DVSA Limits Test Swaps to 3 Centres After 64,500 Driving Test No-Shows
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 8
DVSA Limits Test Swaps to 3 Centres After 64,500 Driving Test No-Shows
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 8
Summary
From June 9, learner drivers can switch a practical test only to the three centres nearest their original booking, a DVSA move aimed at easing waits that now exceed five months on average.
64,500 of 1,998,608 UK practical tests booked last year went unused — 3.2% of slots — as some learners and third-party resellers booked early tests far from home and later tried to swap them.
April 2026 waits stood at 22.7 weeks in England, 22.9 in Scotland and 17.3 in Wales, with learners describing queues of thousands and tests booked months away or more than 130 miles from home.
The DVSA says it has already added more than 217,000 tests since June 2025, partly using military examiners, but driving instructors' groups say confidence remains low that the latest rule will fix the booking system.