How to Choose a Driving Instructor: the Questions to Ask

Check the licences first

• MTO driving instructor licence. Every instructor in Ontario must hold one. Ask for the number; a professional will not mind.
• Municipal licence where required. Toronto requires a City of Toronto driving instructor licence on top of the provincial one.
• Insurance and a dual-brake car. An instructor's vehicle carries instruction insurance and a passenger-side brake. If they propose teaching in your car with neither, see lessons in your own car before you agree.

Every instructor on MrDriver is verified for these before they can take a booking, and background-checked.

The questions to ask before booking

1. "Which DriveTest centres do you work?" You want the one you have booked, or plan to.
2. "Do you start with an assessment drive?" The right answer is yes. It replaces guessing with a plan.
3. "What does your rate include?" Pickup, lesson length, a debrief, and whether packages or a road test package are offered.
4. "What is your cancellation policy?" On MrDriver, you can reschedule up to 24 hours ahead without penalty.
5. "Do you teach in my language?" Understanding the debrief is where the learning happens.
6. "Will you tell me if I am not ready?" A good instructor would rather delay a test than watch you pay to fail it.

What a good first lesson looks like

The instructor asks about your experience and goal, drives you somewhere quiet, watches you drive without much talking, then gives you a short, specific list: two or three habits to fix and roughly how many lessons that takes. If you leave the first lesson with a plan and a number, you have found a good one. If you leave with a vague "you need more practice" and a package offer, keep looking.

Red flags

• No licence number, or reluctance to share it.
• Teaching in a car without dual controls, or in your car without confirming insurance.
• Pressure to buy a large package before the first lesson.
• Guaranteeing a pass. Nobody can.
• Reviews that never mention a test centre or a first-time pass.
• Phone use while you are driving.

How to compare on MrDriver

Enter your pickup address and every instructor who covers it appears with their rate, vehicle, languages, service area and reviews. Book one assessment lesson with your shortlist favourite, then a package if it clicks. The school vs independent comparison covers when a school makes more sense, and Find My Perfect Instructor narrows the list if you would rather answer a few questions.

MrDriver is a marketplace, not a driving school. Open the app, enter your pickup address, and compare the licensed instructors who cover your area: their hourly rate, vehicle, service area and lesson length are all shown before you commit to anything. Send a request and most instructors confirm within about 30 minutes. Once the lesson is confirmed, in-app chat opens so you can settle the exact pickup spot, and payment runs securely through Stripe when the lesson is done. There is no membership fee and no booking fee, and you can reschedule up to 24 hours before a lesson without penalty.