The latest figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) reveal that as of September 2025, 668,128 people in Britain currently have a driving test booked — the highest figure on record.
For many, that number represents a milestone on the road to freedom. For others, it symbolises a system still struggling to catch up after years of disruption, backlog, and rising demand.
At Rated Driving, we see the human side of those statistics every single day. Behind each of those bookings are learners trying to get to work, care for family, or move forward in life – all waiting for an opportunity that should be routine.
This isn’t just a story about driving tests. It’s about access, opportunity, and the mounting strain on the UK’s driving education system.
668,000 Learners in Limbo
According to the DVSA’s latest release, there were 668,128 practical driving tests booked by the end of September – a 15% increase compared with the 579,138 booked a year earlier. That might sound like progress, but in reality it reflects the scale of the backlog still clogging the system.
Even though 168,644 tests were conducted in September (up 14% from 148,144 in 2024), the waiting list continues to grow faster than the DVSA can reduce it. With so many learners pre-booking as far as 24 weeks in advance, availability has become a moving target – every time a slot opens, it’s snatched up within seconds.
For context, the average waiting time for a driving test in Britain was 21.8 weeks as of June 2025. That’s five months of delay for something that should take weeks, not seasons.
A Broken System Playing Catch-Up
Roads Minister Simon Lightwood called the rise in completed tests “fantastic,” crediting new government measures to boost examiner capacity and increase the number of test slots available.
“We inherited a broken system… we’re incentivising examiners, nearly doubling the number of trainers, and unlocking more tests,” Lightwood said.
There’s no question that progress is being made — the DVSA has added thousands of extra weekend and evening slots, introduced flexible working for examiners, and nearly doubled recruitment for examiner trainers. These measures are beginning to show impact, but as every learner knows, the backlog didn’t appear overnight — and it won’t disappear quickly either.
From our vantage point at Rated Driving, the root issue goes deeper than availability. It’s the fragile pipeline between learner demand, instructor supply, and examiner capacity – three links that must work together in sync, but often don’t.
The Domino Effect: Learners, Instructors, and Examiners
When you zoom out, the current backlog is the result of multiple compounding factors:
Post-pandemic demand – Thousands of learners who delayed lessons during lockdown are still trying to catch up.
Instructor shortages – Many ADIs left the profession during Covid and haven’t been replaced fast enough. (As we explored in our previous article, there’s now a bottleneck of trainee instructors waiting months to qualify due to too few DVSA examiners.)
Early bookings and cancellations – Learners, understandably frustrated, are booking tests months before they’re ready, clogging the system further.
Bot abuse – Automated booking tools scrape and reserve new test slots the second they’re released, reselling them at inflated prices on the black market.
Each one of these issues alone would be challenging. Together, they’ve created the longest sustained disruption to the driving test system in modern UK history.
The Black-Market Problem: Bots and Bookings
The Impartial Reporter notes that the government recently consulted on reforms to the test booking system to prevent “bots mass-booking new slots.”
This has become one of the most damaging – and least talked about – issues in the industry.
Here’s how it works:
DVSA releases new test slots on a rolling basis.
Bots, operated by third-party resellers, automatically reserve them in bulk.
Those slots are then listed for resale – sometimes at £200–£400 above the standard £62 fee.
For learners desperate to secure a date, it’s tempting. But it drives up prices, crowds out genuine bookings, and perpetuates the backlog.
From a Rated Driving perspective, this is one of the clearest examples of market dysfunction born out of scarcity. When supply is artificially constrained, opportunism fills the gap.
The government’s consultation is a welcome step, but enforcement will be critical. Blocking bots at source, verifying learner identities at booking, and rate-limiting transaction attempts are essential technical reforms that can’t come soon enough.
Progress Is Real – But the Pressure Remains
To the DVSA’s credit, there has been movement.
In September alone, over 20,000 more tests were completed than the same time last year. New examiners are being trained faster, and existing staff are being incentivised to work extra hours. These are pragmatic, positive steps.
But as Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander set out earlier this year, the government’s target is to reduce waiting times to seven weeks by summer 2026. That’s an ambitious goal, considering the current 21-week average and the sheer number of learners already in the system.
Unless examiner capacity continues to expand – and instructor recruitment keeps pace — there’s a risk that backlog reduction in one area will simply create new pressure in another.
The Learner’s Experience: Stuck in Neutral
For learners, the frustration is about more than patience – it’s about progress.
At Rated Driving, we regularly hear from pupils who:
Have finished their lessons but can’t find a test date.
Booked a test months in advance, only to realise they’re now too ready – their confidence starts to fade.
Rely on fast-track cancellation services just to stay within reach of a timely test.
