The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has introduced new rules for booking practical driving tests, aiming to tackle the use of automated bots and reduce waiting times that now average over 22 weeks. These changes come in response to a National Audit Office (NAO) report revealing that some learners are paying up to £500 for black market test slots, far above the standard £62 fee.
Who Can Book a Driving Test?
From Tuesday, only learner drivers themselves can book and manage their driving tests. Previously, driving instructors could handle these bookings on behalf of their pupils. However, tests already booked by instructors remain unaffected by this change.
How Many Times Can a Booking Be Changed?
Since 31 March, learner drivers are limited to just two changes per booking. This is a reduction from the previous allowance of up to six changes. A change can involve altering the date, time, test centre, or swapping appointments with another learner. Changing multiple elements at once—such as both date and centre—counts as a single change.
The following actions do not count toward the change limit:
- Updating your address or contact details
- Adding or removing your driving instructor’s reference number
- Any changes the DVSA needs to make to your test
If the DVSA cancels your test due to bad weather, your change allowance resets, but you can only make extra changes by phone. Once you have used both changes, you must cancel your test and book a new one if further adjustments are needed. You can cancel up to 10 working days before the test date for a full refund.
Where Can a Test Be Moved To?
From 9 June, learners will only be able to move their test to one of the three nearest test centres. Using your second change, you can revert to the originally booked centre. Previously, learners could transfer their test to any available centre in the country.
Emma Bush, managing director of AA Driving School, commented: "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. 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."
