Are Driving Test Waits Getting Shorter? DVSA's Chief Executive Shares the Numbers

On 28 August 2026, DVSA Chief Executive Beverley Warmington published her first direct message to driving instructors since taking the role. It is aimed at the trade rather than at learners, but it contains the clearest set of figures we have seen on whether the driving test backlog is actually shrinking. If you are sitting on a booking months away, it is worth knowing what the numbers say.

The headline figures

On 30 March 2026, 182 driving test centres were showing a 24 week wait in the booking service. By 27 July 2026, that had fallen to 143. The measure DVSA uses for how many weeks until at least 10% of weekly appointments are free improved from 22.1 weeks at the end of March to 20.7 weeks at the end of July. The share of appointments still available to book rose from 7.7% to 11.8% over the same period.

And in July 2026, DVSA completed 197,295 driving tests. That is the highest monthly total it has ever recorded, and it is 26,452 more than July 2025 and 53,539 more than July 2023.

One number went the wrong way, and that was expected

The national median waiting time between booking and taking a test actually rose, from 9.0 weeks to 11.1 weeks. That looks like a contradiction, but DVSA attributes it to the closing down of third-party routes that were being used to find earlier tests. When a small group of learners can no longer jump the queue using cancellation-finding services, the median gap between booking and testing lengthens even as genuine availability improves.

It is a good reminder that the two waiting time measures answer different questions. Availability tells you how easy it is to find a slot now. The median tells you how long people who just sat a test had been waiting, including everyone who booked far in advance.

More examiners, and more tests

As of July 2026, DVSA had 157 more full-time equivalent driving examiners in post than a year earlier, an increase of 10.9%. It says the result is more than 120,000 additional driving tests conducted in the first four months of this financial year compared with the same period last year.

Warmington is careful not to declare the problem solved. She writes that waiting times remain too long in many parts of Great Britain, and that progress is not being felt evenly, with some centres and regions improving far less than others. She also confirms that the booking reforms introduced through 2026 will not be reversed.

Three changes coming for learners

The update names three things DVSA is doing in direct response to instructor feedback, and all three touch learners.

The first is the new guidance on how driving test availability works, published the same day. It sets out when appointments are released, why earlier tests appear at unpredictable times, and why queueing at 6am on Monday is pointless unless you want a test 24 weeks out.

The second is a plan for learners who need additional support. DVSA intends to work with the Association of Disability Driving Instructors, NASP and charities to build a way for eligible learners to formally appoint someone to speak to DVSA on their behalf about their booking. That matters, because since May 2026 only the learner has been allowed to book and manage their own test. Details are still to come.

The third is transparency about the Ready to Pass? emails DVSA sends to learners. Refreshed versions have been published in the instructor toolkit and start going out from 1 September 2026, so your instructor can now see exactly what you are being sent and when. The messages consistently push learners to trust their instructor's judgement on readiness rather than booking a test and hoping.

What to take from this

The direction of travel is positive, but nobody should plan around a short wait. If your practical test is months away, the sensible move is to treat that time as preparation rather than delay, and to keep a close eye on your theory test certificate, which is valid for two years and will not be extended because the practical queue was long.

Theory Test Passed is a DVSA licensed platform covering the full question bank and hazard perception clips, so you can walk into your theory test confident and make sure it is never the thing standing between you and a licence.