Learners Face Five-Month Driving Test Wait
Learner drivers in England are now waiting an average of 20 weeks to secure a practical driving test, according to the latest figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
The August figures show only a slight improvement from July, when the average waiting time stood at 20.2 weeks. The average period between booking a test and actually taking it remained unchanged at 11.1 weeks.
The prolonged delays continue despite efforts by the DVSA to increase access to driving tests and reform the booking system.
DVSA Misses Seven-Week Waiting Target
The DVSA had originally aimed to bring the average waiting time down to seven weeks by the end of last year.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander later extended the deadline to summer 2026, but subsequently acknowledged that the target would not be achieved.
The agency introduced several changes to the practical test booking system earlier this year in an attempt to tackle delays and prevent abuse of available test slots.
New Rules Restrict Test Bookings
Under the revised system, only the learner taking the test can make a booking. The change was introduced to prevent driving instructors and other third parties from using learners’ details to secure appointments.
Geographical restrictions have also been introduced, meaning learners can now only book tests at their three nearest test centres rather than travelling across the country to take an earlier available slot.
The number of times a learner can change or swap their test date has also been limited.
Learners Under Pressure to Pass
For 19-year-old Lucy Rend from south-east London, the difficulty of securing a test has created additional pressure ahead of her scheduled exam.
Rend has been learning to drive for two and a half years and said she had to wake up at 5:45am each day to try to secure a booking when the DVSA system opened at 6am.
She recalled finding herself around 21,000th in the online queue before eventually discovering an available appointment.
Rend said the difficulty of securing another test would make failing particularly stressful, adding to the pressure she already feels to pass on her first attempt.
She also said several of her friends had struggled to obtain tests, with some deciding to abandon their plans to learn to drive altogether.
Record Number of Tests Conducted
Despite the continuing delays, the DVSA said more than 2.13 million practical driving tests were carried out during the 12 months to August 2026.
That represents the highest rolling 12-month total on record, according to the agency.
DVSA chief executive Beverley Warmington said there was still more work to do, but argued that the latest figures showed the agency’s strategy was making progress.
Instructors Warn of Confidence Problems
Carly Brookfield, chief executive of the Driving Instructors Association, acknowledged that the increase in available tests was positive but said the pressure on learners and instructors remained significant.
She said the real measure of recovery would be whether learners and professional driving instructors could access tests when they needed them.
Driving instructor Adem Veli, who has worked in the industry for 16 years and runs Passman driving school in Sidcup, said the situation was very different before the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said instructors once had the flexibility to select a suitable test date and prepare learners specifically for that appointment.
Veli warned that lengthy delays can damage learners’ confidence, particularly when someone fails a test despite being ready to drive independently and then faces another lengthy wait.
Concerns Over Test Booking Scams
Veli said some of the DVSA’s recent measures, including restrictions on changing test dates, had been helpful.
However, he said attempts by third parties to sell driving test appointments were still taking place despite the new rules.
Veli said he continues to receive messages from people attempting to sell test slots and has advised learners against using such services because of the number of scams associated with them.
DVSA figures also show that the overall pass rate for practical driving tests remains above 50%, as the agency continues efforts to reduce waiting times and improve access to appointments.
