Driving test crisis: unanimous call in Malaga for 34 new examiners

The call comes due to a backlog affecting 18,000 people who have passed their theory test and are awaiting their practical test and the mayor of Málaga, Paco de la Torre, has called for a solution with "the greatest possible speed". Opposition socialist councillor, Jorge Quero, nodded in agreement, showing political flexibility, well aware of the problem at hand.

All the political groups – the PP, the PSOE, Vox and Con Málaga – voted in favour, creating a consensus following the well-founded complaints of the president of the provincial association of driving schools in Malaga (APAE), Antonio Martín, who had already protested alongside other driving school colleagues and those affected by the cancellation of their driving tests on 18 July outside the headquarters of the DGT office.

In his speech during the council meeting, Martín highlighted that Malaga had a serious shortage of driving test examiners, which was causing a backlog and abnormally long waiting times for the practical driving test, affecting “18,000 people” in the province, “many of whom were restricted in their ability to find work or improve their current job (due to needing a driving licence for different types of vehicles)”.

He explained that the crux of the matter is that the province should have 34 examiners and two coordinators, and that it currently falls far short of this figure, as there are 25 examiners and just one coordinator (with three on long-term sick leave), which meant that a significant amount of testing capacity had been lost.

Martín explained that the number of people waiting to sit the practical test had increased by 6,000 compared with 2025, and that whilst there had previously been some solutions, such as examiners working overtime, the DGT had recently launched the Pro Plan (Operational Exam Reinforcement Plan), under which they offered to examine all learners that driving schools could present on Saturdays.

However, they gave very little notice to allow for organisation and in towns such as Marbella, Ronda and Antequera, they only provided Category B car driving tests. “It’s a poisoned chalice,” he said. Martín emphasised that the DGT discriminates against Malaga and that while it is Spain’s sixth-largest city in terms of population, it ranked 48th in terms of the ratio of examiners.

Rafael Bunan explained that he is one of those affected and that he was aware that “the structural shortage of examiners is having a devastating effect, resulting in endless waiting lists, with 18,000 people stuck in the queue”, whilst pointing out that learners pass the theory test and then “find themselves in limbo, spending weeks or months without knowing when they will be able to get behind the wheel for the practical test”.

He went on to say, “This isn’t a whim, but an essential tool for working, balancing work and family life, or securing a job" and added that “Malaga cannot allow thousands of citizens to see their professional or personal futures held back by an administrative system that fails to keep pace with the realities on the ground. “It is time to demand solutions and firm commitments to restore normality to our driving schools."