What happens
An appearance is a one-to-one oral exam with a Knowledge examiner. The first one, your first at Stage 3, lasts up to 30 minutes; every one after that lasts up to 20. Examiners take turns, so you will see several of them along the way.
The examiner asks four questions. For each, you are given two points. You say where each one is, then call the shortest legal route from the first to the second: which way you leave, every road, every turn, and where you set down. Bring your appointment card: it records your grades and the examiners you have seen.
Appearances are recorded, to check grading and for appeals, and the recordings are kept for three months. After each one you get a sheet showing where you lost marks.
How each run is marked
Each question is worth 10 marks, so an appearance is out of 40. You lose marks for:
- wrong street names, or a route that is not the shortest;
- leaving or setting down on the wrong side, or somewhere you could not stop;
- banned turns, U-turns, no-entry streets and going the wrong way down a one-way street;
- hesitating.
Failing to find a point costs a mark for each one. An illegal manoeuvre scores zero for that run. Giving up on a run, or finding both points but being unable to call the route, also scores zero.
Grades and points
Your marks become a grade, and each grade is worth points towards moving up:
| Grade | Marks out of 40 | Points |
|---|---|---|
| A | 36 to 40 | 6 |
| B | 32 to 35 | 4 |
| C | 24 to 31 | 3 |
| D | Under 24 | 0 |
You need 12 points to move up from each of Stages 3, 4 and 5. Two A grades would do it; TfL says that on average it takes four scoring appearances a stage. Older guides mention an AA grade worth 12 points: TfL's 2022 booklet no longer has it.
Four D grades on a stage, whatever your points, mean starting that stage again. If you are ill or something else stops you doing yourself justice, tell the examiner, ideally before you start: one U grade, for untested, is allowed on each stage and does not count against you.
How the stages differ
- Stage 3 asks major places: big hotels, hospitals, stations, theatres, museums, courts and police stations. Your first appearance follows the Blue Book runs; later ones move the start and finish around within a quarter of a mile. You may correct a mistake.
- Stage 4 links and combines runs, and may add road closures and more than one drop. You can no longer correct a mistake.
- Stage 5 covers the whole six-mile radius, including what is new or on now: new attractions, theatre productions, renamed hotels and events such as the Chelsea Flower Show or Winter Wonderland.
Rules examiners work to
- Traffic does not matter. The question is always the shortest legal distance.
- Road works expected to last under 26 weeks are ignored. For longer ones, you are expected to know a way round once they have been in place for four weeks; the same four weeks apply to new layouts and new points.
- U-turns allowed only for taxis may be used, and you may set down on the right where that is legal.
Where they happen
TfL's current pages say appearances are held at its driver assessment centre, 14 Pier Walk, London SE10 0ES, near North Greenwich station. Its 2022 booklet still gives Baker Street, so check your appointment letter. Arrive at least 20 minutes early, dressed smartly, with your phone off.
Cancelling or missing one
Cancel by email and TfL gives you a new date, but each further cancellation, and each appearance missed without notice, moves you a step closer to a decision by the Knowledge Manager or to your application being treated as withdrawn. If you are struggling, say so early.
Questions about this
- How many points do you need to pass 56s?
- What are 56s, 28s and 21s?
- How are Knowledge appearances marked?
- What happens if you get four Ds on the Knowledge?
- Can you correct a mistake at a Knowledge appearance?
- What is Stage 6 of the Knowledge?