How the hell do you manage to book a driving test?

[Chesticles]

The whole driving test booking system is a complete farce.

DS passed his theory test 2 weeks ago, on a Tuesday. We tried that afternoon to book a practical test but there were none available. At any test centre for any date. He spoke to his driving instructor at his next lesson and was told he needed to try at 6am on Monday. We were on holiday but tried at 8am on Monday, were 10,000th in the queue. But all tests gone by the time we got to the front of the queue. This is for any test centre, for any date.

this morning we were up at 5.45. Went to the website, 500 in queue. Got to front of queue and it said it was closed until 6am. Fine. 6am went back to the website, and it seemed to have remembered me. So entered his details etc. and the page crashed . Some sort of http 403 server error. Tried again, entered all the details, crashed again. Woke dh up to use his phone. He joins queue at 6.10 and is 25,000th in the queue. I eventually manage to get past the crashing page. There are 2 rest centres with available tests (it didn’t specify which dates) which are both of the Isle of Skye! Think fuck it, I’ll just book one. Click on the test centre, and the page says I’ve been inactive for 30 minutes and boots me out! It was 6.12! My alarm only went off at 5.45. I hadn’t even been awake 30 minutes. So by 6.15 all tests seem to have gone.

how the fuck are we supposed to get a test?!? The whole system is broken.

sorry, that turned into a bit of a long rant! Just so frustrated

It’s awful. I’ve been attempting to get ds able to drive for 4 years. And why is it us doing it…? Because we can see a benefit for our kids, it’s not rocket science.

To be fair, you are trying at what is probably a super peak time (start of the summer holidays, lots of 17 and 18 year olds having finished school and thoughts turning to other activities. So it is worth just gritting your teeth and still trying. Tbh I’ve never even tried on Monday, just whatever random time I had available. But if it’s even worse than it was a few months ago when I last successfully got a booking (Leeds I think… we live nowhere near) then I can see why people focus on the Monday rush.

Download the chrome extension that refreshes the page.

Alternatively, buy one off the driving instructor. No one talks about the massive elephant in the room that the problem is caused by instructors booking up tests and selling them since they are allowed to change the name.

Recently my colleague paid his instructor £200 and got his test in 2 weeks 🤷‍♀️

Trying to get a test booked for my 17yr old has been so frustrating. I tried to get in the queue from 5:30am today and kept seeing a message saying "it opens at 6am". This looked different to the screen last time. I clicked on it at exactly 6am and a message said "I'm suspected of being a bot". I've tried a different browser and now I see the same screen as last week. I've been in the queue for 32 minutes - It's 6:32am and I'm 14259 in the queue. Last time I got it but by the time I was at the front of the queue there were no available tests. I don't want to be part of the problem by using apps that are no doubt the bots! This is my 4th time up and ready at 5:30am. This is a joke! The whole system needs an overhaul.

We booked a test miles, and months away, then used the Driving Test Now app which will autobook if one comes up at specified location/date, or show you if it’s a close match. You still need a test booked in the first place to use it though..

We've got a test. I was up at 5.55, and was 14000th in the queue. It was moving at about 200 people a minute so got to the front of the queue at 6.48am. There was only one test left at our preferred test center. So booked it. 6th Jan 2026 . Anyway, at least there is a date. Will try and see if he can get a cancellation sooner, but worse case it'll be next year.

It is just a nightmare.

Glad you got one! Gives me hope! I will try again next Monday. No available tests in the 4 closest centres by the time I got to the front of the queue.

Well done @Chesticles !

DS2 is learning with quite a big school of motoring. They encourage their pupils to do their theory tests as soon as they can and then the secretary books everyone’s tests (we just pay the test fee).

If someone’s not ready for their test, they swap with someone who is. It seems to work well. They did the same for ds1 and he passed nearly 3 months before his original test date. We’re hoping that DS2’s can be brought forward as they could only book a date 6 months away - albeit at our closest test centre.

So still thoroughly pissed off and frustrated about the whole system. We have the test booked for 6th Jan 2026, however trying to get a cancellation sooner. all 3 of me, DH and DS have the testi app, however barely anything comes through. Maybe one a day? And even if you are on it the second the alert comes, by the time you get onto the dvsa site, its gone.

People keep on asking how DS is getting on, whether he's passed yet, and I just go off on some rant about the system, and they look at me like I've got 2 heads. Am I doing something completely wrong here!? People keep saying, oh, just get the testi app, you can get a cancellation. But there aren't any. I've even started logging on the dvsa randomly at various times just in case I happen to coincide with an available test.

Had it got a whole heap worse in the last month or an I just impatient?

If it's any consolation, DS had the 6 month wait and passed 1st time with no minors. They also had time to cover some of the pass plus areas.

We got our place in the queue (around 900) by going on the site at 5.40am and ignored that it said to come back at 6.00am. We stayed on the site when it turned 6.00 we had kept our place in the queue and got one booked.

