Big changes have landed for anyone looking to book a driving test in the UK, all aimed at cutting down on sky-high wait times and cracking down on shady practices like black-market test bookings.
What’s changed?
Driving instructors can no longer book tests for learners they’re not actively teaching. Businesses without licenced instructors also can’t book tests, although individual learners can still book their own slots.
If someone charges you an admin fee to book a test, they now have to make that crystal clear before you pay. Plus, the notice period to cancel your test without losing the £62 booking fee has jumped from three working days to 10. These updates are part of a seven-step plan by the government and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to tackle the chaos. They’re also exploring new ideas, like letting learners book tests even earlier than the current 24-week window or penalising no-shows and repeat offenders with fees and longer waits.
What about test resales?
Here’s where it gets messy. Some people are using bots to snatch up test slots, only to resell them for up to £200. While this feels dodgy, it’s not actually illegal—yet. The Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood, has promised to “review and improve the rules around booking tests, including measures to ban the resale of driving test appointments”.
In the meantime, the DVSA is shutting down websites involved in these scams, but many learners are still getting caught out when their details are stolen to grab slots for resale.
More examiners, more tests
To tackle the root problem of test availability, the government plans to recruit 450 new driving examiners by the end of 2025. So far, 50 new examiners have joined, and they’re expecting to create space for around 590,000 more tests next year, helping to fill the gap left by staff turnover.
If you’re learning to drive, these changes are meant to make the process fairer and faster—but it might still take a little patience to lock in that test date.
