Driving test waiting times average 22.4 weeks as measures to tackle resellers come into force today

• Average waiting time remains high at 22.4 weeks at the start of April

• Analysis by AA Driving School shows 69 test centres remained at the highest possible wait throughout 2025

• DVSA target is to reduce waiting to 7 weeks by end 2027

• Changes from today (12/05) make it against the law to book or change a driving test on behalf of someone else

Changes* designed to improve the booking process for a driving test come into force today (12/05) as new data shows average waiting times are increasing and were at 22.4 weeks at the start of April.

New Freedom of Information data, accessed by AA Driving School, shows average waiting times have risen this year, increasing from 20.8 weeks in January to 22.4 on April 6th.**

Further analysis of freedom of information data accessed by the driving school shows waiting times for car practical driving tests in Great Britain remained consistently high throughout 2025.

Across the whole year, 69 test centres** recorded a waiting time of 24 weeks in every single calendar month. These centres showed no periods of improvement during the year and remained at the maximum waiting time into January 2026.

A breakdown by nation shows in England, 58 test centres, representing 18% of all centres, recorded the maximum 24-week waiting time in every month of 2025. In Wales, 6 centres, accounting for over one in five (22%) of Welsh test centres, were at 24 weeks throughout the year, the highest proportion of any nation. In Scotland, 5 centres, equivalent to around 10% of the total, recorded 24-week waits in every month of 2025.

From today (12/05/2026) it will be against the law to book or change a driving test for someone else. This means learners must do it themselves and nobody else, including their driving instructor, is permitted to do it on their behalf.

The changes are being introduced to help reduce the number of driving tests being sold by unscrupulous resellers, which is partly blamed for the high waiting times learners have experienced in recent years.

Emma Bush, managing director of AA Driving School, said: “Learner drivers continue to face unacceptable delays in accessing driving tests. The data clearly shows more needs to be done to really get a handle on the situation and start to push waiting times back.

“Without sustained action to increase capacity and stabilise test availability, long waiting times are likely to remain a feature of the system.

“Although these changes, which make it against the law to book or change a driving test for anyone else, are unlikely to be the silver bullet which turns the tide on long waiting times, they do mark a shift towards overhauling the booking system for the better.

“It is only part of the solution though. To really improve waiting times over a prolonged period, there needs to be unrelenting focus from the DVSA on retaining and recruiting driving test examiners.”

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* More information about the changes can be found here: Changes to driving test booking rules in 2026 - GOV.UK

**Data below from multiple Freedom of Information request by AA Driving School.

Date	Average Waiting Times (wks)
06/01/2025	17.94
03/02/2025	18.48
03/03/2025	18.95
31/03/2025	19.53
05/05/2026	19.66
02/06/2025	19.84
07/07/2025	19.84
04/08/2025	19.49
01/09/2025	20.3
06/10/2025	20.67
03/11/2025	20.96
01/12/2025	21.17
06/01/2026	20.88
02/02/2026	20.55
02/03/2026	21.39
06/04/2026	22.39

 

*** All 69 test centres that recorded 24-week waits in every month of 2025 (and remained at 24 weeks in January 2026):

Ashfield; Banbury; Barnet (London); Barra; Bedford; Birmingham (Kings Heath); Birmingham (Kingstanding); Bishops Stortford; Bletchley; Bolton (Manchester); Bootle; Boston; Bridgend; Bromley; Burgess Hill; Burnley; Bury St Edmunds; Buxton; Camborne; Cambridge; Carlisle; Carmarthen; Chesterfield; Chingford; Colchester; Cumnock; Darlington; Dorchester; Dudley; Dumbarton; Eastbourne; Enfield; Erith; Farnborough; Gateshead; Glastonbury; Gloucester; Grantham; Guildford; Haverfordwest; Hereford; Hornchurch; Hyde; Inverness; Kendal; Kirkcaldy; Lancaster; Letchworth; Lincoln; Loughborough; Maidstone; Melton Mowbray; Mill Hill; Mitcham; Nelson; Newton Abbot; Northallerton; Peterborough; Plymouth; Porthmadog; Redhill; Rhyl; Skegness; Slough; St Helens; Sunderland; Taunton; Tilbury; Tottenham; Truro; Wakefield; Wednesbury; Weston-super-Mare; Widnes; Yeovil.