# Shortest Driving Test Waiting Times UK — Book Soonest by Centre > Driving test centres with the shortest waiting times in Great Britain. Bodmin is quickest at about 3.6 weeks, against a national average of 12.8 weeks. Official DVSA data to August 2026. Source: https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/guides/shortest-driving-test-waiting-times/ # Shortest driving test waiting times in the UK The DVSA centres you can book soonest, on official availability data to August 2026. By Yigit Yilmaz · Last updated 14 September 2026 - 3.6 weeks Shortest wait Bodmin - 12.8 weeks GB average median booking to test - 275 Centres ranked of 320 in GB - August 2026 Data to official DVSA release Bodmin currently has the shortest queue in Great Britain at about 3.6 weeks, against a national average of 12.8 weeks. Every centre in the table is quicker than that average, and the slowest of them still books about 6.9 weeks sooner than the typical centre. Waiting times move faster than pass rates — DVSA republishes them monthly, and a centre near the top of this list can slip once word gets round. Treat it as a shortlist to check on the booking service rather than a promise. The figure is the median gap between booking and testing for people who actually sat a test that month, not the soonest slot showing today, and cancellations regularly free up much earlier dates. The pass rate column matters here. A centre that books six weeks out but passes well below average may cost you more time overall than one with a longer queue, because a retest puts you back in the same queue. ## The 25 centres, ranked Wait figures for August 2026. Open any centre for its monthly trend, nearby alternatives and full history. | # | Centre | Region | Wait | Pass rate | Tests a year | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | [Bodmin](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/bodmin/) | South West | 3.6 weeks | 47.5% | 6,392 | | 2 | [Brentwood (London)](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/brentwood-london/) | East of England | 3.6 weeks | 48.5% | 5,791 | | 3 | [Scunthorpe](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/scunthorpe/) | Yorkshire and The Humber | 4 weeks | 45.4% | 6,103 | | 4 | [Barrow In Furness](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/barrow-in-furness/) | North West | 4.4 weeks | 69.6% | 1,699 | | 5 | [Redditch](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/redditch/) | West Midlands | 4.4 weeks | 51.4% | 4,483 | | 6 | [Boston](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/boston/) | East Midlands | 4.5 weeks | 50.7% | 4,784 | | 7 | [High Wycombe](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/high-wycombe/) | South East | 4.6 weeks | 51.5% | 3,534 | | 8 | [Chichester](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/chichester/) | South East | 4.7 weeks | 61.6% | 6,672 | | 9 | [Basildon](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/basildon/) | East of England | 4.8 weeks | 49.1% | 8,359 | | 10 | [Chesterfield](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/chesterfield/) | East Midlands | 4.9 weeks | 56.2% | 6,605 | | 11 | [Aylesbury](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/aylesbury/) | South East | 5 weeks | 49.3% | 5,255 | | 12 | [Oxford (Cowley)](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/oxford-cowley/) | South East | 5 weeks | 50.6% | 5,419 | | 13 | [Weston-super-Mare](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/weston-super-mare/) | South West | 5 weeks | 61% | 4,443 | | 14 | [Greenham](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/greenham/) | South East | 5.2 weeks | 56.5% | 3,931 | | 15 | [Bristol (Kingswood)](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/bristol-kingswood/) | South West | 5.3 weeks | 51.9% | 14,863 | | 16 | [Canterbury](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/canterbury/) | South East | 5.3 weeks | 45.8% | 4,670 | | 17 | [Salisbury](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/salisbury/) | South West | 5.3 weeks | 48.5% | 6,630 | | 18 | [Barnsley](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/barnsley/) | Yorkshire and The Humber | 5.4 weeks | 58.5% | 7,737 | | 19 | [Llanelli](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/llanelli/) | Wales | 5.4 weeks | 51% | 4,380 | | 20 | [Camborne](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/camborne/) | South West | 5.6 weeks | 40.6% | 6,271 | | 21 | [Hereford](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/hereford/) | West Midlands | 5.6 weeks | 58.8% | 4,110 | | 22 | [Bridgend](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/bridgend/) | Wales | 5.7 weeks | 53.3% | 5,990 | | 23 | [Abergavenny](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/abergavenny/) | Wales | 5.9 weeks | 64.2% | 5,924 | | 24 | [Inverness (Longman Drive)](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/inverness-longman-drive/) | Scotland | 5.9 weeks | 45.8% | 3,252 | | 25 | [Swansea](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/swansea/) | Wales | 5.9 weeks | 48.2% | 12,375 | 250 more centres qualify for this ranking but fall outside the top 25. 