If you need to be driving, don't rely on those times for being able to process things. I know it has been several years since I got my license, but it ended up taking much longer than I anticipated, and I passed on my first try.
It took a month or two to book my written test then it took a long time to book the practical. When I finally got one, they cancelled it and rescheduled it two or three times on me (turns out one of the examiners was on long-term sickness leave, but they kept booking his slots anyway). I ended up in a horrible dilemma of choosing between not doing my job or breaking the law by driving illegally. It was awful! I started the process about six months before my license expired and thought I'd be fine, but I wasn't. Just a word to the wise. If you can do stuff earlier, don't procrastinate it.
Yeah, I learned to drive in the UK at age 17 and it took me 15 months from getting behind the wheel for the first time to passing the test. I had 6 months of lessons before taking the theory test, then 2 months later I called to book my practical test, but the waiting period for tests at that time was 2 months. I failed on the first try and had to wait another 2 months for a second test. Failed on the second try, waited another 2 months... then on the morning of my third test, they called to say that my examiner was sick and could they reschedule for the next week. I finally passed that test, but it was 6 months after I booked my first test.
So, theory test was in December 2000 and I called to book my first test in Feb 2001. First test was April 2001, second test was June 2001, third test was August 1st 2001... rescheduled for August 9th 2001, which I finally passed.
Obviously, it's going to depend on where you live and how booked up your local test centre is, but be prepared for it to take a while to actually pass the test, especially if you don't pass on the first try - the first-time pass rate is only about 45%, so it's pretty common to fail the first time.
