New DVSA ‘two-strike’ policy will start March 31 | Tech News

Starting on March 31, 2026, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will implement a ‘two-strike’ policy as half of stricter measures in opposition to misuse of driving take a look at reserving systems. The up to date guidelines will limit learners to merely two amendments per driving take a look at reservation, lowered from the prevailing six.

Any further modifications will require full cancellation and a new reserving. To stop system manipulation, all customers will be granted a ‘clean slate’ of two amendments on this date, with new geographical limitations arriving in late spring that will limit take a look at relocations to amenities close to the initially reserved location.

An ‘modification’ contains altering the date, time, take a look at facility, or exchanging the slot with one other learner. Should a learner require a third modification, they will be unable to edit their reservation. They will be pressured to cancel the take a look at and prepare a fully new reserving, experiences the Mirror.

Learners holding a reserved take a look at from March 31 will start with two unused amendments, irrespective of how many that they had beforehand used. An entire refund stays accessible when cancelling not less than 10 working days previous to the take a look at, elevated from the current three working days.

A press release on the official National Instructors web site reads: “These reforms aim to crack down on third-party ‘booking bots’ and resellers who hoard test slots, ensuring that genuine learners can access appointments at the standard price. For learners across the UK, this represents a significant shift in how you plan your path to a full licence.”

Clarifying the ‘two strike’ rule intimately, it states: “From 31 March, any modification to your booking-whether you move the date by one day or change the test centre entirely-counts as one “change.” Once you have used your two permitted changes, the system will block further amendments. To get a different date after that, you must cancel the booking and start from scratch.”

“If you have an existing booking and have already used several changes under the old rules, the DVSA will ‘reset’ your counter to zero on 31 March, giving everyone exactly two fresh changes to use under the new system.”

What different adjustments are being made this yr?

The “two-strike” rule kinds half of a staged reform of the reserving system. From 12 May, it will turn out to be illegal for anybody other than the learner (together with instructors, mother and father, or third-party companies) to e book, change, or swap a car driving take a look at.

From 9 June, learners making an attempt to reschedule a take a look at will be restricted to deciding on one of the three closest take a look at centres to their authentic reserving location, stopping ‘take a look at procuring’ in numerous areas. The reforms intention to cut back backlogs by stopping people from ‘slot parking’ (reserving and trading dates for revenue).

In addition to growing availability by liberating up slots for learners who’re genuinely prepared for the take a look at. And to stop exploitation by eliminating third-party websites that sell assessments at inflated costs (generally as high as £500). Learners are strongly suggested to solely e book their take a look at when they’re absolutely ready to keep away from forfeiting their reserving or squandering their restricted adjustments.