A damning new report from the Nationwide Audit Workplace (NAO) has warned that the Driver and Automobile Requirements Company (DVSA) is not going to meet its long-standing goal of a seven-week ready time for sensible automobile driving exams till November 2027, except decisive motion is taken.
In keeping with the report, the common ready time for a sensible automobile take a look at in Nice Britain stood at 22 weeks in September 2025, with 70% of take a look at centres working on the most wait of 24 weeks. This compares with a mean wait of simply over 5 weeks earlier than the Covid-19 pandemic.
Watch DIA Carly Brookfield’s feedback on this report
Impression on learners and the broader financial system
The report highlights the real-world penalties of those delays. Round 30% of learner drivers surveyed by DVSA mentioned they want a licence for work, which means extended ready instances are limiting entry to employment and affecting financial productiveness.
An estimated 1.1 million-test backlog constructed up through the pandemic, with round 360,000 exams nonetheless not booked. The NAO additionally discovered DVSA has struggled to forecast real demand, partly resulting from widespread use of automated bots that artificially inflate reserving exercise.
Third-party resellers exploiting the system
Almost one in three learners at the moment are utilizing third-party reserving companies, typically paying vastly inflated costs. Some learners reported paying as much as £500 for a take a look at that ought to value £62 on a weekday.
Though DVSA has introduced new measures stopping instructors and third events from reserving exams on behalf of learners, the NAO notes that anti-bot measures have up to now failed to forestall abuse of the system.
Examiner recruitment stays a important weak spot
Regardless of operating 19 recruitment campaigns, DVSA has solely elevated examiner numbers by 83 since 2021, far wanting its goal of 400. Excessive exit charges are linked to uncompetitive pay, workload pressures, and security issues, all of which proceed to undermine capability.
What the NAO says should change
To revive confidence within the driving take a look at system, the NAO says DVSA and the Division for Transport should:
- Higher perceive what’s driving elevated demand and guarantee learners can entry exams after they genuinely want them
- Quickly scale up examiner recruitment to extend take a look at capability and deal with backlogs
- Strengthen governance between DVSA and DfT to reply extra successfully to future challenges, together with reserving system abuse
DIA CEO Carly Brookfield Commented: “We welcome the NAO’s report on take a look at ready instances, because it brings vital scrutiny to bear on not solely DVSA’s lack of progress on these points, but additionally the slowness of Minister’s in supporting the company in actions which might have had a extra significant impression than the successive plans and measures they’ve PR’d to Transport Choose Committee’s and the broader public – measures which have finally fallen brief of what’s required.
“DIA was interviewed as a part of the NAO’s investigation, and we had been unflinching in our suggestions, highlighting core points there was already some consciousness of, but additionally pointing to challenges wider stakeholders (together with DVSA themselves), extra faraway from the coalface of driver coaching and testing, failed to completely grasp.
“NAO has recognised the core situation of take a look at provide, and the hyperlink to Examiner recruitment and retention, however am certain DVSA will probably be faster to focus extra so on the reserving system suggestions of their response to this report, as that is an space the place they’ll declare they’ve a technique in place, with just lately introduced plans to close out entry to everybody however pupils themselves. Nonetheless, everyone knows that the problems that the company doesn’t but have sufficient options to (i.e. getting extra exams into the system by elevated Examiner deployment) are those we have to concentrate on extra urgently. Reserving system entry and safety is a smaller a part of the general drawback than DVSA would have the broader public imagine, however it’s the one one they’ve a transparent pathway to doing one thing about in the meanwhile (despite the fact that a poor stage of cyber safety data inside DVSA certainly hampered their efforts to cease the rot of the bots earlier). Definitely drafting in extra army examiner assist will probably be one other space the company claims they’re being proactive, however that’s one more too little, too late, measure which can solely web 6500 additional exams a yr – think about if that (what’s now a small scale within the context of the variety of exams wanted) answer had been utilized 4 years in the past, it might need proved more practical in curbing the rise of the backlog?
“Equally regarding and irritating on this report is the ££44 million deficit in take a look at charges, with the company merely not charging sufficient to cowl prices. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that take a look at charge will increase, even past the £86 beneficial on this report, would underpin the enterprise case for Examiner pay will increase to assist with recruitment and retention situation, in addition to doubtlessly work as a ‘calming’ agent on take a look at demand and the push to e book and take exams, as greater take a look at charges would imply the worth notion of the driving take a look at will increase and it turns into much less of a have-a-go merchandise.”
Gareth Davies, Head of the NAO, mentioned: “The present system for offering driving exams in England, Scotland and Wales will not be working satisfactorily, with lengthy ready instances and exploitation of learner drivers by resellers of take a look at slots. Our report recommends that the Driver & Automobile Requirements Company and the Division for Transport take decisive motion to revive a match for objective driving take a look at service.”
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, mentioned: “Failures by DVSA to deal with take a look at reserving points have significantly impacted members of the general public, with learners ready many months to e book a driving take a look at.
“The present reserving system, in place for the previous 18 years, has been exploited by third events utilizing bots to e book up any obtainable slots after which promote them on at massively inflated costs – as much as eight instances the usual weekday fee of £62. DVSA has lastly begun to take extra concrete motion towards the reselling of exams, though stricter reserving guidelines is not going to come into impact till spring 2026.
“On the identical time, DVSA has not been capable of recruit and retain sufficient examiners to extend capability consistent with demand. DVSA should now use the chance offered by latest bulletins to revive the service to a suitable stage for learner drivers.”
