Only learner drivers will be able to book driving tests under schemes aimed at reducing long waiting lists and preventing places being sold at inflated prices.
Transportation Secretary Heidi Alexander said limiting the resale of slot machines by third parties would prevent online bots from “exploiting” people.
But she admitted to MPs on the Transport Committee that waiting times for driving tests would not be reduced to seven weeks by the summer of 2026, the latest deadline she set.
The average wait time was 21.8 weeks at the end of June.
As well as changing who can book tests, examiners from the Ministry of Defense (MoD) will be added to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to try to reduce the backlog.
The Department of Transport said that 36 MoD Driving examiners will be hired to carry out tests in England one day a week for a year, at an estimated cost of £100,000.
These examiners are public officials, not military personnel.
The DVSA has hired 316 new examiners, but Alexander said that has resulted in a net gain of only 40, as others have left.
Driving examiners will be offered a “retention payment” of £5,000 from next year to try to keep them in the job.
It also said a limit would be placed on the number of times a driver can move or exchange a test, and the area to which a test can be moved once it has been booked.
In April, BBC Verify found that the average waiting time at all 319 driving test centers in Britain was 22 weeks, with three-quarters of centers reaching the maximum average waiting time of 24 weeks.
Every week the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) makes more tests available, but many are booked quickly by robots – automated software that can act much faster than humans.
The companies then resell the test spaces to desperate candidates at inflated prices.
Last month, 38 MPs signed a letter calling on the government to take “the strongest possible action” on the issue of evidence reselling.
The driving test costs £62 for a weekday or £75 for evenings and weekends.
The letter said some third-party sellers charge up to £500.
Learner drivers have said they had to get up at 05:30 GMT or wait in a virtual queue for hours to book a test directly.
At the end of last month, there were 642,000 drivers in training with an exam reserved.
The DVSA has said the delay is the result of increased demand and people booking tests much earlier than before.
About 182,000 tests were carried out last month, an increase of 9% from October 2024.
Emma Bush, CEO of AA Driving School, said learner drivers across the country still face “excessive and restrictive waiting times” when booking tests.
“Additional support from military examiners should help relieve some of the pressure on the system,” Mrs. Bush said.
“Tightening the booking system should reduce the leeway that allows unscrupulous exam resellers to profit from students’ misery.”
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “It is good to see action being taken to end such tests which market to frustrated students.
“Candidates stuck in the queue should at least be assured that they are not being left out by those simply looking to make a quick buck.”
