Driving Test Delays Continue: Backlog Won’t Clear Until 2027, Says NAO

Learner drivers across the UK are facing unprecedented delays when booking practical driving tests, with waiting times stretching up to 24 weeks. According to a recent investigation by the National Audit Office (NAO), these delays are expected to continue well into 2027, despite government intervention and DVSA’s efforts to tackle the issue.

The backlog began during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw 1.1 million fewer tests carried out. While the DVSA has managed to schedule around 400,000 of these tests, approximately 360,000 remain unbooked due to ongoing challenges with its booking system and examiner shortages.

Despite widespread calls for recruitment, the DVSA has only added 83 new full-time examiners since 2021, falling short of its target of 400. This shortage, combined with operational issues, means the agency cannot meet its goal of reducing waiting times to seven weeks by the end of 2025. In fact, the NAO estimates this won’t happen until November 2027.

Currently, the average wait time is 22 weeks, and nearly 70% of test centres have reached the maximum 24-week limit, after which they stop accepting new bookings. This has led to a surge in third-party booking services, with some learners paying up to £500 to secure a slot—compared to the DVSA’s standard fee of £62.

To address these challenges, the DVSA introduced a new booking system in November 2025, which restricts bookings to learner drivers only, aiming to block external agencies. Additional measures include offering examiners a £5,000 retention bonus, deploying military driving examiners, and limiting test swaps from spring 2026. Between June and November 2025, the DVSA delivered 74,847 extra tests compared to the previous year, with plans for thousands more in 2026.

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport commented:
“We inherited a frustrating system with learner drivers left in limbo waiting for tests, a system ripe for rogue individuals to exploit. That’s why we’re taking decisive action to address the backlog and seeing improvement.”

While these steps offer hope, the reality is that learner drivers should prepare for long waits for the foreseeable future.