How Many Driving Lessons Do You Need Before the VicRoads Test?
For a learner who has done the hours and has a test date about a month away: three to five focused lessons, plus the test itself.
Three to five focused lessons plus the test, for a learner whose 120 hours are done or nearly done and whose test is about a month away.
- Focused means at the VicRoads office you are booked at, on the real testing routes.
- Three lessons if the driving is already good across the board. Closer to five if other parts need brushing up.
- Start with three and add lessons if the first one says you should.
The call usually goes like this. The test is booked for about a month away, the hours are done, the driving is fine on the whole, but parking has not had much attention and nobody has really prepared for the test as a test. The word doing the work in “three to five lessons” is focused — time spent on the things drive tests are actually failed on: parking, three point turns, the slow manoeuvres, the observation checks and the speed limits.
This guide explains what a focused lesson is, how to choose between three and five, what VicRoads needs from you before the test regardless of lessons, and what happens when you book.
What a focused lesson is
A learner with 120 hours does not need another hour of general driving. They need the hour spent where the marks are. So a focused lesson has two rules.
It happens at the testing area
Every VicRoads office runs its drive tests on the roads around it. the stage one streets where the parking happens, the intersections that catch people out and the busier roads used for stage two are all within a few minutes of the office. Meeting your instructor at or near the office you are booked at means the lesson time goes on those roads rather than on the drive to get there, and by test day the area is familiar.
It is spent on the test, not on driving in general
Parking, three point turns, the slow manoeuvres and the observation routine (mirrors, signal, head check) are where learners lose the most marks, and they are also the things most families skip during the 120 hours because they are boring to practise. The rest of the lesson is the test itself: how the pre-drive check works, how the testing officer gives directions, what a critical error is, and how stage one and stage two are structured. For the detail on that, What Is a Mock Driving Test? walks through it.
Three lessons or five
Three is the number for a learner who drives well everywhere and just needs the test knocked into shape: a session on parking and slow manoeuvres, a session on the routes and the traffic, and the lesson on test day. Five is for a learner who also needs something else tidied up, such as lane changes, roundabouts, keeping to the limit on faster roads, or plain nerves in traffic. Ten exists for learners who are some way off, and it is not what this guide is about.
You do not have to get the number right before you start. Book three, and if after the first lesson your instructor thinks parking needs two sessions rather than one, add the extra lessons then. The one thing to avoid is deciding on a single lesson the day of the test and hoping. The final lesson in any of these packages runs straight into the test in the same car, so that hour is always covered. It is the lessons before it that do the preparing.
What VicRoads needs from you, whatever you book
Lessons do not change the eligibility rules, and a learner who turns up short on any of these does not get to sit the test. In Victoria you need to:
- be at least 18;
- have held your learner permit for 12 months if you are under 21, 6 months if you are 21 to under 25, or 3 months if you are 25 or older;
- have completed and declared 120 hours of supervised driving including 20 hours at night, if you are under 21;
- have passed the Hazard Perception Test;
- bring your learner permit card or digital licence, your logbook or app, and an eligible vehicle (the instructor’s car covers this in a lesson and test package).
The night hours are the ones that most often still need finishing a month out. They are supervised driving like any other, so the family car in the evening counts. Just make sure they are in the logbook or app before test day, because the hours have to be declared, not simply done.
Booking the test first, or the lessons first?
Either works. If the VicRoads test is already booked, give us the date, time and office when you book the package and the lessons are planned back from that date at that office. If it is not booked yet, complete the first lesson, let your instructor see the driving, and book the test for a date that suits what they saw.
A test booked before anyone has watched the learner drive is a guess. A test booked after one lesson is a plan.
Alex Driving School
What happens when you ring
After the call you get an SMS with a link to the booking form. Put in the learner’s name and mobile number (and your own email address if you are arranging it for a son or daughter), choose the lessons and test package, and if the test is already booked, enter the date, time and VicRoads office.
The office checks the booking against the instructor’s calendar, usually within the half hour, and replies with the confirmed times, the instructor’s name and everything the learner needs to bring. The instructor is copied on that email so the three of you are looking at the same details.
The short version
- A learner with the hours done and a test about a month away: three to five focused lessons plus the test.
- Focused means at the testing area, on parking, slow manoeuvres, observation and the test procedure.
- Three if the driving is good everywhere. Closer to five if other parts need brushing up. Start with three and add if the instructor says so.
- Eligibility is separate from lessons: age, permit holding period, 120 hours declared, Hazard Perception Test passed.
Last checked 8 September 2026 against VicRoads and Transport Victoria. Licensing rules change, so confirm anything time-critical with VicRoads on 13 11 71.
Common questions
For a learner who drives well everywhere and has the hours done, yes: a session on parking and slow manoeuvres, a session on the routes and the traffic, and the lesson on test day. Closer to five suits a learner who also needs lane changes, roundabouts, speed on faster roads or nerves in traffic tidied up.
If you are under 21, yes. 120 hours of supervised driving including 20 hours at night must be completed and declared. The night hours are the ones most often outstanding a month out, and supervised driving in the family car in the evening counts. Get them into the logbook or app before test day, because the hours have to be declared, not simply done.
Yes. Book three, and if after the first lesson your instructor thinks parking needs two sessions rather than one, add the extra lessons then. You do not have to get the number right before you start.
Either works. If the test is booked, give us the date, time and office and the lessons are planned back from it at that office. If it is not booked, do the first lesson and let your instructor see the driving before you choose a date.
The final lesson in these packages runs straight into the test in the same car, so that hour is always covered. It is the lessons before it that do the preparing.
Ready to book?
Tell us the test date and the VicRoads office and we will plan three to five focused lessons back from it, with the last one running into the test.
Preparing for the VicRoads driving test
Our VicRoads Drive Test Guide walks through what the testing officer is assessing, stage by stage, for $4.99. The Road to Solo Driving handbook from Transport Victoria is free and available in other languages.
Sources
- How to get your Ps, VicRoads
- Drive test for a Victorian driver’s licence, Transport Victoria