Across the UK, thousands of would-be driving instructors are waiting months – sometimes nearly a year – just to sit their final qualifying exams. It’s a quiet crisis within the industry, but one that’s already rippling out to affect learner drivers, instructors, and the entire ecosystem that keeps Britain’s roads moving.
At Rated Driving, we work at the intersection of this problem every single day. We connect approved instructors (ADIs) with learners looking to get on the road – and when there aren’t enough instructors qualified or available, the impact is immediate and far-reaching.
The BBC’s recent report on the growing backlog of instructor qualification tests paints a clear picture of the pressure points in the system. But beneath the headlines lies a deeper structural issue that risks paralysing the industry just when demand for lessons is at its highest in years.
A Record Surge in People Training to Become Instructors
According to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), more than 19,000 people applied to start the Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) qualification process in 2024–25 – a 17% increase compared to the previous year, and a staggering 152% rise since 2018–19.
On the surface, this sounds like good news. After all, the UK desperately needs more instructors. The average learner now faces wait times of three to six months just to start lessons in busy areas, and national pass-rate data shows the demand for driving tests continues to outstrip examiner capacity.
But this surge of aspiring instructors is hitting a brick wall: there simply aren’t enough examiners to test and qualify them.
Without more examiner capacity, the pipeline of new instructors clogs up — and the very shortage that motivated so many to train in the first place only gets worse.
“It’s a Total Mess” – The View from the Ground
One quote from the BBC piece captures the frustration perfectly. Reading-based instructor Keith Gambles said bluntly:
“It’s a total mess. There’s a battle for learner drivers as there’s not enough instructors, and then we can’t get enough instructors out there as there’s not enough examiners to test the would-be instructors.”
He’s right. It’s a classic supply-and-demand feedback loop.
At one end, learners are queuing for months to book lessons. At the other, aspiring instructors are queuing for months to qualify. In between sits a bottleneck: too few DVSA examiners to handle the unprecedented demand.
From Rated Driving’s perspective, the data aligns exactly with what we’re seeing across our platform. Instructor registrations are at record highs — but so too are learner enquiries. In some regions, like London, Manchester, and Birmingham, we’re matching learners to instructors within hours, while in others, particularly rural or semi-urban areas, we’re struggling to find available ADIs even after extensive outreach.
The real tragedy is that there are thousands of motivated trainees — people who could be on the road teaching right now — stuck waiting for the system to catch up.
Real People, Real Delays
The BBC’s story highlights two examples that echo what many in the industry are feeling.
Lindsay Snyman, from Bracknell, began her instructor training in January 2024. Nearly two years later, she still hasn’t taken her final assessment.
“My son actually passed his driving test long before I’ll even be qualified,” she said.Simon Lavender, from Reading, changed careers after two decades in data. He passed part one of the ADI test, but found no availability for part two within six months, even after searching far beyond his local area.
These stories aren’t isolated. At Rated Driving, we’ve spoken to numerous trainees experiencing the same thing — long waits for part two and part three test slots, increasing stress about the two-year deadline to complete the qualification, and in some cases, trainees abandoning the process altogether because they can’t afford to keep waiting.
That’s not just a personal setback; it’s a loss for learners and for the industry as a whole.
Understanding the ADI Qualification Process
To appreciate the scale of the problem, it’s worth breaking down the three-part ADI qualification process:
Part 1 – Theory and hazard perception (computer-based test)
This is the easiest to book and usually has good availability.Part 2 – Driving ability (practical driving test)
Conducted by DVSA examiners; assesses advanced driving competence.Part 3 – Instructional ability (practical teaching test)
The final stage, also examiner-led, evaluating how effectively the trainee can instruct a pupil.
Parts 2 and 3 require DVSA examiners, and both have limited test centre availability – particularly since many examiners are also tied up with the general learner driving test backlog, which has been ongoing since the pandemic.
Trainees must complete all three parts within two years of passing Part 1. If they miss that window, they must start over – retaking exams, retraining, and repaying fees. For someone who’s spent months studying, investing in lessons, and perhaps even leaving another career, this can be financially and emotionally devastating.
The Domino Effect on Learners
What happens when there aren’t enough instructors?
Lesson availability shrinks.
In popular areas, learners can struggle to find anyone taking new pupils. We’ve seen some learners on Rated Driving waiting up to 10–12 weeks for a slot with a preferred instructor.Prices rise.
With limited supply, lesson rates have steadily increased. In many parts of the UK, average hourly rates have climbed above £40 per hour, compared to around £32–£35 just a few years ago.Test delays compound.
Even once learners complete their lessons, the shortage of DVSA examiners affects them again – with many waiting months for a driving test date. Add to that the recent surge in fast-track cancellation services, and the whole process can feel like an endurance test rather than a rite of passage.
This bottleneck has created a perfect storm: more people than ever want to learn, more people than ever want to teach, yet both groups are stuck in limbo because the system’s throughput hasn’t scaled.
