Britons face three month wait for vital driving test as backlogs spill into 2027

Learner drivers across Great Britain now face an average wait of more than three months to sit their practical driving test, new figures revealed.

Analysis of DVSA data obtained through a Freedom of Information request shows the typical waiting period climbed to 13.3 weeks in 2025, a notable increase from 11.4 weeks the previous year.

The research, conducted by vehicle retailer Evans Halshaw, examined 321 standard car test centres nationwide, excluding specialist facilities for large goods vehicles.

The findings expose significant geographical disparities in test availability, with some locations requiring waits approaching five months while others offer appointments in just over a month.

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The Scottish town of Arbroath recorded the lengthiest delays in the country, with learners waiting an average of 20.8 weeks from booking to their earliest available test date.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Enfield's Brancroft Way centre offered the quickest turnaround at just 4.3 weeks, more than two months faster than the national average.

Watnall in Nottinghamshire matched Enfield's swift 4.3-week waiting period, sharing the title for Britain's shortest queues.

The stark contrast between locations has created what analysts describe as a postcode lottery for aspiring drivers.

Seven Scottish centres featured among the ten longest waits nationally, yet the country also claimed five spots in the top ten shortest delays, with Elgin, Kyle of Lochalsh, Dumfries, Inverness and Peterhead all averaging nine weeks or fewer.

Beyond Arbroath, the centres with the most prolonged waits included Dunoon at 19.7 weeks, Montrose at 19.6 weeks, and Pinner in London at 18.8 weeks, followed by Wellingborough, Forfar, Oban, Glasgow's Anniesland centre, Lichfield and Livingston.

Among the fastest locations, Elgin came third nationally at 7.6 weeks, with Kyle of Lochalsh, Dumfries, Basildon, Liverpool's St Helens centre, Lowestoft's Mobbs Way facility, Inverness and Peterhead completing the quickest ten.

Regionally, South East England recorded the highest average at 13.76 weeks, while Wales had the lowest at 12.24 weeks. Every region saw year-on-year increases, with North East England experiencing the sharpest rise of 3.7 weeks, representing a 37.7 per cent jump.

Of the 321 centres analysed, 278 recorded longer waiting times compared to 2024. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told MPs on Wednesday that the backlog would persist until autumn 2027, acknowledging the scale of the challenge facing learner drivers.

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"I totally understand people's frustrations," she said, adding that "we have done a lot" but "demand is still very high".

DVSA statistics indicate the average booking wait reached nearly 22 weeks last month, compared with approximately five weeks before the coronavirus pandemic in February 2020.

The Government had initially aimed to reduce waits to seven weeks by the end of 2025, a target subsequently pushed back to summer 2026 before being abandoned entirely.

Ms Alexander outlined measures, including faster recruitment and training of examiners, deployment of military personnel, and booking system reforms, to tackle speculative reservations.

"Around three months to take a test is a lengthy delay that can have damaging knock-on effects on someone's employment, education, and day-to-day independence," an Evans Halshaw spokesperson said.

"Our analysis has shown some instances that are closer to five months too." The spokesperson acknowledged that certain centres had achieved notably quicker turnarounds but stressed these remained outliers rather than the norm.

"It is encouraging that a few centres offer significantly shorter wait times, but the improvements appear to remain the exception rather than the rule," they added.

The spokesperson shared: "More needs to be done to increase the availability of driving test examiners and their scheduling arrangements, to hopefully sort this growing nationwide backlog."

Recent Government action has shown early promise, with test swap volumes dropping by 70 per cent and refunds falling by around a third since mid-May.

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