HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

How to hire a guitar teacher in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register lists guitar teachers. Here is the vetting to ask for, how to judge style and teaching, and the terms to agree.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a guitar teacher in five steps

  1. Say what you want from the guitarChords for songs, rock grades, classical fingerstyle, jazz or songwriting — and the learner's age. A guitar teacher plans each differently.
  2. See the criminal record checkFor guitar lessons with a child, ask for an enhanced DBS check in England and Wales, PVG membership in Scotland or AccessNI in Northern Ireland. A guitar teacher applies and shows you.
  3. Ask what they have taught, and to whomAges, levels and how many pupils now. A guitar teacher who plays well is not always one who teaches well.
  4. Book a single lesson firstJudge a guitar teacher on one guitar lesson before paying for a term in advance, or pay as you go.
  5. Write down the termsPay as you go or termly, the notice to stop, and grade entry fees, agreed in writing with the guitar teacher.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

None of the four UK nations licenses or registers guitar teachers; there is no protected title, so anyone may teach guitar at the teacher's studio, at home or online. Exam boards award grades and diplomas, but there is no register of teachers to check them against.

Ask the guitar teacher what they hold, where they trained, and for two people they teach now.

The check for teaching your child

A guitar teacher who works with your child for thirty minutes to an hour a week is in regulated activity in England and Wales once it passes three days in any 30 (or any overnight session), and should hold an enhanced DBS check that includes the children's barred list. Supervision used to take some roles outside the rule; since 1 September 2026 it does not, whoever a guitar teacher works alongside. In Scotland the equivalent is membership of the PVG scheme, which mygov.scot says to expect for tutors or instructors a parent hires for a child. In Northern Ireland, a guitar teacher working for themselves applies for an enhanced AccessNI check through an Umbrella Body.

Parents cannot request the check themselves: a guitar teacher applies and shows you the certificate. Note the date on it; in Scotland ask for proof of current PVG membership, in Northern Ireland the shared AccessNI certificate. gov.uk →

Music qualifications and pupils taught

No licensing body stands behind the title guitar teacher; grades and diplomas come from exam boards and are certificates, not registrations. Grades in classical or rock guitar, a music degree, or years of teaching and playing are all evidence; ask which style they teach best.

Ask the guitar teacher which grades or diplomas they hold and when, and how many pupils they have entered for exams in the last year.

Written terms for a term in advance, or pay as you go

Reasonable care and skill is the legal standard for guitar lessons from a trader (Consumer Rights Act 2015). Do not count on 14 days to cancel: regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 usually excludes leisure services booked for a specific date or period, which covers most guitar lessons, so the cancellation terms a guitar teacher gives you in writing are what count. Most arguments with guitar teachers are about lessons that drifted into copying songs with no plan.

Ask for pay as you go or termly, the notice to stop, and grade entry fees in writing, and keep the message, before a term in advance, or pay as you go changes hands. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Guitar lessons are exempt from VAT when a guitar teacher gives them personally as a sole trader or partner, music being ordinarily taught in schools; a music school company or its employed teachers are standard-rated. Below the £90,000 registration threshold an individual tutor charges no VAT in any case, and has no VAT number to give.

Ask whether you pay the guitar teacher directly or a music school; an individual under £90,000 adds no VAT. gov.uk →

“Will you show me your DBS, PVG or AccessNI certificate?”

A good answer: A straight yes. A guitar teacher who works with children at the teacher's studio, at home or online expects to be asked.

“Which guitar styles do you teach — classical, acoustic, electric, jazz?”

A good answer: An honest answer; a rock player teaching classical technique, or the reverse, should say so.

“Will we learn guitar tab, standard notation, or both?”

A good answer: A clear plan for the learner's goal — tab and chords for songs, notation for classical and graded exams.

“What guitar should a beginner have?”

A good answer: The right size for a child, a playable action, and nylon strings for young classical beginners; a guitar teacher should help you avoid a guitar that hurts to play.

“Do you teach on an electric at your studio, and do we need an amp?”

A good answer: What the learner brings, and what the studio provides.

“Can we work towards a grade?”

A good answer: If the learner wants one, a plan and the exam fee shown separately.

“If my child is ill, or you are, what happens to that guitar lesson?”

