The nation’s driving test backlog has reached such a crisis stage that the Government has been forced to call in the military to help learners pass sooner.
Since the Covid pandemic closed the doors of Britain’s driving test centres for months back in 2020, a queue of thousands of budding motorists formed, then increase, and is still yet to be cleared.
Despite a raft of changes introduced by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to reduce waiting times – including opening weekend test slots, bringing older invigilators out of retirement and simplifying the booking system – over 600,000 learners are waiting to take their tests, according to latest figures.
On Wednesday, the Department for Transport (DfT) said it has now drafted in the armed forces to lend a hand with clearing the mounting queues.
Defence driving examiners next year will be deployed to test centres in England with the longest waiting times to conduct an additional 6,500 practical driving tests per month.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the Labour Government had ‘inherited an enormous backlog’ of learners who have been ‘sadly forced to endure record waiting times for their tests’ – but new measures announced today will help them to get on the road ‘sooner’.
Driving examiners from the Ministry of Defence next year will be seconded to carry out practical driving tests to clear the huge backlog of learners waiting to get their licences, the DfT confirmed today
Military driving examiners usually test service personnel, covering cars as well as fuel tankers and armoured carriers
Ministers say calling in the military is the ‘decisive action’ needed to tackle the five-year problem of driving test waiting times.
Some 36 Defence Driving Examiners (DDEs) – who are made up of civilian MoD personnel – will be seconded from the Ministry of Defence to conduct driving tests one day a week for 12 months.
The extra personnel will be focusing primarily on car driving tests but with flexibility to carry out vocational tests for bus and lorry drivers, if needed, the DfT explained.
‘They will be based at the driving test centres with the highest demand near their MOD base or home location,’ the department added.
The availability of 6,500 more tests will come hand-in-hand with new measures to stamp out reselling of tests, which is said to be extending the backlog as well as seeing learners paying almost five times the standard rate to secure the earliest slots.
A practical test booked via the DVSA website costs £62 on a weekday or £75 for a weekend or evening slot.
However, some learners have admitted to paying up to £300 to secure the earliest tests, which are being snapped up by scam artists using bots to mass-book available slots each time they’re released – then inflating prices and re-selling to the highest bidder.
In fact, a recent freedom of information request by Times Radio revealed that driving test fraud has almost tripled since the start of the year with scammers taking advantage of the huge backlog that’s formed.
Some 36 Defence Driving Examiners (DDEs) – who are made up of civilian MoD personnel – will be seconded from the Ministry of Defence to conduct driving tests one day a week for 12 months at test centres with the highest demand and closest to their MOD base or home
At the end of September, DVSA records showed 668,128 learners had a practical driving test booked in Britain, up from 579,138 in the same month in 2024
With an average wait time for a practical driving test in Britain reaching 21.8 weeks, this has fuelled a huge black market for slots.
The total that the nation’s learner drivers have lost securing a test on ‘closed’ social media groups that sell bookings at a premium grew from £12,331 in January to £33,850 in August, the Government data revealed.
Records also show that more than £134,000 has been lost to driving test booking scams in the first eight months of 2025.
Ministers said on Wednesday that they will introduce a new limit on rearranging tests and a ban on third parties booking on behalf of learners in order to make the system fairer and to clampdown on fraudsters using booking bots.
Learner drivers will only be able to make up to two changes to the driving test in total – including moves, swaps and location changes – before it must be cancelled and rebooked. They too will be restricted to a limited number of test centres which are located close to the original booking.
Only learner drivers will be able to book their own test, and not instructors on their behalf.
By limiting who can book a test and the number of changes made will mean third parties will no longer be able to resell tests at inflated prices, the DfT says.
Steve Gooding from the RAC Foundation said the new rules will reassure learners stuck in the backlog that they ‘aren’t being elbowed aside by those simply seeking to make a quick buck’.
Commenting on the latest measures, the Transport Secretary said: ‘We inherited an enormous backlog of learners ready to ditch their L-Plates, who have been sadly forced to endure record waiting times for their tests. Every learner should have an equal and fair opportunity to take a test.
‘We’re taking decisive action, and these new measures will deliver thousands of extra tests over the next year, helping learners get on the road sooner.
‘This will ease pressure on the system, removing barriers to opportunity and supporting economic growth as part of our Plan for Change.’
A practical test booked via the DVSA website costs £62 on a weekday or £75 for a weekend or evening slot. However, learners have paid up to £300 to secure earliest tests, which are being snapped up by scam artists using bots to mass-book available slots each time they’re released
Military driving examiners usually test service personnel, covering cars as well as fuel tankers and armoured carriers.
The new arrangement is said to be beneficiary to both parties because it will help to tackle the driving test backlog while keeping DDEs skills ‘sharp’.
The Minister for the Armed Forces, Al Carns, has authorised the deployment of military driving examiners to help bring down the backlog, saying it will result in ‘no negative impact’ on military operations.
Carns said: ‘The Armed Forces and civilians working within the Ministry of Defence have always been ready to step up when the country needs them – and this is another example of that commitment in action.
‘Our military driving examiners bring skill and professionalism from testing Service personnel to prepare them for some of the toughest conditions imaginable.
‘By supporting civilian testing, they’re helping to get more learners on the road, keep Britain moving, and deliver for the public.’
Emma Bush, managing director of AA Driving School, welcomed the deployment of military testers but said ‘long term, sustained action’ is what’s needed.
‘Additional support from military driving examiners should help alleviate some of the pressure on the system and the tightening of the booking system should reduce the wiggle-room that is allowing unscrupulous test resellers to profit from learners’ misery,’ Bush told the Daily Mail and This is Money.
‘Long term, sustained action is what is needed to bring waiting times back to pre-covid levels. As well as recruiting more examiners, there needs to be a focus on retaining existing examiners so a greater number of tests can be delivered sustainably.
‘We know that many new drivers have been frustrated by the delays which often affects their mobility and job prospects.’
Driving test backlog exceeds 660,000
Just last month, the Government announced that more driving test slots are being made available to tackle the severe backlog after official figures showed a 15 per cent increase in learner drivers with future tests booked compared with a year ago.
At the end of September, DVSA records showed 668,128 learners had a practical driving test booked in Britain, up from 579,138 in the same month in 2024.
This is despite test centres conducting 168,644 practical tests in the ninth month of the year, which was 14 per cent more than September 2024 (148,144).
Richard Holden MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, blasted accusations of the Government inheriting such a sizable backlog, stating: ‘The only thing Labour have managed to drive up are the waiting times.’
He added: ‘It says everything about this desperate Labour Government that they’ve had to call in the military just to keep the system moving. They don’t have the backbone or the plan to deliver for Britain.
‘The country deserves a government with a strong team and a real plan to tackle issues, not one distracted by endless civil war and scandal.’
The DfT’s announcement on Wednesday comes in the wake of a separate investigation exposed the incredible number of times individuals in Britain have failed both theory and practical tests in Britain.
The highest number of attempts at the practical test before passing last year was 21, costing between £1,302 and £1,575 depending on when the person took the tests
One learner eventually passed their theory exam at the 75th attempt last year, having spent £1,725 on test fees alone, AA Driving School found.
While 75 attempts sounds a lot, it pales in comparison to the record holder with the most failed tests, which stands at 127.
By the 128th – and successful – effort, their financial outlay on theory tests was an eye-watering £2,944.
But that is nothing compared to the costs incurred by drivers who fail their practical driving test.
The highest number of attempts at the practical test before passing last year was 21, costing between £1,302 and £1,575 depending on when the person took the tests.
Two people have taken the practical test 37 times without passing, spending up to £2,220 each.
