Staying on the ADI register

• ADI registration lasts 4 years and costs £300 to renew - the same as the first certificate.
• You can only renew in the month your registration expires - not earlier. DVSA writes to remind you, but the responsibility is yours.
• Renewal needs a new enhanced DBS (criminal record) check: the disclosure must be from the last 6 months, and it normally takes around 3 months to come through - so start it roughly 3 to 6 months before your expiry date.
• If your registration lapses, you can re-register within 12 months (£300). Beyond 12 months you start again from scratch: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

• You must display your ADI registration certificate (the badge) in the passenger-side edge of the front windscreen whenever you give paid lessons. Using an invalid badge, or someone else's, is a prosecutable offence.
• A replacement certificate costs £3 if yours is lost or damaged.
• Tell DVSA within 7 days if you change your name or address - and within 7 days of receiving any caution or conviction.
• Charging for lessons without being registered (or without a valid trainee licence) is illegal - which is also why your badge matters to your pupils.

DVSA's Registrar can refuse or remove an ADI who is no longer 'fit and proper' - the phrase covers personal and professional standards, conduct or behaviour that would be unacceptable in the public's eyes. It's not just about driving.

• Motoring record counts: the Registrar has refused or removed ADIs with 5 or more penalty points in the last 3 years, and you can't apply at all if you've been banned from driving in the last 4 years.
• Convictions like dangerous driving, drink or drug driving, driving without insurance, or excessive speeding make registration unlikely.
• The (voluntary) ADI code of practice covers honest advertising, clear business terms, safeguarding client payments, and honest test-readiness advice - agreeing to it can be shown on your registration.

1. 16 months before expiry: apply for your new DBS check (it takes ~3 months and must be under 6 months old when you renew).
2. 21 month before expiry (your renewal month): renew online, £300.
3. 3Any month: keep your standards check ready - your pupils' test results are monitored continuously (see the standards check page).
4. 4Within 7 days, always: report a new address, name, caution or conviction.