Revealed: Driving Test Wait Times & Most Common Faults

A practical driving test can be a nerve-racking experience in itself. But adding to this is that learner drivers in Great Britain are now needing to wait over 13 weeks on average just to take their test.

This is according to new Freedom of Information (FOI) data submitted by Evans Halshaw to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which also revealed that some of the longer waits are closer to 20 weeks. Learner drivers should be using this time to work on their driving skills though. After all, a separate FOI request to the DVSA detailed that almost 15 million total faults were recorded during practical driving tests between January 2024 and March 2025 alone.

Around 15 percent of these errors were deemed serious or dangerous too, which are the types of mistakes that automatically result in a failed test and will feel very disappointing after weeks of waiting. Join us as we analyse all the FOI data obtained to gather a clear picture about what the current landscape for driving tests looks like across Great Britain.

• Longest & Shortest Driving Test Wait Times
• Centres Seeing Driving Test Wait Times Increase or Decrease
• Many driving test fails happen in the opening minutes of an exam
• DVSA’s Most Common Driving Test Faults Causing Failed Exams
• Themes Around All DVSA Driving Test Faults & Mistakes
• Differences in Driving Test Fault Rates Across Great Britain
• Methodology

Longest and shortest driving test wait times

The average wait time to take a driving test has increased from 11.4 weeks in 2024 to 13.3 weeks in 2025, according to the DVSA data.

Learner drivers in Arbroath likely must wait even longer though. In 2025, 20.8 weeks worked out as the average duration that someone in the Scottish town had to endure from booking a practical test to when the earliest available date arrives.

We’ve highlighted the full top 10 longest driving test waits in 2025 below:

 

Location	Average Wait Times (Weeks)
Arbroath	20.8
Dunoon	19.7
Pinner, in London	18.8
Wellingborough	18.3
Forfar	18.2
Oban	18
Glasgow's Anniesland Centre	17.9
Lichfield	17.8
Livingston	17.7

 

As the towns and cities involved include both rural and urban locations, it’s clear that issues with driving test wait times aren’t exclusive to a single type of area.

We can also see a growing ‘postcode lottery’ of driving test availability for learner drivers from the DVSA data. Seven locations in Scotland make up the top 10 longest waits, for instance, but another five of the nation’s locations feature in the top 10 shortest driving test waits of 2025:

 

Location	Average Wait Times (Weeks)
Enfield's Brancroft Way Centre	4.3
Watnall	4.3
Elgin	7.6
Kyle of Lochalsh	8
Dumfries	8.1
Basildon	8.6
Liverpool's St Helens Centre	8.6
Lowestoft's Mobbs Way Centre	8.8
Inverness' Longman Drive Centre	8.9
Peterhead	9

 

Moving onto regional analysis, the DVSA data saw every region across Great Britain recording year-on-year increases in average wait times from 2024 to 2025.

The North East of England had the sharpest rise across the period. However, it was the South East of England which had the longest average regional driving test wait times when looking at the full regional breakdown:

 

Region	Average Wait Times (Weeks)	Year-on-Year Comparison
South East England	13.76	Up 1.4 weeks from 2024 (11.3 percent increase)
South West England	13.73	Up 0.8 weeks from 2024 (6.5 percent increase)
West Midlands	13.69	Up 1.6 weeks from 2024 (13.5 percent increase)
North East England	13.66	Up 3.7 weeks from 2024 (37.7 percent increase)
Scotland	13.62	Up 2.6 weeks from 2024 (23.9 percent increase)
East Midlands	13.39	Up 1.8 weeks from 2024 (15.5 percent increase)
Yorkshire & The Humber	13.33	Up 1.6 weeks from 2024 (13.8 percent increase)
East of England	12.89	Up 1.7 weeks from 2024 (15 percent increase)
London	12.88	Up 1.6 weeks from 2024 (13.7 percent increase)
North West England	12.87	Up 2 weeks from 2024 (18.2 percent increase)
Wales	12.24	Up 1.5 weeks from 2024 (13.6 percent increase)

 

The fact there is just over 1.5 weeks between the area with the longest regional average and the region with the shortest does also highlights that wait times are now consistently high and part of a national backlog.

