The way learner drivers can book a test in the UK changes from today.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) started the overhaul, which sees only learners able to book, change or swap a car driving test, in March, with more changes to come.
The government says the changes are to tackle a backlog of more than 600,000 waiting for a test to be carried out. It comes months after it set out its new road safety programme.
But what else is changing? And why is this happening?
From Tuesday, the DVSA said only learner drivers will be able to book and manage a car driving test for themselves.
It is now against the law for instructors to manage bookings for their pupils. Those learning will have to make or manage bookings on the government website.
There will also be a new set of terms and conditions for learners to agree to when booking their tests.
The DVSA adds that learners will still be able to get help from someone they know – including a friend, family member, or a supporter at work – to book and manage their driving test, but the person helping must be with them at the time.
New regulations have already been brought in. A change in March means that learners are only permitted to make two changes to their test bookings before having to cancel the booking outright.
These include changing the date or time of a test, changing the test centre, and swapping your appointment with another learner driver who already has a test booked.
And last year, military driving examiners were mobilised to test civilians.
More rule revisions are to come: From 9 June, learners are only able to move their test locations to their nearest three centres.
The changes only apply to car driving tests – they do not apply to other types of tests, like motorcycles – and are not in effect in Northern Ireland.
Why is this happening?
The DVSA says the reforms were “in order to make the process fairer”, to tackle the driving test backlog, and to cut waiting times.
At the end of October, the government said there were 642,000 learner drivers in Britain with a future test booking.
The DVSA attributed that to an increase in demand and people booking tests much earlier than before.
Other government bodies have flagged an issue with tests. In a report from September last year, the National Audit Office (NAO) said the wait from booking to a test was 22 weeks across the UK.
It also found that the length of time spent waiting meant around 31% of DVSA survey respondents had paid a third-party reseller of test slots or a test slot cancellation checker service to secure a session.
In some cases, people paid up to £500 to third parties, which the NAO notes is “a significantly higher price than DVSA’s standard weekday test fee of £62”.
The DVSA also noted in January that attempts to cheat on driving tests in Britain had soared by 47% in a year. It said there was no evidence to link that with the backlog.
Have any other changes been proposed?
In January, it was reported that learner drivers could have to complete a minimum period of driving before being allowed to take their tests.
Ministers were considering introducing the minimum learning period for new drivers in England and Wales as part of a wider road safety strategy, which was subject to consultation.
The government believes introducing either a three or six-month learning period could save lives and reduce the number of crashes. However, this has not yet been announced as policy.
Drivers under the age of 25 represent 6% of licence holders but were involved in 24% of fatal and serious crashes in 2024, according to government figures.
