UK learner drivers are facing significant delays in securing driving tests, with some regions seeing waits of nearly 30 weeks. Official data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) highlights severe bottlenecks in major cities and specific Scottish locations.
A 29.7-week wait in Forfar and other hotspots
Learner drivers in major UK urban centers are facing extreme delays in securing driving test appointments. According to analysis of official figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), test centres in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London are among the primary hotspots for these lengthy wait times. This delay forces learners to wait months for a single appointment, complicating the path to independence for many young people.
In June, the median average waiting time between booking and taking a test was 17.3 weeks or longer at 60 different centres. The most severe delay was recorded at a test centre serving Forfar in Angus, Scotland, where the median wait reached a staggering 29.7 weeks.
The jump from 5.8 weeks to a 20.9-week average
The current backlog represents a massive departure from pre-pandemic norms. The standard measure of waiting times—the number of weeks until at least 10 per cent of weekly appointments are available—stood at 20.9 weeks across Britain in June. This is a significant increase from the 5.8 weeks recorded in February 2020, prior to the coronavirus pandemic.. This surge in waiting times has created a significant bottleneck for the UK's trasnport infrastructure and individual mobility .
This trend follows a recommendation from a National Audit Office report that prompted the DVSA to begin publishing these monthly statistics in June to increase transparency. The data provides a clearer picture of the scale of the crisis facing the nation's driving population.
Heidi Alexander's revised 2027 deadline
The UK government is struggling to meet its original targets for reducing driving test delays. While the DVSA initially aimed to bring the waiting time down to seven weeks by the end of 2025, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has warned that this goal may not be realized until autumn 2027. The shift in the timeline suggests that the backlog is more deeply entrenched than previously anticipated.
To combat the backlog, the agency is employing several strategies, including the recruitment and accelerated training of new examiners and the use of military examiners.. A DVSA spokesperson noted that the agency has already carried out almost 280,000 extra tests since June 2025, and that slot availability was at its highest point since November 2024.
Will the ban on instructors stop the booking bots?
The DVSA has introduced strict new booking rules to combat the influence of unofficial brokers.. Since May, driving tests can only be booked and managed by the learners themselves, a move designed to prevent the misuse of automated programs, known as bots, which are used to quickly grab and resell slots. This follows a BBC investigation which revealed that some driving test touts were offering instructors as much as £250 a month for their booking website login details.
However, several questions remain regarding the efficacy of this crackdown. It is unverified whether the ban on instructors will actually prevent the use of bots by sophisticated third parties , and the source does not clarify how the DVSA intends to police the digital landscape to stop these automated programs. Additionally, while the investigation highlighted the bribery of instructors, it remains to be seen if these new administrative rules will be enough to dismantle the existing broker market.
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