What part of the UK has the longest driving test backlog?
Consumer Editor
In recent years, there have been many reports of backlogs of learner drivers struggling to book a driving test – and now new data has revealed which parts of the UK have the longest waiting time to take a test.
Areas in Scotland, as well as Birmingham and London all feature in the worst impacted areas, according to the latest report from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
After analysing data from 313 driving test centres, it was found that Forfar in Scotland had the longest wait from booking to taking the test, at an average of 29.7 weeks.
The latest data for June 2026 showed that the national average waiting time was 17.3 weeks or longer in 60 driving test centres.
Top 10 longest driving test waiting times in the UK
- Forfar (Scotland) – 29.7 weeks
- Callander (Scotland) – 27.7 weeks
- Arbroath (Scotland) – 27 weeks
- Bedford (England) – 25.1 weeks
- Leighton Buzzard (England) – 24 weeks
- Dunoon (Scotland) – 23.9 weeks
- Hawick (Scotland) – 23.6 weeks
- Livingston (Scotland) – 23.1 weeks
- Pinner (England) – 23.1 weeks
- Edinburgh-Currie (Scotland) – 23 weeks
These are the average waiting times between booking and then taking a driving test.
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Concerningly for learner drivers across the UK, the test backlog is set to continue until at least next autumn, according to Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander.
The figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) revealed that the average waiting times for a test in February 2020 were just five weeks.
DVSA’s initial aim was to cut waiting times to seven weeks by the end of 2025, which was pushed back until summer 2026.
In June this year, it was again pushed back to autumn 2027.
DVSA data shows that 70% of driving test centres across the UK operate at maximum waiting times, which is now estimated to be around 1.1 million tests.
Alexander said: "This is going to take a long time to sort this problem out, and I think by the autumn of next year we should be back down to the seven-week aspiration that we've got.
"My aspiration is to get us back down to a point where, when someone is booking a test, they're not having to wait months on end to get one, which is the situation for some people in some locations at the moment."
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*T&Cs apply. †At least 10% of new customers pay this for single-vehicle Roadside (Basic). ^Find the same cover cheaper with the AA within 7 days & we'll beat it by 20%.
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