45 of the 320 DVSA centres are excluded — either DVSA published no figure for them, or they run fewer than 500 car tests a year, too few for a rate to survive a handful of results. They keep their own pages with whatever was published. ## What this ranking does not tell you This is how long people waited, not what you will see the moment you log in. It is the median gap between booking and testing among candidates who sat a test that month. Slots are released 24 weeks ahead and cancellations appear continuously, so any centre here may show something much sooner — or nothing at all if the last release has just been taken. The figures are averages across every candidate a centre tested, most of whom you know nothing about. They say a great deal about the roads and very little about your chances on the day, which turn mostly on how much you have driven the routes around the centre you booked. Our [guide to test routes](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/guides/driving-test-routes-explained/) covers how to work them out now that DVSA no longer publishes them. ## How the ranking is built Every figure comes from the DVSA statistical tables published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence — DRT122A for pass rates and DRT122F for test availability. Pass rates are the full-year figure for April 2025 to March 2026 rather than the latest month, because a single month at one centre swings several points on ordinary variation. Waiting times are the median gap between booking and testing among candidates who sat a test in August 2026 — not the soonest slot on the booking service, which cancellations often bring much closer. Centres qualify for a ranking only if they published the figure being ranked and conducted at least 500 car tests in the year, about ten a week. Nothing is estimated, weighted or adjusted, and the order is recomputed from scratch whenever DVSA publishes. Figures cover Great Britain. Practical tests in Northern Ireland are run by the DVA, which publishes nothing comparable at centre level, so no Northern Irish centre appears in any ranking here. ## Other rankings - [Easiest driving test centres in the UK](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/guides/easiest-driving-test-centres-uk/) — The 25 DVSA centres with the highest car pass rates, and why quiet roads — not soft examiners — put them there. - [Hardest driving test centres in the UK](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/guides/hardest-driving-test-centres-uk/) — The 25 lowest pass rates in Great Britain, what their routes have in common, and how to prepare if yours is on the list. - [Longest driving test waiting times](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/guides/longest-driving-test-waiting-times/) — The centres booked out furthest ahead, how close they are to DVSA’s 24-week ceiling, and what to do if yours is one. - [Busiest driving test centres in the UK](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/guides/busiest-driving-test-centres-uk/) — The centres conducting the most car tests, how much of the national total they handle, and what volume means for your booking. To sort and filter every centre yourself rather than read a top 25, use [pass rates by centre](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/pass-rates/) and [waiting times by centre](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/waiting-times/), both of which cover all 320 DVSA centres. ## Frequently asked ### Which driving test centre has the shortest waiting time in the UK? As of August 2026, Bodmin in South West has the shortest published wait at a median of 3.6 weeks, followed by Brentwood (London) (3.6 weeks) and Scunthorpe (4 weeks). The Great Britain average is 12.8 weeks. ### How far ahead can I book a driving test? DVSA releases slots up to 24 weeks ahead, so 24 weeks is the effective ceiling on any published wait. A centre quoting close to that figure is booked out to the end of its window, and new dates appear there only as the window rolls forward or someone cancels. ### Is it quicker to book a test at a quiet centre? Usually yes, and the gap can be months. The trade-off is the journey and the unfamiliar routes. Before travelling, check whether a nearer centre has cancellations coming up — that often beats the published wait at a quiet centre without the drive. ### Can I book a driving test at any centre in the country? Yes. There is no catchment area for the car practical test — you can book any DVSA centre in Great Britain regardless of where you live or where you took your theory test. The practical constraint is the drive on the day and whether you know the roads, not eligibility. ### Why are some test centres missing from the table? 45 of the 320 DVSA centres are left out. Some publish no figure at all — at very small sites reporting one could identify individual candidates. The rest run fewer than 500 car tests a year, which is roughly ten a week: at that volume a single result moves the pass rate by several points, so ranking them against a city centre doing 8,000 tests would be meaningless. Every excluded centre still has its own page with whatever DVSA published. ### Where do these figures come from? DVSA statistical tables DRT122A (car pass rates by test centre) and DRT122F (test availability and waiting times), published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence. Pass rates cover April 2025 to March 2026; waiting times run to August 2026. Nothing is estimated and nothing is adjusted.