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Courses
Minibus Training and Testing
Training & Testing for the DCC Certificate
Anyone wishing to drive a minibus with a passenger seating capacity of up to 16 seats on Devon County Council business must first obtain the County’s Certificate of Competence to drive such a vehicle. Those eligible will be drivers who passed their basic driving test before 1st January 1997, and who also hold the D1 driving licence category (for non hire and reward purposes). Holders of a current Category D, PCV licence, are exempt.
To obtain the certificate, you will need to pass a practical assessment and written test. This can be done in two ways:
- One-hour test.
- One-day course with test
We advise that drivers with limited or no experience of driving a minibus opt for the one-day course (NB: courses run with a maximum of three participants per minibus).
The one-hour test comprises an assessed drive of approximately 45 minutes duration covering most types of road and traffic situation. Ten minutes is allotted to completion of the multiple-choice, 24 question written test which has a 75% pass mark. The test can be conducted at a location of your choice (please contact Devon Drivers' Centre for more details).
The one-day course covers pre-driving checks, familiarisation with the vehicle, manoeuvring and controlled stops, and then progresses to training on the public highway. Most types of road and traffic situations will be covered. The course culminates with the driving assessment and the written test. The day starts at 8:45 am and finishes at around 5:00 pm. Lunch is not supplied.
All certificate holders must undergo refresher training every four years.
Familiarisation sessions without test are also available by the hour.