An replace from DVSA
DVSA stays dedicated to lowering driving take a look at ready occasions.
The typical ready time for a automotive sensible driving take a look at as of the tip of Could 2025 is:
- Nice Britain – 22.5 weeks
- Wales – 19.1 weeks
- Scotland – 21 weeks
- England – 22.8 weeks
The typical ready time is the variety of weeks earlier than 10% of exams can be found to guide.
DVSA’s figures for common driving take a look at ready occasions stay appropriate on the time of publication. These are official statistics and no different legitimate measures for driving take a look at ready occasions exist.
DVSA launched its session on bettering driving take a look at reserving guidelines on 28th Could 2025. The session closes on 9th July 2025.
Loveday Ryder, DVSA Chief Government, stated: “We’ve been working tirelessly to deliver down the driving take a look at ready occasions. To assist sort out this, in December 2024 we introduced a brand new plan, on which we’re making good progress.
“DVSA is presently working a session on enhancements we will make to the take a look at reserving system, which can assist us plan our subsequent steps.
“DVSA’s purpose is to make reserving a driving take a look at simpler and fairer for everybody whereas stopping extreme expenses for learner drivers. GOV.UK is the one official approach to guide your sensible driving take a look at.”
Additional Info
Session on bettering automotive driving take a look at reserving guidelines
The session asks for views on:
- Who needs to be allowed to guide and handle driving exams
- If we should always restrict or take away the flexibility to swap exams between completely different learners or change take a look at areas
Moderately than creating new legal guidelines particularly banning the reselling of exams, the session focuses on proposals to alter how the system works to assist stop reselling. That is preferable because it:
- stops the issue at its supply slightly than simply the signs
- can be extra instantly efficient than enforcement after resales occur
- makes the system fairer for all learners with out creating further regulatory burden
The modifications proposed would make take a look at reselling virtually not possible, whereas preserving professional makes use of of the system by learners and instructors.
Extra particulars in regards to the session can be found on GOV.UK.
Sensible driving take a look at ready occasions
Automotive sensible take a look at ready occasions started to extend in 2020 after a number of months of driving exams being suspended, a sustained enhance in demand and low learner driver confidence in driving take a look at availability, leading to a change of their reserving behaviour. This modification in behaviour has persevered.
Many learner drivers guide their exams early of their studying journey. On common it takes learners drivers 6 months or longer to achieve the on-road expertise wanted to be able to drive safely on their very own as soon as they’ve handed.
DVSA offered over 1.95 million sensible driving exams within the yr 2024-5.
Measures to scale back ready occasions
The Secretary of State introduced additional motion to assist cut back ready occasions on 23 April 2025.
These included:
- A quick-tracked launch for our deliberate session on placing a cease to the exploitation of learner drivers – launched on 28 Could 2025
- Incentivised further testing affords for driving examiners – probably creating hundreds of additional exams per 30 days
- Doubling our everlasting coaching capability for brand spanking new driving examiners – which means extra can begin finishing up driving exams sooner
- A name for volunteers from these presently in different roles (however certified to look at) to hold out sensible driving exams
The Division for Transport’s press launch may be considered right here: Transport Secretary acts to make hundreds of additional driving exams accessible every month – GOV.UK
This adopted a plan introduced in December 2024 to scale back ready occasions.
These measures are:
- Recruit and prepare 450 driving examiners.
- Evaluate and enhance the principles for reserving driving exams.
- Introduce more durable phrases and situations for the service driving instructors use to guide and handle automotive driving exams for his or her pupils.
- Seek the advice of on new proposals to extend the ready time to guide one other take a look at in sure conditions.
- Enhance the quantity of discover it is advisable to give to alter or cancel a automotive driving take a look at with out shedding the charge to 10 days.
- Discover altering the present 24-week restrict on how far forward automotive driving exams may be booked.
- Encourage learner drivers to be higher ready for his or her driving take a look at via the ‘Able to Go?’ marketing campaign.
DVSA’s press launch may be considered right here: DVSA units out plan to scale back driving take a look at ready occasions – GOV.UK
DVSA’s progress to this point towards the measures:
- DVSA’s newest driving examiner recruitment marketing campaign has lately closed, and we’re presently processing the functions
- the introduction of more durable phrases and situations for driving instructors who can guide exams for his or her pupils (6 January)
- modifications to the brief discover cancellation interval carried out (8 April)
- following a name for proof (answered by over 27,000 individuals), DVSA launched its session on 28 Could on the reserving of driving exams
In January 2023, DVSA modified the phrases and situations for utilizing the reserving service to assist stop anybody from promoting exams at revenue.
Between 9 January 2023 and 5 January 2025, the DVSA issued 350 warnings, 792 suspensions, and closed 813 enterprise accounts for misuse of its reserving service.
On 6 January 2025 ,DVSA launched new phrases and situations to be used of the service driving instructors and trainers use to guide and handle sensible driving exams for his or her pupils.
Since this alteration DVSA has issued 73 warnings, 217 suspensions, and closed 358 enterprise accounts.
