Charanjit Singh, a 44-year-old labourer and father of three from Handsworth, Birmingham, admitted to asking a friend to impersonate him on a theory driving test on two separate occasions. His actions, driven by desperation after twice failing the test due to a limited command of English, led to a prosecution by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
First Attempt Detected
On April 5, 2023, Singh provided his provisional driving licence to a friend who attended a test centre in Birmingham to take the theory test on his behalf. The fraud was detected by test centre staff, and Singh received a warning letter but was not prosecuted at that time.
Second Attempt Succeeded but Later Discovered
Undeterred, Singh again asked a friend to take the theory test for him on September 7, 2024, this time at a test centre in Redditch. The impersonation was not spotted during the test, and the friend passed. Singh subsequently took and passed the practical driving test. However, the fraud came to light when DVSA investigators reviewed CCTV footage and identified that the person taking the theory test was not Singh.
Singh was interviewed by the DVSA on April 16, 2025, and admitted the offences. He pleaded guilty on April 22, 2026, to two counts of making a provisional driving licence knowing it was designed or adapted for use in connection with fraud.
Prosecution Details
At Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Monday, July 13, 2026, prosecutor Anton Balkitis outlined the case. He stated: “The government has a duty to enforce the law when it comes to the driving test. These two cases are supplying a provisional licence card to an impersonator for him. The DVSA does not have the resources to prosecute people that only try once.” Balkitis noted that Singh had two previous convictions for driving without a licence, on April 12, 2024, and May 25, 2025, resulting in nine penalty points.
Balkitis highlighted the growing problem of impersonation in driving tests, saying: “Social media is littered with services of people offering to take tests. There were 821 cases in 2021 and 2,890 cases for the year ended September 2025. It’s important to send out strong deterrent messages. People not knowing the full rules of the road leads to accidents and potentially deaths.”
Defence Mitigation
Defending Singh, Mr Rayat explained that his client's command of English was poor, which led to his failure in the theory test. “Mr Singh, in his desperation to obtain a driving licence, having twice previously failed to pass the theory test in person, sought the assistance of a friend to sit the theory test for him,” Rayat said. He added that Singh had been able to converse informally but struggled with formal written English required for the test. Singh later passed the practical driving test, demonstrating his driving ability. Rayat noted that Singh was on £1,200 monthly benefits, his partner had underlying health issues, and he was responsible for taking their children to school.
Sentence
The bench handed Singh a 12-month community order, including 100 hours of unpaid work and 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) days. The chair of the bench stated: “Mr Singh, we are going to follow the recommendations in the report. A 12-month community order, with 25 RAR days. I am going to ask for 100 hours of unpaid work. It would have been 150 hours but you pleaded guilty.” Singh was also ordered to pay a surcharge of £114 and costs of £2,004, totaling £2,118, to be paid at £20 per month, taking over eight years to clear.
