Driving Check Ready Instances – June 2025

An replace from DVSA

DVSA stays dedicated to lowering driving take a look at ready instances. 

The common ready time for a automobile sensible driving take a look at as of the top of Could 2025 is:  

• Nice Britain – 22.5 weeks 
• Wales – 19.1 weeks 
• Scotland – 21 weeks 
• England – 22.8 weeks 

The common ready time is the variety of weeks earlier than 10% of assessments can be found to ebook. 

DVSA’s figures for common driving take a look at ready instances stay right on the time of publication. These are official statistics and no different legitimate measures for driving take a look at ready instances exist. 

DVSA launched its session on enhancing driving take a look at reserving guidelines on 28^th Could 2025. The session closes on 9^th July 2025. 

Loveday Ryder, DVSA Chief Govt, mentioned: “We’ve been working tirelessly to convey down the driving take a look at ready instances. To assist sort out this, in December 2024 we introduced a brand new plan, on which we’re making good progress.

“DVSA is at the moment 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 expenses for learner drivers. GOV.UK is the one official solution to ebook 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 ebook and handle driving assessments 
• If we should always restrict or take away the power to swap assessments between totally different learners or change take a look at areas 

Somewhat than creating new legal guidelines particularly banning the reselling of assessments, the session focuses on proposals to vary how the system works to assist stop reselling. That is preferable because it: 

• stops the issue at its supply fairly 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 unimaginable, 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 instances 

Automobile sensible take a look at ready instances started to extend in 2020 after a number of months of driving assessments 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 variation in behaviour has endured.  

Many learner drivers ebook their assessments 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 assessments within the yr 2024-5. 

Measures to cut back ready instances 

The Secretary of State introduced additional motion to assist scale back ready instances 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 – doubtlessly creating 1000’s of additional assessments per thirty days 
• Doubling our everlasting coaching capability for brand spanking new driving examiners – that means extra can begin finishing up driving assessments sooner 
• A name for volunteers from these at the moment in different roles (however certified to look at) to hold out sensible driving assessments 

The Division for Transport’s press launch might be considered right here: Transport Secretary acts to make 1000’s of additional driving assessments obtainable every month – GOV.UK  

This adopted a plan introduced in December 2024 to cut back ready instances. 

These measures are: 

1. Recruit and practice 450 driving examiners. 
2. Overview and enhance the foundations for reserving driving assessments. 
3. Introduce harder phrases and circumstances for the service driving instructors use to ebook and handle automobile driving assessments for his or her pupils. 
4. Seek the advice of on new proposals to extend the ready time to ebook one other take a look at in sure conditions. 
5. Enhance the quantity of discover that you must give to vary or cancel a automobile driving take a look at with out dropping the charge to 10 days. 
6. Discover altering the present 24-week restrict on how far forward automobile driving assessments might be booked. 
7. Encourage learner drivers to be higher ready for his or her driving take a look at via the ‘Able to Cross?’ marketing campaign. 

DVSA’s press launch might be considered right here: DVSA units out plan to cut back driving take a look at ready instances – GOV.UK 

DVSA’s progress to this point in opposition to the measures:   

• DVSA’s newest driving examiner recruitment marketing campaign has lately closed, and we’re at the moment processing the functions 
•  the introduction of harder phrases and circumstances for driving instructors who can ebook assessments for his or her pupils (6 January)  
• adjustments to the brief discover cancellation interval applied (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 assessments 

In January 2023, DVSA modified the phrases and circumstances for utilizing the reserving service to assist stop anybody from promoting assessments 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 circumstances to be used of the service driving instructors and trainers use to ebook and handle sensible driving assessments for his or her pupils. 

Since this alteration DVSA has issued 73 warnings, 217 suspensions, and closed 358 enterprise accounts.