A provisional licence in the UK: £34 online, £43 by post, three conditions

A first British driving licence costs £34 online and £43 by post, and you can apply before you are allowed to drive at all: from 15 years and 9 months. That £9 gap is the price of the paper form, and it is the one place in this process where people overpay for nothing.

At what age can you apply for a provisional licence?

From 15 years and 9 months old. You can usually only start driving a car at 17, so the licence can be in hand well before you are allowed to use it.

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The rules differ if you have a disability or a long-term health condition, and DVLA lists separately which vehicles you can learn to drive.

What are the three conditions?

There are exactly three, and all must apply. Age: at least 15 years and 9 months. Eyesight: you must be able to read a number plate from 20 metres away. And you must have been given permission to live in Great Britain — England, Scotland and Wales — for at least 185 days.

That last one trips up new arrivals most often: it is not about citizenship, but about having the right to be in the country for long enough.

What does it cost, and how fast does it come?

£34 online, paid by MasterCard, Visa, Electron or Delta debit or credit card.

£43 by post. For that you fill in form D1, "Application for a driving licence", available from most Post Offices, and send it with a cheque or postal order to the address on the form. Make sure you pay the correct postage — otherwise it never reaches DVLA.

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DVLA emails a confirmation once you have applied. Online, the licence should arrive within one week; it may take longer if DVLA need to make additional checks.

What do you need to apply online?

You sign in to the service, creating sign-in details if you do not have them. You will be told at that point whether you need to prove your identity, which usually means photo ID such as a passport.

What can and cannot you do on a provisional?

You must hold a Great Britain or Northern Ireland provisional licence to learn at all. You must be supervised — by a driving instructor or by someone else who meets the rules, such as family or friends.

The car must display "L" plates. You can drive at any time, day and night.

Motorways are allowed only when three things apply at once: you are driving in England, Scotland or Wales, you are with an approved driving instructor, and the car is fitted with dual controls.

Speed limits in England, Scotland and Wales are the same with "L" plates as after you pass. Northern Ireland differs: there the limit for a learner driver is 45 miles per hour.

What if you already have a provisional?

This route is for a first licence only. If you have held one before, separate services cover renewing it, replacing it if lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed, reapplying after a disqualification, and changing the address on it.

One more note from DVLA: if you applied for a provisional licence before 1 March 1973, you use this same service to get a new one.