{"id":167603,"date":"2025-09-04T21:15:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T21:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/we-are-facing-a-continuous-backlog-in-obtaining-the-card-we-have-reached-out-to-self-driving-schools-and-the-dgt-to-find-out-what-is-happening\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T21:15:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T21:15:04","slug":"we-are-facing-a-continuous-backlog-in-obtaining-the-card-we-have-reached-out-to-self-driving-schools-and-the-dgt-to-find-out-what-is-happening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/we-are-facing-a-continuous-backlog-in-obtaining-the-card-we-have-reached-out-to-self-driving-schools-and-the-dgt-to-find-out-what-is-happening\/","title":{"rendered":"We are facing a continuous backlog in obtaining the card. We have reached out to self-driving schools and the DGT to find out what is happening."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“I thought about changing my self-school, really, but as I had already approved the theoretical exam … when I asked in other places, the waiting list was the same.” These words are from \u00a0Elena\u00a0, a student from Aluche, south of Madrid. What she explains mirrors the experiences of \u00a0thousands of students\u00a0 across Spain.<\/p>\n

Elena is \u00a019 years old\u00a0 and desired to obtain her driving license “because a car offers you \u00a0freedom\u00a0. While public transport is available, I prefer a car as it allows me to avoid depending on bus or subway schedules.” Fortunately, she was not in a rush. She passed the theoretical exam last March but had to \u00a0suppress her eagerness\u00a0 to begin practical driving lessons. “There was a waiting list that extended until August,” she clarifies, noting that her situation is representative of many others.<\/p>\n

Those who need a license to pursue employment are not so fortunate. “For job seekers, there are instances where they request an extraordinary exam from the traffic department to meet the requirements,” explain sources from Corella Autoescoles<\/a>, who shed light on the prevailing conditions in Valencia.<\/p>\n

This scenario is not unique to Madrid; similar stories emerge from cities like \u00a0Valencia\u00a0, \u00a0Barcelona\u00a0, and \u00a0Bilbao\u00a0. Driving schools are grappling with a shortage of \u00a0instructors\u00a0. This inadequacy is compounded by a lack of personnel in the \u00a0DGT\u00a0 (Directorate General of Traffic), resulting in delays for those wishing to take the practical exam.<\/p>\n

“The so-called \u00a0waiting list\u00a0,” they say from the DGT, reflects a perennial issue.<\/p>\n

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Permanently Stuck Driving Schools<\/h2>\n

This recurring problem has persisted for years. In \u00a02017\u00a0, DGT examiners went on strike, demanding better working conditions and a boost in staffing levels. This disruption led to \u00a0100,000 applicants\u00a0 being sidelined, with some driving schools forced to close due to prolonged strikes. <\/p>\n

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The DGT reports that “97% of jobs are filled within the agency, which boasts the highest turnover rate.” They emphasize that since 2017, \u00a0732 examiners have been added\u00a0, clearly the highest number among all divisions of the DGT. But is this sufficient? Javier L. Tejedor<\/strong>, from Lara Auto-school<\/a>, firmly responds: “No.” He highlights that examiners “must use their vacation time by February, which results in a significant dip in staff availability during some months.” December, January, and July, he notes, are notably problematic.<\/p>\n

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David Corella of Corella Autoescoles shares similar sentiments. “We want to take students to exams when they are ready, but we have to wait a month and a half to schedule them,” he says. The situation worsens when students don’t pass on their first attempt, as approximately \u00a046% of students fail\u00a0 the initial exam according to the DGT. Those students then get placed on the waiting list for retries, extending delays to two or three months as they vie for limited slots.<\/p>\n

The driving schools insist that the waiting list is longer than ever before. “Almost all traffic offices are overwhelmed throughout Spain,” they state from Lara Auto School. “In our case, with 65 centers in Madrid, the wait time for \u00a0practical lessons\u00a0 after passing the theoretical exam is about a month and a half. However, I’ve just received an email from a student at another driving school who claims she’ll have to wait five months.” <\/p>\n

An examiner conducts 12 driving tests daily, with \u00a0360 minutes\u00a0 allocated for the entire day. Yet, the duration of tests remains constant, regardless of whether an exam lasts five minutes or 28 minutes, complicating the situation further.<\/p>\n

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The frustration among students and driving schools is palpable. However, the DGT maintains that the situation is not as dire as it seems and that there are often empty slots available. “The so-called waiting list includes people who are not truly ready to take the exam,” they clarify.<\/p>\n

David Corella counters that in \u00a0Alicante\u00a0, for example, there are as many examiners as in Valencia, despite the latter having a population surplus of one million people. Valencia currently hosts nearly 19,000 students awaiting exams, a figure that has increased by \u00a03,000 over three years\u00a0. Meanwhile, the DGT argues that the waiting list comprises three main categories of students: those who failed the first test, those who are still completing practical training, and those who are delaying their exams.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Challenges\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Many students opt for driving exams at smaller venues, believing they may face less competition, while others flock to larger schools for greater availability of slots. This discrepancy, however, is hotly contested by the DGT. They claim to have \u00a015 examiners\u00a0 rotating among various traffic offices to meet the demands, yet highlight that during slow months, there may still be vacancies.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Corella Autoescoles challenging this assertion. “In Valencia, more examiners are retiring than are being hired,” they say. Although some newcomers might fill roles, they argue that many leave shortly after due to better offers elsewhere. “It’s crucial that \u00a0traffic agencies\u00a0 prepare for any drop in staff due to illness or other issues,” they emphasize.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The conversation surrounding the examination process is crucial. \u00a0Students are left waiting months\u00a0 for the chance to take their practical tests. Driving schools believe this critical shortage of examiners has become deeply entrenched, while the DGT considers it merely a seasonal issue. <\/p>\n

Moreover, the increase in theoretical tests in Valencia\u2014up \u00a012%\u00a0 in the first half of 2025\u2014presents an additional challenge. The result is a dire situation for students: “There are indeed people who give up. If they could test more frequently, their chances of passing would increase. A three-month gap only serves to build anxiety, leading to a vicious cycle where some students ultimately quit out of frustration,” remarks David Corella.<\/p>\n


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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“I thought about changing my self-school, really, but as I had already approved the theoretical exam … when I asked in other places, the waiting list was the same.” These words are from \u00a0Elena\u00a0, a student from Aluche, south of Madrid. What she explains mirrors the experiences of \u00a0thousands of students\u00a0 across Spain. Elena is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":167604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[10913,2750,19259,37170,14106,54,4787,13843,7629,209,19129],"class_list":["post-167603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-backlog","tag-card","tag-continuous","tag-dgt","tag-facing","tag-find","tag-happening","tag-obtaining","tag-reached","tag-schools","tag-selfdriving"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}