Centres seeing driving test wait times increase or decrease

Between 2024 and 2025, wait times for a practical driving test increased at 278 of the 321 comparable centres analysed. The centres with the top 10 sharpest year-on-year rises were as follows:

 

Test Centre	Increase (Weeks)	Year-on-Year Comparison
Grantown-on-Spey	+8.2	Up 112.3 percent
Airdrie	+7.2	Up 98.6 percent
Thurso	+7.1	Up 69.6 percent
Norwich's Jupiter Road Centre	+6.8	Up 82.9 percent
Gairloch	+6.6	Up 115.8 percent
Livingston	+6.5	Up 58 percent
Macclesfield	+6.2	Up 56.9 percent
Edinburgh's Currie Centre	+6.1	Up 60.4 percent
Scunthorpe	+5.8	Up 73.4 percent
Worksop	+5.7	Up 60 percent

 

While it’s a much smaller number, it’s encouraging that a handful of driving test centres achieved shorter wait times between 2024 and 2025.

Possibly because of increased examiner availability or improved scheduling, the top 10 centres leading the way for biggest improvements in driving test waits year-on-year were:

 

Test Centre	Increase (Weeks)	Year-on-Year Comparison
Watnall	-4.8	Down 52.7 percent
Bradford's Heaton Centre	-4.3	Down 27 percent
Folkestone	-2.7	Down 21.3 percent
Southend-on-Sea	-2.5	Down 15.7 percent
Launceston	-2.1	Down 17.4 percent
London's Tolworth Centre	-1.8	Down 11.3 percent
Buxton	-1.6	Down 11 percent
Scarborough	-1.5	Down 13.6 percent
Malton	-1.4	Down 8.7 percent
Basildon	-1.4	Down 14 percent

 

Commenting on the driving test wait times FOI data, an Evans Halshaw spokesperson said: “It’s staggering to think that a Premier League footballer can play their club’s final game of the current season, take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026™, and line-up again for their club to begin the next domestic season in the time it may take someone to sit a driving test.

“Around three months to take a test is a lengthy delay that can have damaging knock-on effects on someone’s employment, education, and day-to-day independence. Our analysis has shown some instances that are closer to five months too.

“It’s encouraging that a few centres offer significantly shorter wait times, but the improvements appear to remain the exception rather than the rule. More needs to be done to increase the availability of driving test examiners and their scheduling arrangements, to hopefully sort this growing nationwide backlog.”

Many driving test fails happen in the opening minutes of an exam

With weeks of waiting just to take your driving test, it would be very frustrating to then fail the exam before you even start driving the car.

Yet this seems to have been the case for a lot of tests recorded between January 2024 and March 2025. DVSA data revealed that there were 889 serious faults for eyesight-related checks, which are assessed at the very start of the test and can result in immediate termination if not met.

Over 350,000 total faults were also recorded during the vehicle checks stage of a test. More than 11,000 of these were for serious or dangerous faults which can result in an instant fail, but even the rest will mean drivers lost marks before pulling away from a test centre.

DVSA's most common driving test faults causing failed exams

In total, the data from the DVSA found that around 15% of all recorded faults from January 2024 to March 2025 were deemed serious or dangerous. These types of mistakes can automatically result in a failed test, with the top five most common categories as follows:

 

Fault Category	Total Serious & Dangerous Faults
Junctions - observation	268,195
Mirrors - change direction	204,529
Moving off safely	119,288
Junctions - turning right	112,177
Response to traffic lights	108,671

 

As errors tied to observation, awareness, and decision-making are a trend with faults on this list, it suggests that situational awareness, rather than technical driving ability alone, is the biggest barrier to passing.

Themes around all DVSA driving test faults and mistakes

Awareness issues and problems with observation continue to be a theme when looking at all recorded faults, including minor driving mistakes, across the period analysed. However, errors linked to fundamental driving actions and hesitation once on the road feature more prominently too – suggesting confidence is another key challenge for many learner drivers when sitting their test. We’ve highlighted the top five categories across all recorded faults below:

 

Fault Category	Total Serious & Dangerous Faults
Moving off safely	1,138,794
Maintaining progress - speed	1,082,327
Control - steering	973,543
Maintaining progress - hesitation	967,397
Junctions - observation	784,837

 

Learner drivers also appear to struggle with using their mirrors correctly (almost 1.6 million total faults across three categories) and carrying out parking procedures adequately (over one million total faults across seven categories) during their test.