So he failed 😥. We managed to shift the test from Jan to Dec a month or so ago. It wasn’t much earlier but was a much better time of day. He got 3 majors 😬. So well and truly failed.
I’ve already been back on and booked another test. Nothing available at all at our closest test centre. Booked one for the test centre near his grandparents. For 1st june 2026! Will try and shift it but probably unlikely!

the news today doesn’t seem to give any hope that they will sort the mess out soon. The bbc article mentioned that there are 220 examiners for 240 test centres. That can’t be right! Though our local one (which covers a massive area!) only has one full time examiner 😮

Ah, that's a shame. FWIW mine failed, we got another date 6 months away booked the following Monday and managed to get a cancellation through the app for 2 weeks later, he passed that one.

He passed! We managed to shift the test to 20th Jan in his grandparents town. I was so nervous. So was he. But he passed. I am
so pleased. There are still no tests locally, it is affecting a lot of his friends. System still not fit for purpose, but at least we are free of it for a couple of years until ds2 turns 17!

Well done to him for passing. My daughter failed and we are back at trying to get tests. Nothing available until July. I have got the Testi App which has not been helpful so far. Today I've paid for something called Driver Scout - because honestly - I have spent far too many hours refreshing the screen trying to book a test - so I hope we'll find something soon.

I got up at 5:30 this morning to book DDs test. Was 240 somthing in the queue. I also logged on with my phone about 10 min later (as the queue screen disappeared from my laptop) and I was something like 6900 in the queue! Thankfully the laptop let me straight in at 6. Nothing at all her preferred centre so have booked one for Newport (nearest city) for beginning of May and have purchased the Testi app to see if any cancellations come up. Some have already come up for Monmouth but are for July so holding on incase we can get one sooner.

It is ridiculous. I guess the instructors dont really care as they get more lessons as people need to keep up the practice until their test. There should be a better system to stop bots buying them up. I don't understand how they do without a valid theory pass code?!!! Should not be able to change the name.

According to my adult GCs you book anywhere you can possibly get to - then look daily for any cancellations in your area.🤷‍♀️

We got my son's driving instructor to book his; they get first dibs, I believe.

My sons was a 6 month lead time - booked in November 2025 for May 2026.

If he fails it in May, we will need to go on the apps and do the whole 'cancellation game' as the cost of the lessons is extortionate - £75 per week for the last 6 months, and 5 more months of that to go!

We are scared that if he does fewer lessons, his instructor will take on another client and he'll go down the list of priority. It's a complete shambles.

My second DC just passed her test. In August last year, the earliest test we could get was February 2026 in a test centre miles away!

We then, quite quickly managed to change it to the local centre for end of January via the DVSA website.

Then nada..radio silence.., we couldn't get a test date sooner despite her being easily test ready by November. Testi app was crap. Eventually, after months of waiting, at the end of December, Tesftshift gave us a date in early Jan.

She only had a few days notice but thank the lord, she passed, no faults! But what a crap service from the DVSA and the apps!

Thankfully no more DC for us to put through their tests. It's an absolute shambles of a system, the government should be ashamed. It's hardly like UK driving standards are anything to be proud of!

Apparently the DVSA are going to revamp the website this spring so hopefully moving forward the booking system will be better for those of you still going through it!

This is a national scandal. How many hours of A level students’ time and their parents’ time has been wasted by this absolutely ridiculous and shameful fuckery. Well done to your ds op.

But fuck, what about the thousands and thousands and thousands of poor fuckers still caught up in this shitshow. This has been going on for years now.

Book one in any part of the uk. Then use an app to auto book a cancellation to the area you want.

It’s not just a post-Covid issue, at least where we are. My son was learning in. 2017/18 and passed on his third attempt but each time he had to wait just over 3 months for a test.

I passed last August on my fourth attempt. I had a test in April 2024, July 2024, my theory then expired so I had to redo that in August 2024 and then booked a test for November 2024 which was cancelled on the day due to snow and rescheduled for March 2025 and then finally August 2025. I basically came home from each test, logged in and luckily booked my next test at our local centre without having to go through the Monday morning palaver.

Just to add, in December 2024 the DVSA sent an email outlining the improvements that they were making with the aim of reducing waiting times to 7 weeks by December 2025. If anything it appears to have got worse in that time.

Try learning to drive as an adult who needs a licence to get a job, or someone who lives remotely with kids in an area with no public transport.

I work FT so it took me a year to be test-ready. Then another year to get a test date - and that was still two hours away.

That was a year of paying almost £400 a month for lessons (because if I didn’t have lessons, I wouldn’t have been able to practice)

It’s one of the most stressful experiences I’ve ever had. The pressure to pass is immense because you know if you fail you’ll have to wait another seven months to try.

The problem is apparently purely down to driving examiner availability (acc to my instructor and my examiner). They’re leaving the profession in droves and not being replaced. Made worse by the continuing covid backlog which is moving at a glacial pace - it’s not the same people trying to get tests, but there is always a backlog, if that makes sense.

Dis’s driving instructor block booked a load of lessons then sold them at a profit. I was disgusted to be honest but wanted ds driving more than I was disgusted.

This. Worked well for us but you do need to be quick. I was with a friend yesterday and a number of tests showed aa available in the afternoon for Bodmin as they had the notifications come through.

Be careful with the Testi app. I paid for the ‘supported’ version which is meant to search for tests automatically.

1. It never found me a test
2. Weeks after I paid, my bank card was cloned and I lost £600 (hadn’t used my card anywhere new other than that app)