Whats the lead time for IVA at the moment in southern England.
On the basis of driving test delays up to a year I’m not hopeful.

Your best bet is to call the centre you intend using and ask them.

Every test centre will be different. Listening to other builders the wait times seem to actually be shorter than pre pandemic.

Get your car ready or almost ready before you apply for the test as it could be quite a short wait, mine was two weeks at the centre I wanted, but at others nearby it was several months so it’s quite random. But if you apply for the test based on a few months work left to do on the car you’ll get a quick test date. Good luck though, it was a great experience to be honest.

Much what I suspected and good advice.Reminds me of the SVA on a previous project back in 2006.
This one was meant to be a super quick build but then covid came on top of all the usual disasters that we seem to have to navigate.Lost count how many times in the last 18 months I have tidied up,organised and planned the final build,made notes of notes etc.Anyway 2022 will be the year of paint,IVA and registration.Hopefully .

Currently it’s about a 2 week wait for your paperwork, then you’ll be able to get a test within a fortnight.
It actually takes longer to stay on the phone to pay for your test with a credit card.

No more messing with paper forms, just fill everything out on line and away you go.

The DVLA now have an email address you can use to get them to call you back,
You just need to quote your TAS number.

It’s dead easy.

I got my car tested back in October, it was a 2 week turn around from sending off my paperwork to having a date (mid-August to start of September) and then my IVA was about 6 weeks after that (October 15th). Bristol Avonmouth.