Differences in driving test fault rates across Great Britain

There are clear differences between test centres when we look deeper into the DVSA data around driving test faults. Test centres in three of Great Britain’s biggest cities recorded the top five highest total number of faults:

 

Test Centre	Total Faults
Birmingham's Garretts Green Centre	209,523
London's Goodmayes Centre	158,353
Birmingham's Kingstanding Centre	135,036
London's Morden Centre	134,838
Liverpool's Norris Green Centre	133,459

 

The higher volumes may partly reflect busier test centres, as well as point to more complex road environments where learner drivers face greater challenges during their test.

At the other end of the scale, there are some test centres which have seen learner drivers complete their driving assessment without a single recorded mistake.

These locations may reflect simpler road layouts, quieter conditions, or stronger learner preparation for those looking to obtain their full licence.

 

Test Centre	Zero-Fault Tests
Ipswich	1,139
London's Sidcup Centre	847
Norwich's Peachman Way Centre	752
Lee On The Solent	734
Worthing	724

 

An Evans Halshaw spokesperson commented on the driving test faults FOI data by pointing out: “Many learners understandably focus on the basics of controlling the car during their driving test. However, our data analysis shows that passing your exam is just as much about awareness and decision-making.

“Junctions, for example, are one of the most demanding parts of everyday driving. They require you to read the road, anticipate other drivers, and make safe decisions in real time. It’s where even small lapses in concentration can quickly turn into serious faults, so you should put in plenty of practice around this area.

“For anyone preparing for their test, building confidence in realworld scenarios – especially junctions, mirror checks, and reacting to traffic – can make a huge difference between passing or failing.

“It’s also worth remembering that your driving test actually starts before you even begin driving. Simple checks like eyesight requirements are there for a reason, and being unprepared can mean your test ends before it’s even properly begun.”

Discover driving tips with Evans Halshaw

Taking your first steps into the world of driving? Check out our top tips for learning to drive to boost your confidence on the road, as well as our expert advice on how to pass your practical driving test so you can get through the exam with flying colours when the big day comes.

Once you get your full licence, read through our best first cars for new drivers guide for recommendations on making the right choice as you begin to experience real independence on the road.

Methodology

The methodology used for compiling and analysing the data provided can be found below.

Driving test wait times

Evans Halshaw submitted a FOI request to the DVSA, requesting data on average for driving test waiting times across all test centres in Great Britain. The data provided includes average waiting times, measured in weeks, between booking a practical driving test and the earliest available test date.

Analysis was conducted using comparable data for 2024 and 2025, focusing on year-on-year changes in wait times. For the national analysis, all standard car driving test centres with comparable data across both years were included. Specialist test centres, such as those for large goods vehicles (LGV), were excluded to ensure consistency.

For ranked comparisons (including longest and shortest wait times), a small number of centres with unique operating conditions, such as island locations, were excluded where appropriate to avoid disproportionate influence on results. Regional analysis was conducted by grouping test centres according to standard Great British regions, including Scotland and Wales. Regional averages were calculated using all comparable standard car test centres within each region. Year-on-year changes were calculated by comparing 2024 and 2025 data, showing both the difference in weeks and the percentage increase.

Driving test failures

Evans Halshaw submitted a FOI request to the DVSA, requesting data relating to faults recorded during practical driving tests conducted between January 2024 and March 2025. The data included recorded driving faults, serious faults, dangerous faults, eyesight-related faults, vehicle check faults, and zero-fault driving tests across practical driving test centres in Great Britain.

Fault totals were combined and analysed to identify:

• The most common overall driving faults
• The most common serious and dangerous faults
• The most common dangerous faults specifically
• Driving test centres recording the highest number of faults
• Driving test centres recording the highest number of zero fault tests

Where categories contained multiple related subcategories (for example mirror-related or parking-related faults), totals were aggregated to identify broader trends among learner drivers.