Driving test backlog surpasses 600,000 - why can't DVSA clear the mounting queue of learners?
Britain's ever-growing backlog of learners waiting to sit their driving test has now surpassed 600,000 - the record longest queue ever formed, new statistics show.
Some 603,352 future practical driving tests were booked as of the end of April, according to analysis of Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) figures by the PA news agency.
That is up 16 per cent from 521,190 this time one year ago.
Despite the huge logjam of budding motorists eager to get on the road, DVSA records show that the number of tests conducted over the first four months of this year is 15 per cent lower than the same period in 2025.
Some 610,000 practical driving tests were sat by learners between January and April, down from 718,000 in the opening four months of last year.
With hundreds of thousands of learners fuming at facing an average wait time of 20 weeks for a practical test slot, the Government last month introduced a raft of new measures to tackle the enormous queues - but ministers admitted it will take eight months longer than estimated to clear the 600,000-long waiting list.
When did the driving test backlog form - and why?
The huge waiting times for driving tests formed during the pandemic, when test centres were shuttered and driving instructors were unable to work.
It saw the number of drivers waiting to sit their test quadruple during Covid-19 lockdowns.
At the end of August 2020, the queue of learners awaiting an available practical driving test slot was 147,716.
By August 2021, waiting numbers had mounted to 592,987 - and the DVSA has been unable to tackle the problem with great effect.
The only significant dip recorded was between October 2023 and March 2024, which was due to an above average volume of tests being taken.
This was because the agency had temporarily deployed all eligible staff from other roles to act as examiners as part of a stream of measures to tackle the backlog.
This also included bringing former driving test examiners out of retirement, extending driving test availability to weekends and even opening the doors to HGV test centres for passenger car tests.
Latest statistics published this suggest learners are better prepared than ever to sit their tests, with April's pass rates up to 50.2 per cent - growing from 48.3 per cent in April 2024.
In fact, it's the highest pass rate recorded since August 2021 (50.3 per cent).
The DVSA previously attributed the backlog to 'an increase in demand and a change in customers' booking behaviour'.
Latest statistics published this suggest learners are better prepared than ever to sit their tests, with April's pass rates up to 50.2% - growing from 48.3% in April 2024
Rise in driving test cheating and scams: Fraudsters have been booking test slots and trying to sell them at inflated prices, and over 2,000 instances of cheating - including impersonators to take theory and practical tests - were recorded in 2023-24
Rise in driving test fraud
Extended waiting times has also seen a sharp spike in fraudulent activity around driving tests, including trying to sell practical driving test slots they've secured at hugely inflated prices to take advantage of the massive demand.
There's also been an increase in instances of impersonators selling their services to learners to pass practical and theory driving tests for them.
A recent BBC investigation revealed 21 cases across Kent, Surrey and Sussex last year, where somebody else tried to sit the practical test for a learner driver.
The DVSA said 2,059 incidents of cheating were recorded in the 2023-24 financial year across both theory and practical tests.
In 27 cases of suspected theory test fraud, covert technology devices were used to assist with the cheating.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has promised to clear the driving test backlog by summer 2026. This includes offering 10,000 extra tests each month
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How the Government intends to tackle the backlog
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said last month the Labour Government 'inherited an enormous backlog' but is 'acting fast' to tackle the issue, with at least 10,000 extra tests to be available each month.
She told the Commons' Transport Select Committee her department is aiming to reduce the average waiting time for driving tests in Britain to seven weeks by summer 2026 - some eight months later than the previous promise of curbing the backlog by the end of this year.
To achieve this target, she has instructed the DVSA to offer additional overtime payments to incentivise instructors to conduct more tests.
Staff at the agency qualified to conduct tests are being asked to voluntarily return to the front line, while the number of permanent trainers for new examiners is being doubled.
AA Driving School found that the average nationwide wait time for a practical driving test slot had risen to 20 weeks - that's an all-time record high
Recent analysis by the AA Driving School showed the average waiting time was 20 weeks in February. However, in large cities and towns where demand is highest, learners could be looking at delays of more than six months to get a test slot.
Learners have blasted the wait times and ongoing struggles to book slots, with some claiming it's easier to secure tickets to Oasis's comeback tour than get a practical test.
Some are travelling hundreds of miles across the country to take their tests at centres with the shortest waiting times.
Last year, Kayla Van Dorsten, 18, told This is Money she had travelled 400 miles from her home in Surrey - where the average wait time for a practical test was six months - to Cornwall to obtain her licence.
Kayla Van Dorsten drove from Surrey all the way to Cornwall to obtain her licence last year. This was after learning the average wait time at her local test centre was over six months
Emma Bush, managing director of AA Driving School, said 'it should not be this hard to book your driving test'.
She added: 'There have simply never been enough test slots in the system to make up for those which were lost during coronavirus lockdowns and, as such, the backlog has persisted.
'New measures recently announced to tackle this are welcome and we eagerly await positive movement in the waiting times to ease the pressure on pupils.
'Unblocking the backlog is vital to ensure people are not held back from work or education opportunities through the lack of a driving licence.'
Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: 'Rather than driving forward to clear the backlog, it feels like the gearbox is still stuck in reverse.
'A driving licence is often a key employment qualification, but a growing number of would-be drivers are being frustrated in their efforts to get on the road independently.
'This is way beyond being an inconvenience. It is seriously impacting people's lives.'
When asked to comment on the 600,000-plus logjam of learners, a Department for Transport spokesperson responded: 'The current backlog facing learner drivers is completely unacceptable, but we are taking decisive action to address the situation inherited from the previous government.
'Thanks to the intervention of the Secretary of State, an additional 10,000 driving tests will be made available monthly.
'This will ensure ready learners can book their tests more quickly, helping unlock opportunity and support economic growth.'
The Government will shortly launch a consultation on amending the driving test booking system, in an attempt to stop bots mass-booking new slots so they can be resold on the black market for inflated prices.
This will be conducted over eight weeks instead of the usual 12 to enable changes to be made sooner.
