookings and instructors work?

Fast Pass is a booking agent: the deposit pays for its administration, and the lessons are a separate agreement with a self-employed instructor. The balance is paid to the instructor at the first lesson. Instructors are DVSA-approved, and on rare occasions a trainee instructor with a pink badge is allocated, with notice given before the course starts. The car is dual-controlled and insured by the instructor, and disputes about the lessons themselves go to the instructor. Complaints to Fast Pass go to [email protected], with a reply promised within 7 working days.