DVSA restricts learners to nearest three test centres

New driving test booking restrictions have come into force across Great Britain, limiting learners to transferring their appointments to only the three nearest test centres to their original booking location. This final rule change, implemented by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) on June 9, is designed to combat widespread abuse of the booking system and reduce historically long waiting times.

The reform specifically targets the practice of learners booking tests at distant centres—sometimes hundreds of miles away—to secure an earlier date, before repeatedly changing the location to move it closer to home. Officials also aim to disrupt third-party resellers who use automated software, or bots, to snap up and hoard test slots, which they then sell to learners at inflated prices. The DVSA has warned that using such unofficial services is against the law and can lead to cancelled bookings or suspended online access.

This location restriction is the last in a suite of recent changes intended to create a fairer system. Since March 31, learners have only been allowed to make two amendments to a booking, reduced from six. Since May 12, only learner drivers themselves have...