Dvsa planning major shake-up and thousands of drivers could benefit

THE DRIVER AND VEHICLE STANDARDS AGENCY (DVSA) WANTS YOUR VIEWS ON POTENTIAL CHANGES TO HOW DRIVING TESTS CAN BE BOOKED AND MANAGED. 12:34, 01 Jun 2025 The DVSA is planning a major driving

test shake-up as the backlog hits an eye-watering 60,000. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) wants your views on potential changes to how driving tests can be booked and managed.

"We’re looking at 2 main areas: who should be allowed to book and manage driving tests and should we limit or remove the ability to change test centres and swap tests between different

learners," the DVSA said. These changes aim to make the system fairer and stop people being charged excessive fees for booking tests. A spokesperson for the National Associations

Strategic Partnership (NASP) said: "The Driver Training industry welcomes this consultation as a key step in improving accessibility and usability of the test booking system for

legitimate users, but equally, as an important step towards preventing access by those seeking to exploit learners through the illegitimate sale of test slots at extortionate prices. READ

MORE LLOYDS BANK BRINGS IN BIG CHANGE AND ANYONE WHO IS IN A 'COUPLE' WILL BENEFIT “We urge pupils, parents and trainers to respond to the consultation and ensure they are part of

enabling better, more efficient and fairer solutions for booking driving tests in the future." Article continues below Some 603,352 future practical driving tests were booked as of the

end of April, according to analysis of Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) figures by the PA news agency. That is up 16 per cent from 521,190 this time one year ago. Labour Party MP

Lillian Greenwood, Minister for the Future of Roads said: “Driving isn’t just about getting from A to B — it’s a vital link to jobs, social opportunities, and a stronger economy, which helps

to deliver our Plan for Change. "This consultation is an important move towards giving learners more say over how and where they can book, alongside setting out options to better

enable DVSA to block bots from stealing slots, so learners can get on the road without unnecessary delays. Article continues below "Working with the DVSA, we want to make driving test

booking fairer, protect all learners from exploitation, and reduce lengthy waiting times." Loveday Ruder, DVSA Chief Executive explained: “We’ve been working tirelessly to bring down

the driving test waiting times. To help tackle this, in December 2024 we announced a new plan, on which we’re making good progress. “DVSA’s goal is to make booking a driving test easier and

fairer for everyone while preventing excessive charges for learner drivers".