Show Me, Tell Me Questions and Answers
You're sitting in the car, seatbelt on, engine off, and the examiner asks you to open the bonnet and explain how you'd check the engine oil. That's a "show me, tell me" question, and learners tense up over these two little questions far more than they ever need to.
Here's the short answer: there are two of them. The "tell me" question comes before you drive, and the "show me" question comes while you're driving. Get one wrong and it costs you a single driving fault, not the whole test.
The short version
- You get two vehicle safety questions: one "tell me" before you set off, one "show me" while you're on the move.
- They cover everyday things: lights, tyres, fluids, brakes, steering, demisting and washers.
- Getting one wrong is one driving fault. You're allowed up to 15 driving faults and can still pass.
- Answer out loud in your own words. You don't have to recite anything word for word.
- The full list of possible questions is published by DVSA on gov.uk, so you can practise every one.
What the two questions actually are
The practical test has four parts: an eyesight check, the vehicle safety questions, your general driving, and a reversing exercise. The safety questions are the smallest part, and the one people worry about most. If you're unsure how sharp your car knowledge is, our diagnostic test flags the weak spots in a few minutes.
The "tell me" question happens at the start, before you turn a wheel. The examiner asks you to explain how you would carry out a safety task. You describe it. You don't have to do it.
The "show me" question happens later, once you're driving. The examiner asks you to actually demonstrate something while the car is moving, like switching on your rear demister or washing the windscreen. You do it when it's safe, without making a drama of it.
That's the whole thing. Two questions, one talked through and one performed. If you've been driving with an instructor for a few months, you already know the answers without realising it.
The categories the questions come from
The questions all sit within a handful of everyday maintenance and control checks. Once you know the categories, nothing on the list can catch you cold:
- Lights. Headlights, dipped beam, main beam, brake lights, indicators, hazard warning lights and fog lights. Where the switch is and how you'd check a bulb is working.
- Tyres. Legal tread depth, correct pressures and general condition. How you'd know the pressures are right for the car.
- Fluids. Engine oil, coolant, brake fluid and screen wash. Where the reservoir is and how you check the level.
- Brakes. How you'd check the brakes work before you set off, and what a spongy or pulling brake pedal might mean.
- Steering. How you'd spot a steering fault, either before you set off or as you pull away.
- Demisting. Clearing a misted front or rear screen using the heater controls and the demister.
- Washers and wipers. Cleaning the windscreen and checking the wipers and washers work.
None of these needs a mechanic's knowledge. They test whether you'd notice a problem and know roughly what to do about it. That's the same instinct you'll lean on in your first six months on the road, when nobody's sitting next to you to point things out.
Answer out loud, in your own words
The single biggest mistake is trying to recite a memorised script. You freeze, lose your place, and it sounds worse than if you'd just talked.
The examiner isn't marking your vocabulary. They want to hear that you understand the task. So say it the way you'd explain it to a mate:
- For oil: "I'd pull out the dipstick, wipe it, put it back, pull it out again and check the level sits between the two marks."
- For the demister: "I'd turn the fan up, point it at the screen and switch the air conditioning on to clear it faster, then flick the rear demister on."
- For tyres: "I'd check they've got at least the legal tread across the tyre and no cuts or bulges, and I'd check the pressures against the numbers in the door frame or the handbook."
Point at things as you talk. Open the bonnet if the question needs it. Nobody expects a rehearsed speech. If you dry up, describe what you can see and work through it slowly.
You can practise the wording of vehicle checks the same way you drill theory topics. Our practice questions by category include a Vehicle Safety and a Vehicle Maintenance set, which cover the same ground in plain language.
The bit that surprises people
Getting a safety question wrong does not fail your test. It counts as one driving fault.
You can collect up to 15 driving faults and still pass, as long as you pick up no serious or dangerous fault. So a fumbled "tell me" answer is a wobble, not a wall.
People psych themselves out because they treat these questions like an exam question with a single right answer. They're not. The examiner is checking a habit, not grading an essay.
What actually ends tests is the driving that follows, and observation at junctions in particular. If you want to know where the real risk sits, read our breakdown of the faults that end tests and put your nerves in proportion.
Use the official list, not a random one
DVSA publishes every possible "show me, tell me" question, with the sort of answer they're looking for. It's the only list worth learning from, because it's the one the examiner is working from too.
Go through it once with your instructor, then a second time on your own in the car, actually opening the bonnet and finding each thing. You'll find the whole set on the official page at gov.uk/tell-me-show-me. Don't trust a printout from a forum, because the wording changes and old lists go stale.
If you're not sure which everyday checks you're shaky on, a quick run through our diagnostic test will flag whether Vehicle Safety and Vehicle Maintenance are weak spots before you're standing in a car park with an examiner watching.
Frequently asked questions
How many show me tell me questions are there on the test?
Two. One "tell me" question before you drive, and one "show me" question while you're driving. That's it for the whole test.
Do I fail if I get a show me tell me question wrong?
No. A wrong answer is a single driving fault. You can have up to 15 driving faults and still pass, so long as you don't pick up a serious or dangerous fault.
Can I use my own words or do I have to memorise the answer?
Your own words are fine and usually better. The examiner wants to hear that you understand the check, not that you've memorised a script. Point at things and talk it through.
Where can I find the full list of questions?
On gov.uk. DVSA publishes the complete set of possible questions with model answers, and it's kept up to date, so learn from that rather than an old copy.