Fees set to double for road test no-shows, late cancellations

Fees charged to aspiring drivers who schedule a road test but don’t show up will double starting Friday, and a new fee will be charged to those who cancel too late.

Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) will charge no-shows and those who cancel tests less than 24 hours in advance $40, up from $20. Test-takers who cancel appointments between 24 and 72 hours ahead of time will be charged $20.

Why the fee increase and incentive to cancel a minimum of three days in advance? There are still “too many no-shows,” said Jody-Kay Peterson, driver services program director for DVS.

Nearly 20% of drivers who booked a behind-the-wheel test so far this year have missed their appointments without giving notice, and that is a slight improvement from 2024, when the no-show rate was 22.4%.

From January to mid-July, more than 24,250 exam slots have gone unused. In all of last year, there were more than 48,400 missed appointments, according to DVS.

DVS has imposed a $20 fee on no-shows since 2021. The Legislature gave the agency permission to enact the charge to cut down on the number of unused appointments at a time when the agency was struggling to meet surging demand.

During the COVID-19 era and years following, aspiring drivers faced long wait times to secure appointments, and in some cases drove to exam stations hours from home to take their tests. At the same time, the no-show rate was above 30%, Peterson said.

DVS changed how it offers appointments. Since September 2022, drivers looking for a slot can only see openings for a 30-day period. Before, drivers could book a test six months out, something Peterson said contributed to missed appointments.

“People say ‘When I booked it, I was not going to Vegas,’” Peterson said. “Or they don’t remember or they don’t care. They say, ‘it’s the DMV, I don’t need to show up.’ That appointment could have been given to somebody who really needed it.”

A test-taker who cancels by phone or online allows DVS to roll that slot back into the system immediately, allowing others to grab it, Peterson said.

The Legislature also allowed DVS to hire 30 additional examiners to open up additional testing slots. DVS can now offer 5,000 to 7,000 appointments within a 30-day window, Peterson said.

“We are not hearing those complaints” from people unable to schedule a test Peterson said. “People are finding appointments.”

“They can’t say they didn’t know,” Peterson said.

Fees are collected when a driver passes a road test and applies for a license. Applicants can request a refund if proper documentation can prove a hardship or emergency, such as a medical problem that prevented their attendance, or they had a crash on the way to an exam, Peterson said.

DVS recently began sending reminder emails to test-takers every day starting the week before a scheduled appointment. The emails continue until a driver confirms their date and time.