Trying to get a Driving test

[mumwholikesgin]

Hi looking for a bit of advice
I’m keen to get a driving test date booked in . I know next available is 6 months in my local test centre but even that’s not available.
I decided I would do the login on a Monday for 6 am to just book 6 months ahead and work towards the date i get.
I was not expecting it to be a Ticketmaster type system
I was over 5000 in the queue and by time I could look at my area all the slots were gobbled up.
My question is do I login much earlier going forward for a better chance ?
Like 4.30am/5am and just wait
I wasn’t expecting this I knew it was difficult but it was a complete joke and waste of time , it feels like a lottery system to get a driving test date 😭
If anyone has had similar experience recently please help 🙏

They’re released at 6am. It’s not worth logging in at 4:30, there won’t be anything there.

It’s just a waiting game. Theres a lot more available now that the DVLA has started to crack down on the apps that hawk the site to offer quick cancellations etc.

Can you sign up with a driving school for a few lessons? That's the only way my sons could get tests.

Hi what I mean is when I logged in at 5.50am I was 5000 odd In The queue
Is it worth logging on earlier to try get to the front of queue

I can drive and my instructor has just retired , my plan was to get a date and get someone for a few months to bang it all out and hope for the best
Otherwise I'm just paying for lessons every week and no test date in sight it's getting really expensive and frustrating

I booked a test 6 months ahead for my daughter and then checked the gov cancellation site on a daily basis. I had tried the apps first but didn’t find them useful. It took a few days but I came to realise that the cancellations in my area seemed to be released onto the site at 10am. Got her a test in 3 weeks time doing that.
Did the same for my son last month.

Like the previous poster said book for anywhere in the country for 6 months or whatever then wait for a cancellation

It is completely possible to get a driving test booked in for sooner than six months, but you have to first book any test, anywhere in the country and then log on and spend a few hours continually refreshing before you find a test you actually want. This is significantly easier if you live in a big city with multiple test centres, but should work anywhere. You will probably get temporarily blocked by the system they have in place to try to curb the cancellation apps, but that will just ban your IP and you can get a new one by restarting your router or switching to mobile data. I was unfortunate enough to need four tests to pass (absolutely devastating as I only got 1-3 driver faults/minors on each), and my first three tests were all within 6 weeks, booked by me with no assistance from instructors or apps. I looked like a stereotypical zoomer for a few days after each failure, glued to my phone constantly refreshing for a few hours at a time, but I always managed to get something.

You also have to be aware that the process of getting the test you want will be a gradual trading up until you land on the right test for you. Each time I booked in the test I actually ended up taking, I had booked and rebooked the test anywhere from 5-10 times first, getting a closer centre and/or date each time until I was happy. And it's 100% crucial that you have a mental list of dates and centres you are willing to go with - when you see a test, you need to know off the top of your head that it's suitable so you can book it as soon as you see it, there is no time for jumping on google maps or checking your calendar, you are unfortunately in competition with hundreds of bots for apps like testi that are auto-booking slots for their customers.

Thank you all for helpful tips and advice

Have you got the Testi app? It notifies you of cancelled tests, but you have to be quick!

I think it's £11 for the app and it costs nothing after that.

I was stuck for ages too and then randomly came across a news portal called pedir ayudas while looking for tips. It has useful info about testing updates and random queues. I ended up checking it every few days and managed to grab a short-notice cancellation that way. Just gotta keep refreshing and not give up—it’s annoying but doable with a bit of luck.

@Amelisonnas i am still struggling to get a date it’s beyond a joke now. Is this for Uk tests? I’m not sure what this site is ?