The UK Highway Code (Upd. 2025)

While the United Kingdom has its fair share of high-speed motorways, we also have plenty of roads with wonderfully diverse usage, where in a single commute you can see drivers, cyclists, and even equestrians. Fortunately, in 2016, the rates of fatalities and injuries on our roads were lower than in 2014, according to the Department for Transport. What prevents fatalities and injuries and enables all these road users to stay safe is The Highway Code, which you will find on this page. Please give the document a moment or two to load, depending on your internet speed, as it is very large (189 pages). As a UK driver, or any UK road user, it is very important that you be familiar with it, in order to both stay safe and pass your written learner’s test or licence exam. Rules in the Code which are legal requirements, and which you will be committing a criminal offense if you disobey, use the words “must/must not.” Violating other parts of the Code, which use the words “should/should not” or “do/do not”, can be used as evidence against you in Traffic Court, even if violating them is not an automatic criminal offense, so please pay attention to all parts of The Highway Code. This page provides the official version of the UK Highway Code, which is valid for 2018. Studying it will ensure that you are fully prepared for your official theory test. Good luck!

View driver’s manuals for other countries: US DMV Handbook. Study road rules for other countries: DMV Practice Test (California). For UK practice exams, take our mock theory test and ensure you are fully prepared.

Crown Copyright. The content have been sourced from the 2019 edition of The Official Highway Code, and reproduced under the terms of the Open Government Licence. Visit https://www.gov.uk/highway-code/contents to view the latest file online.