Driving Tests: Waiting Lists
(asked on 14th April 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time for a practical car driving test was in each month since January 2026 up to and including the most recent month for which figures are available.
The table below shows how many driving test centres (DTC) recorded a waiting time of 24 weeks for a practical car driving test for January, February, and March 2026.
Month | Number of DTCs with a wait time of 24 weeks |
January 2026 | 157 |
February 2026 | 186 |
March 2026 | 192 |
The table below shows how many full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) were in post, and out of those, how many were available to deliver practical car driving tests in March 2026. The answer to Question 122532, 20 March 2026, provides data for February 2026.
FTE DEs in post * | Available to deliver practical car driving tests |
1649.13 | 1,604 |
* Includes those who are in training to be a DE
The national average waiting time (when a minimum of 10% of test slots are available) and the national median waiting time (the time between the first test booking and test taken) for a practical car driving test in January, February and March 2026 is shown in the table below.
Month | National average car driving tests waiting time (when a minimum of 10% of test slots are available) | National median waiting time (the time between the first test booking and test taken) |
January 2026 | 21.2 weeks | 10.3 weeks |
February 2026 | 21.6 weeks | 10.6 weeks |
March 2026 | 22.1 weeks | 9.0 weeks |
The recent small increase in the national average waiting time was expected, and reflects test bookings running through the summer period, the busiest of the year, and a period of increased annual leave.
April’s data for all of the above will be available in May.