Driving Tests: Waiting Lists

(asked on 28th August 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what is the average waiting time for a driving test in (a) Scotland and (b) England.


Answered by
Justin Madders Portrait
Justin Madders
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This question was answered on 8th September 2026

It is not possible to confirm how many people are waiting to try and book a practical driving test. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) only holds data on the number of tests booked. DVSA’s booking service is live, and as well as releasing tests on a rolling 24-week basis, additional appointments are released when they become available.

DVSA has now published more detailed data-sets for all driving test centres in Great Britain so learners can get better understanding of the booking system. This includes:

  • the average waiting time between booking and taking a driving test (median)
  • the total number of appointments made available over the next 24 weeks of the booking window (as measured at the end of the month)
  • the total number of tests that have already been booked in that booking window
  • the total number of tests that are still available to book in the booking window

More information and a link to the data can be found on GOV.UK.

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