Just passed your test

Temporary Car Insurance for New Drivers

Short-term cover for a newly qualified driver who has no annual policy yet, with the honest limits on how recently you passed.

Full licence, age limits by insurer
Bridge to an annual policy
Comprehensive, own policy

In partnership with GoShorty

FCA-regulated cover

Every policy is arranged by an authorised UK insurance broker
1 hour to 28 days

One policy, any length in between, no annual contract
Certificate emailed to you

Your policy number and documents, minutes after paying
MID updated four times a day

So a roadside check shows the vehicle as insured

What Is New Driver Temporary Car Insurance?

It is short-term comprehensive cover for a driver who has recently passed their test and has no annual policy yet, running from one hour to 28 days.

There is no dedicated new driver product. The same criteria apply to everyone on the car cover, and a newly qualified driver is simply a driver who sits at the edge of them. This page sets out where that edge is.

Two limits matter. The minimum age varies by insurer, from 17 upwards, so a driver who passed at 17 or 18 may be quoted by some insurers and not others. And although no minimum licence-held period is published for the car product, the quote may require 6 months, or 3 months if you are over 25. Those figures come from the criteria listed for additional drivers, so treat them as the likely requirement rather than a promise. The quote shows the answer.

For those who fit, this is temporary car insurance at its simplest: its own policy, its own certificate, and no annual commitment.

How Do You Get New Driver Cover?

Enter the registration, add your licence date and personal details, choose the dates, then read the quote and the wording before you pay.

1
Enter the registration

Use the plate of the car you will drive. It pulls up the make, model and value, which drive the price.
2
Enter your licence details

Give the date you passed and your licence number. This is the step where a new driver’s quote is accepted or declined, so answer exactly.
3
Choose the dates

From one hour to 28 days on one policy, chosen when you get the quote.
4
Check it, then buy

Read what is covered, the excess and the optional extras. Wait for the emailed certificate before you drive. The certificate, not the quote, is the proof of cover.

When Is Temporary Cover Right for a New Driver?

When you can drive legally but do not yet have, or do not want to commit to, an annual policy.

Bridging while you shop

A new driver’s annual quotes can be high, and rushing a decision costs money. A short policy lets you take the time to look properly. Enter the real gap and nothing more, because policies never auto-renew and there is no refund once cover has started.

After a learner policy ends

A learner policy is void after a short grace period once you pass, set by the insurer and shown on the policy. If you want to drive the same car the same day, you will need a different policy, and the learner product cannot be used for it. Read learner driver insurance for how learner cover ends.

Your first car

Buying a first car often leaves a gap between paying and the annual policy starting. Drive away insurance is built for the drive home, and a month-long policy can cover the weeks after. See monthly car insurance for the longest length.

Borrowing a parent’s car

A newly qualified driver added to a family policy can raise the premium. A separate temporary policy avoids that and leaves the owner’s no claims discount intact. See also young driver insurance.

Ready when you are

See what a bridging policy would cost for the dates you need.

Just the registration to begin. Fully comprehensive, one hour to 28 days.

Get Quotes

What Does It Cover?

Comprehensive cover as standard: damage to other people and their property, damage to the car you are driving, fire and theft, with the cover standalone from the owner’s.

Business class 1 use is included, meaning meetings and site visits. Deliveries, hire and reward and carrying passengers for payment are not covered. Whether the policy covers driving in the EU, and on what terms, depends on the insurer. A claim on the policy does not affect the car owner’s no claims discount. The policy wording sets out the detail and you should read it before paying.

How Much Does New Driver Cover Cost?

The published starting price for one week here was £46.59, based on the lowest sold between December 2025 and May 2026, and a new driver should treat that as a floor rather than a likely price.

Newly qualified drivers are usually priced above experienced ones, and the quote is the only figure that applies to you. These are the factors that move it.

What sets your price

1 How long you have held the licence The shorter the record, the higher the risk priced into the quote.
2 Your age Younger drivers are usually priced higher.
3 The car Value, insurance group and engine size.
4 The length Longer policies cost more in total, with a lower daily rate.

Starting prices on this page are GoShorty’s published from-prices, based on quotes from December 2025 to May 2026. A starting price is the lowest sold to anyone, not a typical price, and every quote is individual. Source: GoShorty’s published prices.

Who Can Get Cover, and Who Cannot?

Drivers aged 17 to 75 with a full UK licence, a permanent UK address, with any points or convictions declared on the form. The minimum age and the licence types accepted vary by insurer.

