Driving rules change on 12 May, Book Driving Test moves to learners
From 12 May, learners will have to book driving test changes themselves. Driving instructors will no longer be able to do it for them, though tests already booked by instructors will stay in place.
The change lands as test waiting lists have stretched to up to six months. It also follows repeated abuse of booking systems by bots and firms that resell slots at inflated prices.
Test bookings from 12 May
Only a learner driver will be able to book, change or swap their own driving test from 12 May. That puts the booking with the person taking the test, not the instructor who may have arranged it before.
The standard fee remains £62 on weekdays and £75 on evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Learners who cancel at least 10 working days before the test date can get a refund.
31 March change limit
Since 31 March, a booked driving test can only be changed two times. Changing the date or time counts as one change, changing the test centre counts as one change, and swapping a slot with another learner driver also counts as one change.
Someone who had already used all six changes under the old rules can make two more changes from 31 March. If more than two changes are needed, the learner must cancel the test and book a new one. A change made by the DVSA does not count.
9 June test centre rule
From 9 June, a learner who wants to move a test can only move it to the three test centres closest to where the test is booked. That narrows where a slot can be shifted if plans change again after the booking.
A investigation in December found that some driving instructors were offered kickbacks of up to £250 a month to sell their official test-booking login details to touts. Those touts used the logins to book tests in bulk and sell them to learners on WhatsApp and Facebook, with some charging as much as £500. For learners, the practical shift is simple: manage the booking yourself, use your two changes carefully, and cancel early if the new date will not work.
