The starting point is that you have to have a ‘reasonably’ clean Florida Fake driver’s license. You must have 5 or fewer points on your driving licence. You have also got to pass through the Governments CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checks. This is to ensure that you are a ‘fit and proper person’ – which is understandable, considering that you will be dealing 1 to 1 with pupils in your car.
There is then a theory test (including hazard perception aspect) for driving instructors. This is, in many ways, similar to the theory test for learner drivers. The main differences are the length of the test (100 questions, as opposed to 50 for learners) and the subjects covered (as well as the same sort of questions as learner drivers, there are also other subjects such as teaching methods etc.).
The hazard perception part is basically the same test as for learner drivers, but with a higher pass rate.
The second part of the test for driving instructors is the ‘test of driving ability’. This is basically an extended driving test, in which ‘potential driving instructors’ can commit fewer driving faults than a standard driving test. The faults criteria, although similar, will be slightly on the ‘stricter’ side.
The training for the third part of the driving test will cover the ‘teaching ability’ aspect of becoming a driving instructor (although good training is likely to have covered at least a small amount of this in the earlier ‘Part 1’ and ‘Part 2’ training sessions – please note that some training establishments will do ‘Part 1’ as ‘distance learning’ only).
After completing a minimum of 20 [properly documented] hours of training for the teaching ability test, candidates can often apply for a ‘trainee licence’, which will permit candidates to work ‘under the authority of’ a fully qualified driving instructor or driving school.
The entire process could (in very few instances) be completed in as little as a couple of months. The more likely timescale is going to be somewhere in the region of 3-12 months – if the candidate EVER qualifies. To the best of my knowledge, less than half of all people who pay training establishments for a full course ever actually become a driving instructor.
The slightly more shocking aspect is that often the training for the second or third aspects of the instructor training will not commence until the previous test has been passed. The outcome of this is that candidates could be paying 2,000-4,000 pounds for a ‘part 1’ course which could be worth less than 100 pounds!