Congratulations. After the lessons, the mock tests and whatever you were feeling in the waiting room, you have your licence. The good news is that the hard part is done. The slightly less exciting news is that there is a short list of admin between you and legally driving your own car, and it is worth working through properly rather than finding out the hard way.
Here is what to sort out, roughly in the order it matters.
1. Insurance, before anything else
You cannot drive your car on a public road without insurance, full stop. Not "just around the corner", not "only to the garage". Uninsured driving carries a fine, six points and potential seizure of the vehicle.
Cover comes in three tiers: third party, third party fire and theft, and comprehensive. Comprehensive is not always the most expensive, so get quotes for all three rather than assuming. As a new driver your premium will be high, and there are a few legitimate ways to bring it down: a telematics or black box policy that rewards steady driving, adding an experienced named driver, paying annually instead of monthly, and being realistic about your annual mileage. Never let someone talk you into "fronting" a policy by naming a parent as the main driver when they are not. It is insurance fraud and it voids the policy exactly when you need it.
2. Car tax
Every vehicle on a public road has to be taxed, and it is all digital now, so there is no disc to display. You can tax the car online at gov.uk or at a Post Office branch, and it must be done before you drive it, not after. If a car is off the road and unused, it needs a SORN declaration instead. Tax does not transfer with the car when you buy it, so a newly bought vehicle always needs taxing in your own name.
3. MOT
An MOT is a legal requirement once a vehicle is three years old, and it has to be renewed annually. The test covers brakes, lights, tyres, emissions, steering, seatbelts and general roadworthiness. You can check any car's MOT status and history free on gov.uk using the registration, which is genuinely useful before buying: a long list of advisories tells you a lot about how a car has been looked after.
Driving without a valid MOT invalidates most insurance policies, so it is not a corner worth cutting.
4. Registration and the V5C logbook
The V5C, or logbook, proves who is registered as the keeper of the vehicle. When you buy a car, make sure the change of keeper is done properly so the new document arrives with your name and address on it. The seller should give you their part; the DVLA sends you the updated version. If it does not turn up within a few weeks, chase it. You will need it to sell the car later, and an out-of-date address on it can mean tax reminders and penalty notices going somewhere you will never see them.
5. Learn the basic checks
You covered most of this in your show me, tell me questions, and it is worth keeping the habit. Once a month, check your oil, coolant, screen wash and brake fluid, and check your tyre pressures at a garage against the figures in the door frame or handbook. Look at tyre tread while you are there. The legal minimum is 1.6mm, but grip drops off well before that, especially in the wet.
Knowing how to find these things also means you can tell whether a warning light is a "book it in this week" problem or a "stop now" problem.
6. Keep your paperwork in one place
Insurance certificate, MOT certificates, V5C, service history, receipts for any work done. A single folder or a scanned set on your phone is enough. It takes five minutes to set up and saves a lot of digging when you renew insurance, sell the car, or need to prove something after a bump.
7. Put together an emergency kit
A first aid kit, a warning triangle, a torch, a hi-vis vest, a phone charger, a scraper and de-icer for winter, and a jack and spare wheel if the car has one. Also work out whether your insurance includes breakdown cover, or whether you need to arrange it separately. Finding that out on a hard shoulder is not the moment.
8. Learn the local parking rules
Parking is where most new drivers get their first fine. Single and double yellow lines, resident permit zones, loading bays, time limits and pay-and-display rules all vary between councils, sometimes street to street. Read the signs at the end of the road rather than copying whoever parked before you.
9. The first six months
Worth knowing: for two years after passing, your licence is on probation, and six penalty points means it is revoked and you go back to a provisional licence, theory test and practical test. New drivers accumulate points faster than anyone else, usually for speeding and phone use, so this is a real risk rather than a technicality.
The other thing is that passing your test means you are safe to drive alone, not that you are experienced. Motorways, night driving, heavy rain, snow and long journeys are all things you have probably barely touched. Take them on deliberately, ideally with someone experienced beside you first, and consider a Pass Plus course if you want structured practice. Some insurers discount for it.
Get the paperwork straight, build good habits early, and then enjoy it. The freedom of being able to go where you like, when you like, is worth every hour you spent learning.