Three quarters of driving test centres hit maximum wait time, data reveals

BBC Verify has found that three quarters of driving test centres across Great Britain have hit the maximum average waiting time – of 24 weeks – to book a practical test.
This is the backdrop to the government’s announcement of measures to deal with the delays, which include training more driving examiners and dealing with the issue of bots – automated software – booking up test slots.
The driving tests backlog has been largely building since the Covid pandemic and has been rising since Labour came to power.
BBC Verify obtained data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) – the body that runs driving tests – in a Freedom of Information request.
The data reveals that as of 24 March 2025:

Source: BBC | Language: English