A good answer: Clear written rules: what notice you give, and that a guitar lesson a guitar teacher cancels is rearranged or refunded.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour or per half hour, and whether evening or weekend slots cost more
  • The minimum booking — a 30-minute lesson is common — and what happens if a lesson ends early
  • What each side brings: your guitar, tuner and picks; the teacher's amp, backing tracks and music
  • The goal agreed before the first hour: chords and songs, a grade exam, fingerstyle or electric
  • ID checked and the rating, and vetting for a learner under 18

Walk away if

  • They brush off the DBS, PVG or AccessNI question for guitar lessons with your child
  • Pressure to buy an instrument or equipment through the guitar teacher before the first lesson
  • Lessons that are only copying songs, with no technique or plan
  • A term in advance, or pay as you go demanded up front, with no written refund terms
LOW
£20
TYPICAL
£25
HIGH
£50

What a guitar teacher costs: £20–£50 per hour

Guitar teachers charge per lesson, weekly or by the term; lesson length and home visits set most of the price. Guitar Lessons price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Guitar teachers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you, or book by the hour.

  1. First lessonThe teacher checks the guitar is the right size and set up to play, and hears what the learner can do.
  2. TechniquePosture, the picking hand and clean chord shapes built from the start.
  3. Songs and piecesMusic the learner chooses alongside pieces that teach a new skill.
  4. PracticeA short daily routine written down for the week.
  5. ReviewAt term's end, a play-through and a plan for the next term or a grade.

Tab
Guitar notation showing which string and fret to play.
Action
The height of the strings above the frets; too high makes playing painful.
Barre chord
A chord with one finger pressing several strings — a milestone for learners.
Rock and pop grades
Graded exams for electric and acoustic guitar in popular styles.
Fingerstyle
Plucking the strings with the fingers rather than a pick.
Three-quarter guitar
A smaller guitar for younger children.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the recordsKeep the invoices and the lesson notes, with the written terms.
Test the progressEvery half term, ask the learner to play what they have learned — chord changes should be cleaner and faster.
The guarantee, honestlyNo guitar teacher can promise playing in a band within months. What you are owed is the guitar lessons agreed, prepared and on time.
Leave the reviewOnly booked guitar lessons can be reviewed on Locufy; if something went wrong, the make-it-right step sends it to the guitar teacher first.

STEP 1Write to the guitar teacher firstSay what went wrong — for example lessons that drifted into copying songs with no plan — and what you want: guitar lessons made up, repeated or refunded. Where guitar lessons paid as a term in advance, or pay as you go were not taught with reasonable care and skill, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 entitles you to a repeat or a fair reduction.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyLeave under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the guitar teacher first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers guitar teachers, so a consumer complaint goes to Trading Standards through your nation's helpline: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeSmall claims handle a dispute with a guitar teacher without a solicitor: up to £10,000 in England and Wales (small claims track), £5,000 in Scotland (simple procedure) and £5,000 in Northern Ireland. The invoices and the lesson notes will be your evidence.

Hiring a guitar teacher: questions people ask

There is no blanket legal duty, but a guitar teacher teaching your child more than three days in any 30 is in regulated activity in England and Wales, which a barred person must not do. Ask for the enhanced DBS check — PVG in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland.

Not one of the four UK nations keeps a register of people who teach guitar. Grades, a music degree or years of teaching are the evidence to ask about.

£20–£50 an hour, with £25 typical; half-hour lessons cost less, and jazz or classical specialists cost most. For what moves the figure, see the guitar lessons price guide; your town in the search box above shows guitar teachers near you.

Usually not. Music is a school subject, so a guitar teacher working as a sole trader or partner is exempt; lessons from a music school company or its employed teachers are standard-rated, with VAT once over £90,000.

Many start around seven or eight on a smaller guitar; younger children often find the strings hard on their fingers.

Often well for older learners, with a camera showing both hands.

MORE GUIDES

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Guitar teachers near you

Guitar teachers in LondonGuitar teachers in ManchesterGuitar teachers in BirminghamGuitar teachers in GlasgowGuitar teachers in BelfastAll guitar teachers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk (DBS) — regulated activity with children
  2. gov.uk — change to the definition of regulated activity with children from 1 September 2026
  3. mygov.scot — who needs PVG scheme membership (personal employers)
  4. nidirect — AccessNI checks for the self-employed and personal employees
  5. gov.uk — Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30)
  6. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts excluded from cancellation
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  8. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  9. Citizens Advice — deciding whether to make a small claim (England and Wales)
  10. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — guide to simple procedure
  11. nidirect — small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  12. Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — 6.1 The treatment of private tuition
  13. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  14. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register