Failed your theory test? Retake rules by country

First, read your result properly

Before any rebooking, extract everything your result tells you. In most of these systems you learn more than pass or fail: which part of the test fell short, and in points based systems how far short it fell. A fail by one question in Portugal, where category B needs 27 of 30, calls for a different response than a fail spread across every topic. Write down the weak areas while they are fresh, because they become the syllabus for your next attempt, and several of the systems below give you a waiting period whether you want one or not. Used well, that wait is preparation time the test has handed you for free.

United Kingdom: three working days, and the whole test again

The UK rule is short and strict. If you fail either part of the theory test, you must book and take the whole test again, even the part you passed. There is no way to retake only the multiple choice questions or only the hazard perception clips. You also have to wait at least 3 working days before taking the test again. The result letter you receive at the test centre shows which part you did not score enough on, which tells you where the three days, and any longer you choose to take, are best spent. The rule is published by GOV.UK, which is also where the new booking is made. When you are ready, the United Kingdom hub has both halves of the test in one place.

Germany: fourteen days before you can sit it again

Germany imposes the clearest cooling off period of the group. A failed theory test can be retaken after 14 days at the earliest, and the retake is arranged through your driving school with TÜV or DEKRA, the organisations that run the test. The exam fee is charged again for the new attempt, as TÜV NORD sets out in its driving test guidance. Fourteen days is long enough to be useful and short enough to keep your knowledge warm: it maps neatly onto a focused revision cycle aimed at the topics that produced your error points. Remember that Germany scores error points rather than wrong answers, so your review should start with any 5 point questions you missed. The Germany hub explains the points system in full.

Italy: at least a month between attempts

Italy makes you wait longer. A candidate who fails the theory exam must wait at least one month before sitting it again, under the rules administered by the Motorizzazione and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. That month is best treated as a structured second preparation, not a pause: the Italian exam is built from true or false statements in the official ministerial lists, so the work is to rebuild accuracy topic by topic until the statements you once judged wrong read as obviously false. The official portal for driver services is Il Portale dell’Automobilista, and your autoscuola handles the practical side of booking the new attempt. The Italy hub sets out the format you are preparing for.

Spain: two sittings per application

Spain counts attempts differently. One application to the DGT gives you two sittings, called convocatorias, and they are shared between the theory and practical tests rather than granted per test. Fail the theory test once and your second sitting is still available under the same application. Fail twice, in the same test or across the two tests, and you must file a new application and pay the examination fee again. The two sittings of one application should also fall within six months of each other, except in justified cases such as illness. From the third sitting onwards, the examination rules add minimum gaps between attempts, at least 10 days after the second sitting and at least 15 days between later ones. The practical lesson is to treat the second sitting as a resource: rebook when your practice scores say you are ready, not at the first available date. Official information and booking sit with the DGT, and the Spain hub covers the 30 question, 3 error format you will face again.

France: book a new session with an approved operator

In France the theory test, the ETG, is sat at approved test operators rather than at a single state office, and a failed attempt is followed by booking a new session in the same way as the first: your registration and candidate number, the NEPH, come from ANTS, and you choose a session with an operator according to availability. Each attempt is a separate booking. One difference from the UK catches candidates out: results are not handed over at the test centre, they are communicated afterwards, so build the wait for the result itself into your planning before you think about dates for a second attempt. Use the time between attempts on the question types that cost you marks, remembering that France needs 35 of 40 and that some questions carry more than one correct answer. The France hub has the format and practice in French.

Portugal: rebooking runs through your driving school

Portugal organises its exams through driving schools registered with the IMT. If you fail the theory exam, the route back is the same route in: your driving school registers you for a new exam date, and the preparation between the two dates is where the result is really decided. Portuguese category B is one of the strictest formats in Europe, 30 questions with 27 needed to pass, so a fail usually comes down to a small number of questions and often to one or two topics. Ask your school for any feedback available from your attempt, then rebuild those topics question by question rather than rereading the whole syllabus. The Portugal hub holds the IMT question bank, the topic practice and the mock exams you will use between attempts.

Poland: a new date at your WORD centre

In Poland the state exam is run by the regional WORD centres, and a failed theory test leads back to the same centre: you book a new exam date and pay the examination fee for the new attempt. There is no benefit in treating the first result as anything other than diagnostic information. The Polish exam is scored in weighted points, 68 of 74 required across 32 questions, so check whether your lost points came from the basic section or from the specialist questions for your category; the fix differs, and the specialist section is where category specific revision pays fastest. The Poland hub explains the points structure and the two section format.

How to prepare differently for the second attempt

Every system above, whatever its waiting period, rewards the same change of approach. The first attempt was prepared broadly. The second should be prepared forensically. Start from your result and your own record of what went wrong, rebuild only the weak topics, and sit full mock tests in the real format until your scores sit above the pass mark repeatedly, not once. Our two week study plan compresses well for a retake: skip the opening signs block if signs were not your problem, and give the days to your failing clusters instead. If hazard perception was the failing half in the UK, go back to first principles with hazard perception explained before you book, because the three working day wait is a minimum, not a recommendation. A retake booked when you are ready is cheaper, in every currency that matters, than a retake booked when you are merely eligible.