GuideLast checked 8 Oct 2026
SERU: what is confirmed and what is only reported
What TfL officially publishes about the private hire SERU assessment, what it does not, and how we label anything candidates say about the real test.
Search for SERU and you will find forum posts, videos and sellers all claiming to know how many questions there are, how long you get and what the pass mark is. Some of it may be true. Very little of it comes from TfL. This page separates the three things: what TfL publishes, what TfL does not publish, and what candidates say. We keep the third group clearly labelled, and we never present it as fact.
What TfL confirms
These points are taken from TfL's SERU page, read on 8 Oct 2026.
| Topic | What TfL's page says |
|---|---|
| Where and how | Computer based, delivered by TfL staff at TfL offices. |
| Question types | Multiple choice questions, and completing sentences by adding missing words. |
| Study material | The assessment is based on the PHV Driver's Handbook (version 1.0 is the one linked). An audio version of the handbook, section videos and an online assessment guide are also linked. |
| Fee and resit | The page lists a fee and a lower resit fee. See our fees page and the licence cost calculator for the current figures, which are kept in one place. |
| Preparation time and adjustments | Each applicant is given time to prepare. Reasonable adjustments are made where appropriate; tell TfL when you book, using the contact on its page. |
| Further information | TfL says more detail on what to expect on the day is given once a booking is confirmed. |
| A second SERU | TfL reserves the right to require applicants to take the SERU again after a significant change in the regulatory landscape. |
What TfL does not publish
On 8 Oct 2026 we could not find any of the following on TfL's SERU page, in the handbook or in the notices we read:
- The number of questions.
- The time limit.
- The pass mark.
- How questions are weighted, or whether you can go back to an earlier question.
- Whether the handbook is available to look at during the assessment.
On the last point, TfL's Notice 01/24 (17 January 2024) said it intended to trial an open-book SERU, with the handbook available during the assessment, for a group of drivers who were late to comply. It said it would decide afterwards whether to roll that out more widely. We have not found a TfL statement that open book is now standard for everyone, so we do not say it is. Ask TfL when you book.
Reported by candidates
This section is not official. It holds claims made by others, and will hold what people who have sat the assessment tell us about the experience, such as the screen layout or how the gap-filling questions look. Each item will say who reported it and when, and will be removed or updated if TfL contradicts it.
Reported by one commercial test-prep seller (unconfirmed), noted 8 Oct 2026. A seller of practice tests says the official PHV assessment lasts 60 minutes and has 36 questions: 12 fill in the blank, 22 multiple choice and 2 reading and understanding, with a pass mark of 60%. It also says the handbook has been available during the test (open book) since June 2025. None of this is confirmed by TfL. TfL's SERU page, read on 8 Oct 2026, publishes no question count, time limit, pass mark or open-book rule. We repeat the figures only so you know what is being claimed, and we do not vouch for them. We took the format figures only, never any questions. Our exam-style mock follows this reported format and labels it as unconfirmed.
No first-hand candidate reports have been added yet. We will add them here, labelled, when we have accounts we can check.
We will never publish real exam questions here or on any other page, and we do not accept them. If you want to help, tell us about the layout, how clear the instructions were and how you felt about the pacing, not what the questions said. Use the contact page.
How to treat numbers you see elsewhere
- "The pass mark is X percent." Unless it links to a TfL document, treat it as a rumour or as the seller's own practice format.
- "Real exam questions". TfL does not publish its question bank. A seller offering the real questions is either wrong or doing something they should not be.
- "Pass rate" claims. TfL has not published a pass rate in anything we read.
- Our own mock test. It is a practice format we designed, with its own length and timer. It is not a copy of the real one. See the mock test and read what it says about itself. Our exam-style mock instead follows the seller-reported format above, which is unconfirmed.
The best official preparation
TfL links two resources that are worth your time because they come from the people who run the assessment. The first is its online assessment guide, which TfL says covers every part of the handbook with a knowledge check after each section and a "what to expect" section using screenshots from the assessment centre. The second is TfL's video on what to expect on the day. Both are linked from TfL's SERU page, which is the place to check for changes.
Related guides
Start with SERU explained and the two-week study plan. Practise with our original questions in the SERU practice hub, which are not official questions and cannot predict a result. SERU also counts as your English reading and writing evidence: see the English language requirement.