One learner from Birmingham told us recently:
“I passed my mock test three months ago, but my real one isn’t until December. My instructor’s been amazing, but I’m spending money on lessons just to stay sharp – not to learn anything new.”
That’s the ripple effect. Learners spend longer and more money preparing for tests. Instructors have to juggle more cancellations and reschedules. And the whole system becomes less efficient.
The Pass-Rate Paradox
Interestingly, the DVSA data also revealed that September’s pass rate was 49.9%, down from 50.7% in August – the lowest in six months.
While that might seem like a small drop, it highlights a growing paradox: many learners are booking earlier than ever before – often before they’re truly test-ready – just to secure a slot.
When test scarcity drives behaviour, readiness takes a back seat.
This in turn increases failure rates, which adds even more retest demand back into the queue. It’s another self-reinforcing cycle – one that punishes both learners and instructors.
Rated Driving’s consistent advice to learners has been simple but firm: Don’t book your test until your instructor says you’re ready.
An extra few weeks of practice can save months of delay and hundreds of pounds in retest costs.
The Broader Impact: Economic and Emotional
Learning to drive has always been a milestone – a moment of independence, opportunity, and freedom. But for many in 2025, it’s also become a source of stress, uncertainty, and financial strain.
From an economic perspective:
The average learner spends over £1,200–£1,600 on lessons and tests combined.
Many book time off work for tests that later get rescheduled or delayed.
Some even lose job opportunities requiring a licence due to the wait.
From a wellbeing standpoint, the delays can be demoralising – particularly for younger drivers or those in rural areas where public transport is limited.
It’s no surprise that RAC policy officer Rod Dennis noted that driving remains “so important given the lack of public transport options in large parts of the country.”
At Rated Driving, we see this firsthand: driving isn’t a luxury. For many, it’s a lifeline.
What’s Working – And What Still Needs to Change
There’s no denying that progress has begun.
The DVSA’s increased throughput, government funding, and recruitment drives are all steps in the right direction. But to truly fix the system, reform must be structural, not temporary.
Here’s what we believe still needs to happen:
1. Sustained Examiner Recruitment
Short-term incentives are valuable, but lasting change requires ongoing hiring, not just overtime. The examiner workforce must grow proportionally with demand.
2. Transparent Test Availability Data
Learners and instructors need a clear national picture of where and when test slots are available – similar to the DVSA’s internal dashboards. Real-time transparency could reduce panic-booking and improve regional balance.
3. Digital Verification to Stop Bot Abuse
Integrating ID verification and payment validation at booking could end the black-market resale problem once and for all.
4. Improved Communication Between Learners, Instructors, and DVSA
When learners book too early, instructors often find out too late. A linked booking system that allows instructor confirmation before a test date is finalised would keep everyone aligned.
5. Policy Recognition of Driving Instruction as Essential Infrastructure
Driving instruction isn’t just a private service – it’s foundational to national mobility, employment, and road safety. The sector needs the same long-term planning attention as public transport or vocational licensing.
Rated Driving’s Commitment
As an agent platform connecting learners and instructors, Rated Driving sits at the heart of this ecosystem.
While we can’t directly expand DVSA capacity, we can improve efficiency at every other step:
Smart matching: Pairing learners with local instructors who actually have space in their diaries.
Transparent pricing: Preventing inflated rates caused by scarcity.
Fast onboarding: Getting new instructors teaching as soon as they qualify.
Test readiness focus: Helping learners and instructors work toward realistic, instructor-approved test timelines.
We believe in bringing clarity and trust back to an industry that’s been clouded by backlog and opportunism. Learners deserve transparency. Instructors deserve stability. And the system deserves a modern upgrade.
A Turning Point for the Industry
Motoring charity director Steve Gooding perhaps captured it best:
“These figures might not be much comfort for those already in the system, but things might be about to become better… let’s hope this marks the start of a genuine turnaround.”
We share that hope – but also a note of caution.
Real progress won’t come from headlines or temporary boosts; it will come from sustained collaboration between the DVSA, government, and the industry’s digital partners.
If 2020–2024 was the era of backlog, 2025–2026 must become the era of breakthrough.
Because every one of those 668,000 learners represents more than a number — they represent the future of British road safety, independence, and opportunity.
The Road Ahead
The government’s target of a seven-week average wait by summer 2026 is bold, and if achieved, it would mark the biggest improvement in driving test availability in decades.
But for now, the message remains clear: Britain’s learners are still stuck in the slow lane of a system catching up to itself.
At Rated Driving, our mission is to bridge that gap – helping learners navigate the wait, supporting instructors through the demand, and working with transparency and fairness to rebuild trust in the process.
Because getting your licence shouldn’t feel like winning a lottery.
It should feel like what it truly is: a milestone of progress, confidence, and freedom – and it’s our job to help learners get there.
