A Pass 4 U Driving School have today been notified that new rules for the practical driving test.
The DVSA Driving Test New Rules – Short Notice Cancellations – This is a new matter put before Parliament to attempt to stop short notice cancellation of practical driving tests.
The new rules if approved start from the 8th of April 2025 and are that a practical driving test fee will be lost if 10 clear working days notice are not given. The current rules are that 3 clear working days notice must be given for the £62.00 test fee to be saved.
The DVSA have said in emails to learner drivers today the following,
When we published our 7-point plan to reduce car driving test waiting times on 18 December 2024, we confirmed that one of the actions would be to increase the short notice cancellation period.
We are increasing the short notice cancellation period for car driving tests from 3 clear working days to 10 clear working days. We intend to introduce this change on Tuesday 8 April 2025.
To do this, we need to change legislation. This process was started today (Monday 17 March 2025) when a Statutory Instrument was laid before Parliament to change the rules. If Parliament approves the change, it will come into force from 8 April 2025.
The 7 point plan the DVSA are implementing does not address the reselling of tests by 3rd parties or stop the use of bots/apps. The bots/apps presently are making many thousands of pounds for many non driving instructors and few unscrupulous ADi’s. If the DVSA are committed to bring back test waiting times to the levels that were pre Covid they will need to employ more examiners and stop the Apps something they are not doing at this time, they are however penalising hard working driving instructors by limiting their access to the Online Booking System with ineffective measures. .
You can read their online announcement here DVSA