The UK government has announced a major crackdown on the driving test booking system, aiming to dismantle the lucrative resale market and tackle a severe backlog affecting hundreds of thousands of learner drivers.
New Rules for Fairer Test Access
In a significant move, the Department for Transport (DfT) will ban automated bots and third-party companies from booking driving tests. This measure directly targets touts who have been snapping up test slots and selling them on at inflated prices, exploiting frustrated learners. Only the learner drivers themselves will now be permitted to make bookings, with even driving instructors being excluded from the process.
To further prevent misuse of the system, a strict new limit will be imposed on the number of changes a learner can make to a booking. Learners will be restricted to a maximum of two changes, which includes moving the date, swapping times, or altering the test centre location. After this limit is reached, the booking must be cancelled and a new one made.
Additionally, learner drivers will be restricted to booking tests at a limited number of centres located close to their original choice, preventing last-minute long-distance switches that can disadvantage local candidates.
A Backlog of Nearly 670,000 Learners
These reforms come in response to a critical situation. Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) revealed that 668,128 people had a practical driving test booked at the end of September. This number has grown from 579,138 a year earlier, highlighting the scale of the problem.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, welcomed the steps, stating: “It is good to see steps being put in place to put a stop to those touting tests to frustrated earners. Candidates stuck in the queue should at least be reassured that they aren’t being elbowed aside by those simply seeking to make a quick buck.”
Military Reinforcements and Retention Payments
To directly increase testing capacity, the government is deploying military driving examiners. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will provide 36 defence driving examiners across England over the next year, a move expected to facilitate up to 6,500 additional tests annually. These civilian MoD personnel will conduct tests one day a week and may be sent to centres with the most acute demand.
Al Carns, the minister for the armed forces, confirmed that this secondment would not impact military operations.
Simultaneously, the DVSA is grappling with examiner retention. While 316 new examiners have been recruited, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told MPs this resulted in a net gain of only 40 due to others leaving the role. To combat this, driving examiners will be offered a £5,000 ‘retention payment’ from next year in an effort to keep them in post.
Despite a 14% increase in tests conducted in September compared to the previous year, the average waiting time remains high. The government's target to reduce the average wait to seven weeks by the summer of 2026 now seems unlikely to be met by next summer as initially hoped. The current average wait time stands at 21.8 weeks.
Heidi Alexander commented on the inherited crisis, saying: “Every learner should have an equal and fair opportunity to take a test.” These combined measures represent the government's latest effort to clear the path for learners ready to ditch their L-plates.
