UK Driving Test Delays: Seven-Week Wait Promise Unlikely Before 2027

An audit report has revealed that the objective to reduce driving test wait times to seven weeks by year-end will not be realized until November 2027.

Despite launching 19 recruitment drives since 2021, only 83 additional examiners have been successfully recruited, leaving the average wait time for a practical driving test at 22 weeks across Great Britain, says the National Audit Office (NAO).

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), responsible for overseeing driving tests and licensing, estimates that around 680,000 individuals who have passed their theory test are still unable to schedule their practical test.

Approximately 70% of driving test centers are fully booked for the upcoming 24 weeks, the maximum time frame available for advance booking.

Last month, the government declared its intention to prohibit bots and third-party services from securing test appointments to help address the backlog and combat the underground market, where slots are resold at prices up to eight times the standard £62 fee, according to the NAO.

The NAO revealed that although the DVSA had initiated a strategy to cut down the test waiting period to seven weeks by the end of 2025, it now foresees a delay of an additional two years.

Compounded by a significant backlog of about 1.1 million driving tests due to the pandemic, the DVSA has been slow to respond to other challenges such as an increase in theory test takers and bots monopolizing available slots. The agency has yet to fully grasp the scale of demand, the report criticizes.

The report also highlights that many examiners are resigning due to safety concerns and low pay, with the goal of recruiting 400 new examiners resulting in a net gain of just 83.

Moreover, the NAO pointed out that the DVSA is losing £24 on each test, culminating in an annual deficit of £44 million, as the fee for tests has remained unchanged since 2009.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, commented: “The existing system of administering driving tests in England, Scotland, and Wales is underperforming, characterized by prolonged wait times and exploitation of learners by resellers of test appointments.”

“Our report urges the DVSA and the Department for Transport to take definitive steps to reinstate an effective driving test service,” he added.

In response, the Department for Transport (DfT) has committed to increasing test availability and recently announced that military driving examiners would be enlisted to conduct tests.

A spokesperson for the DfT stated, “We inherited a dysfunctional system that leaves learner drivers in a state of uncertainty, a system easily exploited by unscrupulous individuals.

“That’s why we are implementing decisive measures to tackle the backlog and improve the situation – including the involvement of military driving examiners and, starting in spring 2026, limiting test rescheduling and swaps, while permitting only learner drivers to book tests.

“The DVSA has already conducted 74,847 additional tests between June and November this year compared to 2024, and these new initiatives will enable the delivery of thousands more tests in the coming year,” the spokesperson concluded.