A damning new report from the Nationwide Audit Workplace (NAO) has warned that the Driver and Automobile Requirements Company (DVSA) won’t meet its long-standing goal of a seven-week ready time for sensible automotive driving checks till November 2027, until decisive motion is taken.
In line with the report, the common ready time for a sensible automotive 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
Affect 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 stated they want a licence for work, that means extended ready occasions 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 checks nonetheless not booked. The NAO additionally discovered DVSA has struggled to forecast real demand, partly because of widespread use of automated bots that artificially inflate reserving exercise.
Third-party resellers exploiting the system
Practically one in three learners are actually utilizing third-party reserving providers, 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 checks on behalf of learners, the NAO notes that anti-bot measures have to date failed to stop abuse of the system.
Examiner recruitment stays a vital weak spot
Regardless of working 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 considerations, 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 checks once they genuinely want them
- Quickly scale up examiner recruitment to extend take a look at capability and tackle 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 occasions, because it brings crucial scrutiny to bear on not solely DVSA’s lack of progress on these points, but in addition the slowness of Minister’s in supporting the company in actions which might have had a extra significant affect 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 have been unflinching in our suggestions, highlighting core points there was already some consciousness of, but in addition 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 difficulty of take a look at provide, and the hyperlink to Examiner recruitment and retention, however am certain DVSA will likely 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 will declare they’ve a method in place, with not too long ago 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 checks 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, but it surely’s the one one they’ve a transparent pathway to doing one thing about in the mean time (regardless that a poor degree of cyber safety data inside DVSA absolutely hampered their efforts to cease the rot of the bots earlier). Definitely drafting in extra army examiner assist will likely be one other space the company claims they’re being proactive, however that’s yet one more too little, too late, measure which can solely internet 6500 additional checks a yr – think about if that (what’s now a small scale within the context of the variety of checks wanted) resolution had been utilized 4 years in the past, it might need proved simpler 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 really helpful on this report, would underpin the enterprise case for Examiner pay will increase to assist with recruitment and retention difficulty, in addition to doubtlessly work as a ‘calming’ agent on take a look at demand and the frenzy to guide and take checks, 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, stated: “The present system for offering driving checks in England, Scotland and Wales is just not working satisfactorily, with lengthy ready occasions 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, stated: “Failures by DVSA to deal with take a look at reserving points have severely impacted members of the general public, with learners ready many months to guide 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 guide up any accessible slots after which promote them on at vastly inflated costs – as much as eight occasions the usual weekday fee of £62. DVSA has lastly begun to take extra concrete motion towards the reselling of checks, though stricter reserving guidelines won’t come into impact till spring 2026.
“On the identical time, DVSA has not been in a position to 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 an appropriate degree for learner drivers.”
