Learner drivers in the UK are now limited to swapping their driving test to the three test centers closest to their original booking location, but this change aims to reduce long waiting times, which have stretched to over five months for practical tests across Britain.

Over 64,000 No Shows in 2024

According to figures shared with the BBC by the DVSA, no one showed up for 64,500 driving tests in the UK last year — this accounts for 3.2% of the 1,998,608 tests booked. The number of no-shows was higher than the 52,000 recorded in the previous year.

Some of these unclaimed tests were booked by third-party resellers using bots, with the intention of selling them at inflated prices, but However, these tests were often unsold, leading to wasted slots.

Waiting Times Exceed Five Months

Official data from April 2026 reveals the average waiting time for a driving test in England is 22.7 weeks, 22.9 weeks in Scotland, and 17.3 weeks in Wales. Learner driver Emma. Who has been practicing in West London for nearly a year, now has a test booked for seven months from now.

Emma said she was waking up at 05:30 every Monday to attempt to book a test, only to find herself in a queue of thousands, she criticized the time and money spent on weekly lessons when the test is so far away.

Emma’s driving instructor. Donovan, noted that some students were booking tests in unfamiliar areas to pass as quickly as possible — he said he went six months without a test at his local center because students could not book one there. “People were booking tests in Scotland just to get the date and then changing it to London when one became available,” he said.

Restrictions on Booking and Swapping

Since 12 May, only the learner can book, change, or swap their own test, and instructors can no longer do this on their students’ behalf, but a BBC investigation found some instructors sold their official test-booking login details to touts, who then resold the tests for as much as £500.

From 31 March, learners are allowed only two changes to their booked slot. Changing the date, time, or test center all count as a single change. If more than two changes are needed, the test must be canceled and a new one booked, with a refund issued if canceled at least 10 working days in advance.

From 9 June, learners can only move their test to the three test centers closest to their original booking location. This change aims to prevent people from booking tests in distant locations with no intention of taking them there.

Beverley Warmington, DVSA’s chief executive, said the restrictions would help deter bookings at locations where learners do not intend to take their test. The DVSA has also delivered over 217,000 additional tests between June 2025 and April 2026, using military driving examiners to help reduce waiting times.

However, Carly Brookfield, chief executive of the Driving Instructors Association, expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the changes. “We don’t have a huge amount of confidence that any of these measures are realistically fixing the booking system problem,” she said. She also noted the high number of no-shows at some locations, calling for penalties for those who fail to attend their tests.