Driving Check Ready Instances – June 2025

An replace from DVSA

DVSA stays dedicated to decreasing driving check ready instances. 

The common ready time for a automotive sensible driving check as of the tip of Might 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 exams can be found to ebook. 

DVSA’s figures for common driving check ready instances stay appropriate on the time of publication. These are official statistics and no different legitimate measures for driving check ready instances exist. 

DVSA launched its session on enhancing driving check reserving guidelines on 28^th Might 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 check 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 operating a session on enhancements we will make to the check reserving system, which is able to assist us plan our subsequent steps. 

“DVSA’s aim is to make reserving a driving check simpler and fairer for everybody whereas stopping extreme prices for learner drivers. GOV.UK is the one official approach to ebook your sensible driving check.” 

Additional Info 

Session on enhancing automotive driving check reserving guidelines 

The session asks for views on: 

• Who ought to be allowed to ebook and handle driving exams 
• If we must always restrict or take away the power to swap exams between totally different learners or change check areas 

Quite than creating new legal guidelines particularly banning the reselling of exams, the session focuses on proposals to alter how the system works to assist forestall reselling. That is preferable because it: 

• stops the issue at its supply quite 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 check reselling virtually unattainable, whereas preserving respectable makes use of of the system by learners and instructors. 

Extra particulars in regards to the session can be found on GOV.UK.

Sensible driving check ready instances 

Automobile sensible check ready instances started to extend in 2020 after a number of months of driving exams being suspended, a sustained improve in demand and low learner driver confidence in driving check availability, leading to a change of their reserving behaviour. This modification in behaviour has persevered.  

Many learner drivers ebook their exams early of their studying journey. On common it takes learners drivers 6 months or longer to realize 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 exams within the 12 months 2024-5. 

Measures to scale 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 Might 2025 
• Incentivised further testing affords for driving examiners – doubtlessly creating hundreds of additional exams per thirty days 
• Doubling our everlasting coaching capability for brand spanking new driving examiners – that means extra can begin finishing up driving exams sooner 
• A name for volunteers from these at the moment in different roles (however certified to look at) to hold out sensible driving exams 

The Division for Transport’s press launch may be seen right here: Transport Secretary acts to make hundreds of additional driving exams obtainable every month – GOV.UK  

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

These measures are: 

1. Recruit and practice 450 driving examiners. 
2. Evaluation and enhance the foundations for reserving driving exams. 
3. Introduce harder phrases and situations for the service driving instructors use to ebook and handle automotive driving exams for his or her pupils. 
4. Seek the advice of on new proposals to extend the ready time to ebook one other check in sure conditions. 
5. Enhance the quantity of discover it’s essential give to alter or cancel a automotive driving check with out dropping the payment to 10 days. 
6. Discover altering the present 24-week restrict on how far forward automotive driving exams may be booked. 
7. Encourage learner drivers to be higher ready for his or her driving check by means of the ‘Able to Go?’ marketing campaign. 

DVSA’s press launch may be seen right here: DVSA units out plan to scale back driving check ready instances – GOV.UK 

DVSA’s progress up to now towards the measures:   

• DVSA’s newest driving examiner recruitment marketing campaign has not too long ago closed, and we’re at the moment processing the purposes 
•  the introduction of harder phrases and situations for driving instructors who can ebook exams for his or her pupils (6 January)  
• adjustments to the quick discover cancellation interval carried out (8 April)  
• following a name for proof (answered by over 27,000 individuals), DVSA launched its session on 28 Might on the reserving of driving exams 

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

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