ADI Stage 1 sections and pass marks

The split at a glance

Driver Testing Procedures and Documentation

This is the scheme-and-process section: how the qualification works, what registration means, what documents are required and when, how faults are described, and what an assessment outcome allows you to do next. It also covers professional conduct and the delivery and recording of Essential Driver Training.

It rewards precise reading rather than driving instinct. A typical question gives a plausible-sounding shortcut — treating course attendance as authority to instruct, assuming an old registration is still current, assuming registration in one category covers every category — and asks you to identify the correct position. The wrong answers are wrong because of a rule, not because they sound careless.

Road Safety Precepts and Practices

The largest section at 25 questions, covering the Rules of the Road and general road-safety practice: observation, hazard awareness, junctions, roundabouts, overtaking, lane discipline, speed and stopping distances, vulnerable road users, weather, night driving, fatigue, alcohol and drugs, and collisions.

One thing worth internalising early: the Rules of the Road addresses a broad range of road users — pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, horse riders and people in charge of animals, not only drivers of mechanically propelled vehicles. Questions frequently turn on that scope.

Because it is the biggest section it gives you the most margin, seven wrong. That margin is also why it is the easiest section to neglect and still scrape through, which is fine for the test and bad for Stage 3.

Pedagogy – Teaching Ability

Fifteen questions on how people learn and how instruction should be planned, delivered and assessed: lesson objectives, planning from assessment evidence, demonstration, questioning, guided discovery, active listening, feedback, fault analysis, progression, managing learner anxiety and risk.

The recurring theme is that instruction starts from evidence about the individual learner. Planning should begin with what this learner can currently do, not with the lesson you use most often; two learners with different identified needs get different plans. If you can hold that principle steadily, a large share of this section answers itself.

Basic Mechanics and Maintenance of Vehicles

Twenty questions on the vehicle: tyres, brakes, ABS and ESC, steering, suspension, clutch, battery, engine oil, coolant, lights, mirrors, windscreen, seat belts, airbags, driver-assistance systems, dashboard warning lights, daily checks, defects and roadworthiness.

Tyres carry disproportionate weight here, and the duty questions matter as much as the technical ones. A roadworthiness certificate does not remove the driver’s responsibility to keep a vehicle safe; it is an offence to drive an unsafe vehicle whether or not a certificate is valid.

Category B

Twenty questions on car-specific driving technique: cockpit drill, moving off and stopping, primary controls, steering, gear use, clutch control, mirrors and signals, observation, position, junctions, roundabouts, reversing, parking, hill starts, emergency stops, loads and trailers.

This section is where experienced drivers lose marks to habit. The correct answer describes the technique as it should be taught and performed in a settled, logical order — not the compressed version an experienced driver actually does.

What the structure means for revision

• Track five scores, not one. An overall percentage hides the only thing that decides the result.
• Spend time where you are below threshold. Pushing Road Safety from 20/25 to 23/25 buys nothing if Mechanics is sitting at 12/20.
• Build a buffer in the short sections. Aim comfortably above 9 in Pedagogy rather than at it.
• Re-test the weak section separately. A mixed mock re-tests your strengths at the same time, which is reassuring and not informative.

The guides that sit next to this one are The ADI Stage 1 theory test, A Stage 1 study plan and Sample questions.

Frequently asked questions

What is the lowest pass mark in ADI Stage 1?

Pedagogy – Teaching Ability has the lowest threshold, at 9 of 15 questions. It is also the shortest section, so each question carries more weight there than anywhere else, which makes it higher-variance rather than easier.

Can I fail one section and still pass ADI Stage 1?

No. Each section is marked against its own threshold and all of them must be cleared. A strong score in one section cannot compensate for falling short in another.

Do all ADI candidates sit the same Stage 1 paper?

No. The number and type of questions depend on the number and type of licence categories of instruction you apply for. The four core sections are common; the category section or sections vary with your application.

Independent guide: TritonApps is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the Road Safety Authority or Prometric. This page summarises published RSA guidance for convenience and is not official advice. Always confirm current requirements, fees and dates with the RSA before you book.