Background
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) carried out 1.96 million car (Category B) driving tests in 2024-25, exceeding pre-pandemic volumes. Despite this, the average waiting time for a car driving test rose to 21.9 weeks, almost triple the DVSA’s target of 7 weeks.

The main reason is a national shortage of driving examiners (DEs). Of the 450 DEs the DVSA aimed to recruit, only 241 were hired, and just 139 completed training. The staffing crisis is leaving learner drivers and instructors stuck in limbo, while examiners face unsustainable workloads.

Meanwhile, car driving test fees have been frozen for over 14 years, despite significant increases in costs and demand.

 
Financial Snapshot (DVSA 2024-25 Report)
Total income: £424.5 million
Operational costs: £481.2 million
Deficit on fee-related services: £29.7 million
Estimated income from car tests: ~£121–124 million (1.96 million tests at £62–£75 each)
Car driving test fee: £62 (weekday) / £75 (evening/weekend)
 
£660,000 in Ex-Gratia Payments
In 2024-25, the DVSA paid £660,000 in ex gratia compensation for late cancellations, covering 7,191 cases where individuals submitted claims for out-of-pocket costs due to last-minute test cancellations.

However, this is only a partial picture. The majority of affected candidates do not submit claims, either because they are unaware of the process, find it too complex, or simply give up. As a result, the true scale of the financial and emotional impact of late cancellations is significantly larger than the reported £660,000.

There is no detailed breakdown published showing:

The total number of tests cancelled by DVSA
The operational costs of those cancellations (examiner time, unused slots, wasted resources)
The broader financial and personal costs to learners and instructors
 
Why a Fee Increase Is Necessary
We propose a modest and transparent increase in the car driving test fee, directly linked to:

Raising examiner pay to attract and retain staff
Expanding examiner recruitment and training programmes
Investing in better scheduling and booking systems to reduce cancellations
Covering the true cost of test disruptions, ensuring service sustainability
A fee increase is overdue. Test fees have been frozen since before 2010, while costs, demand, and operational pressures have all grown.

 
What We’re Calling For
We ask the DVSA and the Department for Transport to:

Immediately review and increase the Category B driving test fee in line with inflation and service delivery needs
Ring-fence new fee income for examiner pay, recruitment, and capacity expansion
Publicly report the full cost of cancellations, including:

The number of DVSA-initiated test cancellations
The total financial impact (not just ex gratia claims)
The impact on examiners, ADIs, and learners
Commit to publishing regular progress reports on reducing backlogs and improving examiner retention
 

Conclusion
Learner drivers, instructors, and examiners are all paying the price for an underfunded, overstretched testing system. It’s time for a fair, sustainable solution.

Consider the basic maths:

If the car practical test fee were doubled from £62 to £124, this would help reduce the number of learners who book "just to have a go," knowing they risk losing a more significant fee if unprepared.

With 1.96 million tests per year, this would raise an additional £120 million annually.

Currently, the DVSA reports a £38 million loss on operations when factoring in all fee-related activities.

This fee change would convert that loss into an £82 million surplus.
If we consider the DVSA’s 4,568 testing staff (across all roles, not just car examiners):

A share of this new revenue could fund a £17,000 pay increase per employee, dramatically improving retention, morale, and recruitment.
Alternatively, a £7,000 pay rise for examiners would still leave £45.5 million in surplus, creating room for further recruitment, system improvements, or a reserve to absorb future costs.
This is a common-sense, balanced solution that benefits:

Learners, by reducing wait times
Examiners, through fairer pay and improved working conditions
The public, via safer roads and better service delivery
The DVSA, by resolving long-term financial sustainability issues
We urge immediate action to create a faster, fairer, and financially secure driving test system that works for everyone.