With the practical driving test backlog, the DVSA have published from the 8th of April 2025 the deadline to change or cancel a test will increase to 10 day working days from the current 3 working days. If you fail to do so within the allotted time you will lose the test fee you have forked out. Monday to Saturday count as working days but Sundays and public holidays do not.

This change has been decided to help with the huge backlog that has been ongoing since Covid lock downs, which prevented thousands of people from being able to take a driving test. The DVSA has stated it is quite common for learner drivers who are not quite ready to take the test leave it until the last minute to cancel their booking, which then only gives the people who are test ready limited time to make necessary arrangements for the short notice test.

At Britannia we commonly get this inquiry, pupils pick up a last minute cancellation which we cannot accommodate. Instructors need time to meet the pupil (if they aren’t already a pupil) and assess their driving as if a learner isn’t test ready there is a chance the instructor can can refuse to take them to test. This is mainly down to how road safe the pupil is, even with an existing pupil picking up a cancellation can still cause issues, as if the instructor already has a test booked for that day which clashes.

The DVSA has also urged learners to cancel tests rather than just not turning up. During 2024, about 60,000 appointments were wasted because people did not turn up for their test. That’s the same number of tests that 45 full-time driving examiners can do in a year.

You will still be able to apply for a refund if you have to change or cancel your test at short notice if you have:

• an illness or injury that means you cannot take your test
• suffered a bereavement
• to take an exam at a school or college
• had your driving licence stolen

 

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