The short answer
You take the eyesight test at an optician or an officially recognised testing point, not with us. It takes a few minutes: the sharpness of both eyes is measured, with glasses or contact lenses if you need them. You receive a certificate the licence application needs — without it the application cannot be lodged.
The eyesight test is the smallest step in the whole of your training and the one that most often gets left lying around. It takes less time than the journey there, and yet applications sometimes wait weeks for that single sheet of paper.
Where to take it
- At an optician — most do it without an appointment, though a quick call is worth it
- At an officially recognised eyesight testing point
- At an eye doctor, if you have an appointment coming up anyway
It cannot be done here — a driving school is not permitted to carry it out. Bring your ID so the name on the certificate is right, and the glasses or lenses you normally wear.
What is checked
The sharpness of both eyes, against a prescribed minimum. Visual aids are expressly allowed: if you only reach the value with glasses or contact lenses you still pass — the aid is then noted on your licence and you have to wear it when driving. That is not a black mark, it is a condition like any other.
A few times a year somebody comes back from the eyesight test having been prescribed glasses for the first time in their life. Usually they are the ones who mentioned in passing that road signs only come into focus late in the evening — and had assumed that was normal. For a first night drive that is the most useful piece of information all month.
If it is not enough
Then the road does not end, it leads to an eye doctor. They can correct the problem or produce a fuller ophthalmological report, which takes the place of the simple test. That costs a few more weeks — another reason not to leave the eyesight test to the last minute.
Not too early, not too late
The certificate is not valid indefinitely. Ask the optician how long yours lasts, and take the test when enrolment is actually coming up — not two years beforehand because there was an offer on.
What else belongs with the application is in applying for your licence. Bring the certificate to the first conversation and we take care of the rest — sign up, or ask first.
What to take away
The eyesight test is done in five minutes and still blocks the entire application for as long as it is missing. So it belongs at the top of the list rather than the bottom — and anyone who discovers they need glasses has gained more than a certificate.