Securing a driving test - any tips?

[Davie_GLA]

The dotta is ready for her practical and she's been told that its a minimum of 6 months. Fair enough, off to the dvsa site we go.

Pointless. You can choose one date and select your centre after putting your postcode in but of course that single date isn't available. Fair enough so why doesn't it show a list of dates that *are* available?

So you go back, change the date a couple of times and choose another test centre. BONG - Error 15 - this i learn is because the system things i'm repeating things too quickly. Not at all, i'm maybe taking something between 30 seconds and 45 seconds to get back to where i was and go again.

Then it pings up "Sorry, under maintenance, will be done by 06:00". FFS.

Anyone got any tips? There are of course a billion paid apps out there that claim to be able to offer the very thing the government website can't? A list of dates and what's more the ability to advertise cancellations? What are these apps using if the DVSA website can't tell me what dates are available at nearby test centres?

[interstellar]

In short there probably isn’t any.

Mon 6am be online at 559 and keep refreshing then they release the next week in 6 months time so mid November will be released.

The apps seem to be blocked a lot now by the dvsa.

I have done the above twice in 12 months and booked first time.

[Dan_The_Man]

We booked one miles away and then logged on daily looking for closer cancellations. Living in Surrey was only able to initially book Alnwick, then got a closer cancellation in Cardiff and finally Taunton, still a hotel for a night but saved 400+ miles.

[Saleen836]

New rules from yesterday with regards to booking a test, implemented to help with the back log apparently..

https://news.sky.com/story/learners-must-book-driv...

[Robertb]

Dan_The_Man said:

We booked one miles away and then logged on daily looking for closer cancellations. Living in Surrey was only able to initially book Alnwick, then got a closer cancellation in Cardiff and finally Taunton, still a hotel for a night but saved 400+ miles.

That’s what my daughter did a couple of yrs ago… sadly I think it’s been stopped under the new rules so you can’t move it.

Her instructor seemed able to get appointments more easily which he passed on at the official price.

[Road2Ruin]

As above, book whatever slot you can get. Then keep an eye out for cancellations. The paid for apps do work, or the one I used did, and I used to get notifications of cancellations quickly. We moved the test forward by several months.

Edited by Road2Ruin on Thursday 14th May 08:52

[Davie_GLA]

Road2Ruin said:

As above, book whatever slot you can get. Then keep an eye out for cancellations. The paid for apps do work, or the one I used did, and I used to get notifications of cancellations quickly. We moved the test forward by several months.

Edited by Road2Ruin on Thursday 14th May 08:52

Can you remember the app?

We managed to get one booked but it's in another town and in an area notorious for difficult roads, roundabout, etc. Her instructor is brilliant but says it has to be cancelled as he doesn't know the routes to practice. I'l keep en eye our for a cancellation in our home town but it's back to square one.

The process seems flawed to me - why can't it be that for those who have just passed their theory test are given a selection of soft booked dates and they can only be secured if the learner provides details of theory test pass, driving license number and if they don't book it within a short time (say a week) then they lose out. This way it would provide a route to those who are clearly looking to take the test as quickly as possible after theory.

[Robertb]

You can look up the driving test routes online so she can practice driving them with you, if practical. I spent a happy saturday driving round and round Swindon with my daughter. Quite fun actually, sort of like a treasure hunt or rally.

[targarama]

They also release slots randomly through the day/week. I booked one last year at the preferred test centre at around 9:30am one morning. Just randomly logging in and searching on my work laptop. It was a good date/time about 5 months out at the time (Sept to end Jan).

[outnumbered]

Davie_GLA said:

Can you remember the app?

We managed to get one booked but it's in another town and in an area notorious for difficult roads, roundabout, etc. Her instructor is brilliant but says it has to be cancelled as he doesn't know the routes to practice. I'l keep en eye our for a cancellation in our home town but it's back to square one.

The process seems flawed to me - why can't it be that for those who have just passed their theory test are given a selection of soft booked dates and they can only be secured if the learner provides details of theory test pass, driving license number and if they don't book it within a short time (say a week) then they lose out. This way it would provide a route to those who are clearly looking to take the test as quickly as possible after theory.

The booking process is an utter train wreck (or car crash). It's been like this since Covid, and it's still unbelievable to me that the DVSA essentially let a bunch of profiteering touts take over their entire booking system for years without doing a thing about it. The move to make tests only bookable by learners is supposed to help with that, let's see if it does.

I think part of the issue is that the booking system was designed ages ago, and hasn't really been updated for many many years. Hence the stupidity of not being able to search for "next test date in my town".

FWIW, my youngest daughter ended up taking her test 50 miles from where we live, as even using a pirate App, she couldn't get a date for our town. She passed first time, and we had just watched a few YT videos that some local instructor had put up showing some of the main routes/hazards.

[Mammasaid]

Davie_GLA said:

Can you remember the app?

We managed to get one booked but it's in another town and in an area notorious for difficult roads, roundabout, etc. Her instructor is brilliant but says it has to be cancelled as he doesn't know the routes to practice. I'l keep en eye our for a cancellation in our home town but it's back to square one.

The process seems flawed to me - why can't it be that for those who have just passed their theory test are given a selection of soft booked dates and they can only be secured if the learner provides details of theory test pass, driving license number and if they don't book it within a short time (say a week) then they lose out. This way it would provide a route to those who are clearly looking to take the test as quickly as possible after theory.

Testi

https://testi-app.co.uk/

Pay for premium, it's just a one off cost.

[SodiumThiopental]

I reckon your options are Dark web / pirate app / pay a criminal through your nose for it, or wait. The system is borked, and there doesn’t seem to be the will from Government to sort it out anytime soon. A play straight from Marx and Engels finest work in action ( again ) possibly.

[66HFM]

I remember the day my daughter passed her theory, we logged on and there were no tests anywhere in the country for the next 6 months.
WE had to wait until 0600 the following Monday and booked one then for 6 months out, although not in her preferred (local) test centre. I subsequently managed to change it to the local centre after about a month and brought it forward by 6 weeks.

When an option for a new date comes up you don't get time to think if it will work out, as blink and it will have been booked by someone else.

Hopefully the new rules brought in earlier this week will help, although the jury is out at the moment....

[Road2Ruin]

Mammasaid said:

Davie_GLA said:

Can you remember the app?

We managed to get one booked but it's in another town and in an area notorious for difficult roads, roundabout, etc. Her instructor is brilliant but says it has to be cancelled as he doesn't know the routes to practice. I'l keep en eye our for a cancellation in our home town but it's back to square one.

The process seems flawed to me - why can't it be that for those who have just passed their theory test are given a selection of soft booked dates and they can only be secured if the learner provides details of theory test pass, driving license number and if they don't book it within a short time (say a week) then they lose out. This way it would provide a route to those who are clearly looking to take the test as quickly as possible after theory.

Testi

https://testi-app.co.uk/

Pay for premium, it's just a one off cost.

Yep, that's the one I used. You can log it into a couple of devices, but you still have to be quick before anyone else gets them. Took a few days, maybe 10, but we got what we wanted.

[ben5575]

Yes used Testi as well last year for our son. But that was obviously on the old system. Not sure how/if it works now.

[Saleen836]

Will- these apps still work with the new rules, specifically the one where only the learner driver can book a test?

[Road2Ruin]

Saleen836 said:

Will- these apps still work with the new rules, specifically the one where only the learner driver can book a test?

I don't see why not, you still have to book using your learner details, the app just flags up the available slots quickly without you having to look.