You need a full licence, not a provisional one. The car must be worth between £500 and £65,000, with each insurer setting its own band, have a valid MOT, not be SORN and not be a hire car, an import, left-hand drive or modified. Anyone who has had insurance refused, cancelled or voided is outside the criteria.

If you are below the minimum age of the insurer quoting, the quote will say so, and learner cover is the route for a provisional licence. If you passed recently, the licence-held question above applies. Penalty points are declared on the form within each insurer’s limits, and GOV.UK sets out how penalty points work. For more on how convictions are treated, see temporary car insurance for convicted drivers.

What Happens When a Learner Policy Ends?

The learner policy gives a short grace period after you pass, set by the insurer and shown on the policy, to drive home, and then it is void.

Learner cover runs from one hour to 24 weeks, but it is written for a provisional licence holder with a supervisor, and it stops being valid once the test is passed. The grace period is only there to get the car home safely. It is not a way to keep using the learner policy for the afternoon.

Everything about that is worth planning before test day rather than after it. If the car belongs to a parent and you will want to drive it alone from the day you pass, work out in advance whether you meet the age and licence-held questions above and whether you want a short policy or an annual one. The learner product normally sits on the car’s own annual policy, so the owner is likely to be involved in the conversation either way.

What Should a New Driver Check Before Driving Off?

That the certificate has arrived, the dates are right and the car has a valid MOT.

Policies are submitted to the Motor Insurance Database four times a day, so a policy bought minutes ago may not appear yet. Keep the certificate on your phone and check any plate on askMID. GOV.UK sets out the law on vehicle insurance, including what happens to anyone caught driving without cover. For a new driver, the consequences can also threaten the licence they have only just earned.

Before you start

Can you get it?

If you and the car fit these criteria, a quote is likely.

The driver

Aged 17 to 75, minimum age depending on the insurer
A full UK licence from the DVLA or DVA, or an EU or EEA licence with at least 12 months of UK residence
A permanent UK address
Never had insurance refused, cancelled or voided
Points and convictions declared on the form and priced within each insurer's limits

The car

Worth between £500 and £65,000, with each insurer setting its own band
A valid MOT, and not declared SORN, unless you are driving to a pre-booked MOT
Up to 3.5 tonnes and no more than seven seats
Not a hire or rental vehicle, and not held by the police
Not imported, left-hand drive or modified, apart from factory options or mobility adaptations

Criteria are set by each insurer on the broker’s panel and vary between them. Acceptance is always the insurer’s decision.

Questions

Temporary Car Insurance for New Drivers: FAQs

Can I get temporary car insurance straight after passing my test?

Possibly. The minimum age varies by insurer, from 17 upwards. No minimum licence-held period is published for the car product, but a quote may ask for a licence held for 6 months, or 3 months if you are over 25. The quote will show whether you are accepted, so enter the details honestly.

I passed my test aged 18. Can I use this product?

With some insurers. The minimum age for car cover varies by insurer, and the lowest on the panel is 17, so a driver aged 17 to 20 with a full licence may be quoted by some and not others. Learner cover from 17 is a different product for provisional licence holders, and it ends once the test is passed.

What happens to my learner policy when I pass?

There is a short grace period after you pass to drive home, set by the insurer and shown on the policy, then the learner policy is void. If you want to keep driving that day, you need a new policy that fits a full licence holder. Plan this before the test, not after it.

Is temporary cover a good way to bridge to an annual policy?

It can be, because it lets you drive legally while you shop for an annual policy without being rushed. It never auto-renews and gives no refund once cover has started.

Will my first car be covered on a temporary policy?

It can be, if the car is worth between £500 and £65,000, with each insurer setting its own band, has a valid MOT and meets the other criteria. Drive away cover covers the drive home from the seller, with the same age and licence rules.

Do I get a no claims discount from a temporary policy?

Do not assume so. Whether a temporary policy counts towards your own no claims history is set out in the policy documents, so check them before you rely on it. An annual policy is the usual way to build one.

What if I get points soon after passing?

Points are declared on the form, and the quote shows whether you are accepted. GOV.UK sets out the rules on how long penalty points stay on a licence. Convictions are declared on the form and quoted too, as our page on convicted drivers explains.

Can I be a named driver on someone else’s temporary policy instead?

You can be covered on a temporary policy of your own for a car you have the owner’s permission to drive. That keeps your driving separate from their annual insurance and their no claims discount.

Does it cost anything to get a quote?

No. Getting a quote is free and you are under no obligation to buy. We may be paid a fee by the broker if someone takes out a policy after being introduced by us. It does not change the price you are quoted.

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