From autumn 2025, UK driving theory tests will include new CPR questions and, for the first time, questions about defibrillators to boost cardiac arrest survival.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has announced that it is expanding the theory test question bank to:
- Include enhanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) content;
- Add questions about automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for the first time.
The move aims to address the UK’s low cardiac arrest survival rates by making sure more people know how to respond in emergencies.
The driving theory test is taken by learner drivers before they can book their driving test. The test has 2 parts that are booked and taken together:
multiple-choice questions – 50 questions drawn from a bank of over 700 questions, covering topics from road signs and traffic laws to vehicle safety, hazard awareness, and first aid – learners must get at least 43 out of 50 right to pass this section hazard perception – a video test about spotting hazards on the road You must pass both parts to pass the overall test.
The changes involve no additional cost, test time, or difficulty – they simply update existing first aid content with current best practice.
Around 2.4 million theory tests are taken each year, with a pass rate of 45.7% between July and September 2024. This means that hundreds of thousands of people annually will gain knowledge of life-saving skills through the enhanced questions.
Drivers are often first on the scene when someone suffers a cardiac arrest. Data from the Resuscitation Council UK shows more than 40,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the UK each year, but fewer than 1 in 10 people currently survive.
What learners will study
From autumn 2025, car and motorcycle theory test candidates will need to familiarise themselves with:
- CPR techniques, including proper hand placement and compression rates.
- How to use automated external defibrillators.
The questions will be added to other theory test types later.
The knowledge builds on existing first aid content in driving education materials. Official DVSA learning guides for car drivers have already been updated with improved information about these life-saving techniques. Updates to motorcycle publications will follow soon, the DVSA said.
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