A DVSA System Under Strain
To its credit, the DVSA acknowledges the pressure but has offered limited short-term relief. In the BBC report, a DVSA spokesperson encouraged trainees to use the “book to hold” system – a tool meant to provide visibility of where demand is highest, allowing resources to be deployed more effectively.
But visibility doesn’t equal capacity. Knowing where the need exists doesn’t automatically create new examiners to meet it.
The DVSA faces a real logistical challenge: recruiting, training, and deploying examiners is a slow process, and every additional test type (learners, motorcycle, LGV, ADI) competes for the same pool of qualified staff.
Until examiner numbers increase substantially, the imbalance will persist.
The Bigger Picture: A System Out of Sync with Modern Demand
From an industry perspective, the problem isn’t just logistical – it’s structural.
The UK’s model for approving instructors has remained largely unchanged for decades. Yet the environment around it has shifted dramatically:
Learner demand has soared post-pandemic, driven by backlogs, more flexible work patterns, and rising public transport costs.
Instructor demand has risen in parallel, as more people seek self-employment or career change opportunities.
Technology adoption has accelerated, with online booking, cancellation finders, and digital record-keeping becoming the norm.
Despite these changes, the qualification infrastructure remains centralised, slow, and examiner-dependent – a system designed for a much smaller, slower-moving industry.
It’s no longer fit for purpose.
What Needs to Change
At Rated Driving, we believe the solution requires a combination of short-term fixes and long-term reform.
1. Increase Examiner Capacity Immediately
The DVSA must prioritise recruitment and redeployment of examiners for ADI testing, not just learner tests. Even temporary contracts, extended working hours, or retired examiner re-engagement could ease the backlog.
2. Regional Test Balancing
Trainees often face wildly different wait times depending on region. Smarter use of data and flexible examiner rotation could help redistribute capacity where it’s needed most – for instance, between high-demand hubs like Reading and quieter regions nearby.
3. Digital Readiness for Part 3
There’s an opportunity to modernise the instructional test process. Portions of the Part 3 evaluation – such as lesson planning or mock scenarios – could be digitised or pre-submitted, reducing examiner contact time and increasing throughput.
4. Support Networks for Trainees
Many trainees operate independently without the backing of a larger driving school. Industry bodies and digital platforms like Rated Driving could play a greater role in mentoring, progress tracking, and community support to help trainees stay motivated during long waits.
5. Incentivise Instructor Retention
It’s one thing to train more instructors – it’s another to keep them teaching. High fuel costs, rising insurance premiums, and inconsistent pupil attendance all impact instructor retention. If qualified ADIs leave the industry faster than new ones enter, the backlog solves nothing.
The Human Side of the Shortage
Behind every statistic is a person trying to build a new career or achieve a life milestone. The delays are more than bureaucratic inconvenience – they’re a source of genuine stress and lost opportunity.
For trainees like Lindsay Snyman, the wait means months of uncertainty and financial strain. For learners, it means stalled independence – delaying university plans, job opportunities, or family responsibilities. And for instructors already qualified, it means unmanageable workloads, longer hours, and growing pressure to fill the gap.
The irony is that everyone in this system – learners, instructors, and the DVSA – shares the same goal: to produce safe, confident drivers as efficiently as possible. Yet the very mechanisms designed to maintain standards are now slowing that mission down.
Rated Driving’s Role in Bridging the Gap
At Rated Driving, we see our role as part of the solution – not just a booking platform, but a facilitator between learners and the instructor community.
We can’t control DVSA examiner availability, but we can:
Streamline instructor onboarding so that once ADIs qualify, they can start taking bookings immediately.
Provide consistent demand for instructors, ensuring they can fill their diaries efficiently.
Offer support to trainees in partnership with ADIs, helping them transition smoothly once qualified.
Give learners real-time visibility of availability, removing the frustration of endless waiting lists.
Our goal is to build an ecosystem where both sides benefit: instructors spend less time finding pupils, and learners get on the road faster – even within the current system constraints.
A Call for Industry Collaboration
Solving this isn’t just the DVSA’s responsibility. It requires collaboration between government bodies, instructor associations, and digital platforms that understand on-the-ground realities.
There’s an opportunity to treat the current bottleneck as a turning point — to modernise how instructors are trained, tested, and supported. With over 40 million licensed drivers in the UK and millions more learning each year, driving instruction is not a niche industry; it’s critical national infrastructure.
If we can digitise healthcare appointments and renew passports online, surely we can find a smarter, faster way to qualify and deploy driving instructors.
The Road Ahead
The BBC’s report captures a snapshot of an industry in transition – full of passion and potential, but constrained by outdated systems.
At Rated Driving, we see both the frustration and the hope. The people training to become instructors today represent the next generation of road safety advocates, mentors, and small business owners. Every delay is a missed opportunity for progress – not just for them, but for every learner waiting nervously for their first lesson.
We urge the DVSA, industry partners, and government stakeholders to act decisively.
Because behind every backlog statistic is someone like Lindsay, Simon, or Keith – waiting to teach, waiting to learn, waiting to move forward.
It’s time we helped them get back in gear.
