An replace from DVSA
DVSA stays dedicated to decreasing driving take a look at ready occasions.
The typical ready time for a automobile 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 checks 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 enhancing driving take a look at reserving guidelines on 28th Could 2025. The session closes on 9th July 2025.
Loveday Ryder, DVSA Chief Govt, stated: “We’ve been working tirelessly to carry 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 at present 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 aim is to make reserving a driving take a look at simpler and fairer for everybody whereas stopping extreme prices for learner drivers. GOV.UK is the one official option to guide your sensible driving take a look at.”
Additional Info
Session on enhancing automobile driving take a look at reserving guidelines
The session asks for views on:
- Who ought to be allowed to guide and handle driving checks
- If we should always restrict or take away the flexibility to swap checks between totally different learners or change take a look at areas
Reasonably than creating new legal guidelines particularly banning the reselling of checks, the session focuses on proposals to vary how the system works to assist forestall reselling. That is preferable because it:
- stops the issue at its supply relatively than simply the signs
- could be extra instantly efficient than enforcement after resales occur
- makes the system fairer for all learners with out creating further regulatory burden
The adjustments 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 concerning 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 checks being suspended, a sustained improve in demand and low learner driver confidence in driving take a look at availability, leading to a change of their reserving behaviour. This alteration in behaviour has persevered.
Many learner drivers guide their checks early of their studying journey. On common it takes learners drivers 6 months or longer to realize the on-road expertise wanted to be able to drive safely on their very own as soon as they’ve handed.
DVSA supplied over 1.95 million sensible driving checks within the 12 months 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 presents for driving examiners – probably creating hundreds of additional checks per 30 days
- Doubling our everlasting coaching capability for brand new driving examiners – which means extra can begin finishing up driving checks sooner
- A name for volunteers from these at present in different roles (however certified to look at) to hold out sensible driving checks
The Division for Transport’s press launch may be considered right here: Transport Secretary acts to make hundreds of additional driving checks accessible every month – GOV.UK
This adopted a plan introduced in December 2024 to scale back ready occasions.
These measures are:
- Recruit and practice 450 driving examiners.
- Evaluation and enhance the foundations for reserving driving checks.
- Introduce more durable phrases and situations for the service driving instructors use to guide and handle automobile driving checks 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’s essential give to vary or cancel a automobile driving take a look at with out shedding the payment to 10 days.
- Discover altering the present 24-week restrict on how far forward automobile driving checks may be booked.
- Encourage learner drivers to be higher ready for his or her driving take a look at by means of 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 thus far towards the measures:
- DVSA’s newest driving examiner recruitment marketing campaign has not too long ago closed, and we’re at present processing the purposes
- the introduction of more durable phrases and situations for driving instructors who can guide checks for his or her pupils (6 January)
- adjustments to the quick discover cancellation interval carried out (8 April)
- following a name for proof (answered by over 27,000 folks), DVSA launched its session on 28 Could on the reserving of driving checks
In January 2023, DVSA modified the phrases and situations for utilizing the reserving service to assist forestall anybody from promoting checks 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 checks for his or her pupils.
Since this modification DVSA has issued 73 warnings, 217 suspensions, and closed 358 enterprise accounts.
