As the UK comes out of lockdown, many learners are faced with long waits for their driving tests.

Why? Because for nearly a whole year, restrictions meant that almost nobody could take a test. This has created a huge backlog of eager learners, and a lot of competition for every test slot.

This must be particularly frustrating if you fail your test first time, as you may not be able to try again for months.

But some learners have found that they can take their tests sooner using driving test cancellation apps.

So what are driving cancellation apps? Do they work, and are they legit?

What Are Driving Test Cancellations?

People cancel driving tests for all sorts of reasons. When someone cancels a driving test, their test slot becomes available. To prevent this slot from going to waste, the DVSA allows other learners to reserve it on a first-come-first-served basis.

Booking a cancellation appointment sometimes means you can get a much earlier test appointment than the one you originally booked.

Why Do People Cancel Their Tests?

There might be a family emergency, or they might get injured, or ill. Indeed, the government website currently advises learners to cancel their test if they or anyone they live with develops COVID-19 symptoms.

How To Get a Cancellation Driving Test

Before you book your cancellation appointment, you’ll need:

• A driving test, already booked, with a booking reference number.
• Your driving licence number.
• Your theory test pass certificate number.

There are a few ways you can get a cancellation driving test:

Do It Yourself. You can book your own cancellation appointment on the government’s website. The DVSA website is only operational between 6 am and 11.40 pm. Plus, the system works on a first-come-first-served basis. So you’ll have to be quick to book a test that works for you, and you might have to check back regularly to find an available slot.

Use a Cancellation Driving Test Booking Service. There are numerous companies who’ll do all the work for you – checking the DVSA system on your behalf to find you a cancellation test. You’ll have to pay for this service, but it could bring your driving test date forward by months. Just make sure you use a reliable service, and not one that makes promises it can’t keep.

Driving Test Cancellation Apps. These work just like the cancellation driving test booking services, in that they’ll search for cancelled test slots on your behalf. Some apps offer free trials, and others are free up-front. But you usually have to pay if you want to actually book a test. Testi and Driving Test Cancellations 4 All are two popular examples.

Are Driving Test Cancellation Apps Legit?

Driving test cancellation apps are perfectly legal. But it’s important to ensure you’re getting a good service at a fair price. For every service you consider, be sure to read as many reviews as you can.

Go beyond the overall rating. Read the good reviews as well as the bad, and check if the company’s responded to any negative feedback.

Also, shop around. Many apps offer similar services at greatly different prices – or vastly inferior services at highly inflated prices. 

But the most important thing to remember is that you should never sign up to more than one app or service at a time. Not only will this cost you more, but it could also backfire. The DVSA system only allows one connection per user at any given time. So if you have multiple services trying to access the system on your behalf at once, the DVSA will cancel your session, meaning you could miss out on your perfect test slot.

Are Driving Test Cancellation Apps Worth It?

Is it worth paying for a driving cancellation service, when you can book a cancelled test yourself for free? It all depends on how desperate you are to pass your test.

If you use the DVSA’s cancelled test booking system, you might get lucky. Or, you might find yourself endlessly refreshing the page for hours, waiting in vain for a slot that works for you.

But a driving test cancellation app can do all the checking for you. Some of them check the system automatically every five minutes or so, notifying you the moment something comes up. This could mean that you could take your test in a matter of days, rather than a matter of months.

If your test is six months or more away, but you need to pass sooner, then a driving test cancellation app could save you a lot of time.

While you wait for your test, if you want to pass first time, it pays to get as much practice in as possible. For this you’ll need learner driver insurance. At Go Girl, we specialise in providing learners with comprehensive cover for less. Get in touch to get a free quote online in minutes.