How to Swap Your Driving Test With Another Learner: The DVSA Rules for 2026
DVSA now lets you swap your booked driving test with another learner by phone. Here is exactly who qualifies, the location rule from 9 June 2026, and how the call works step by step.
If your practical driving test is months away but another learner has a slot that suits you better, there is now a way to trade places. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has set out how learners can swap their booked car driving test directly with each other by phone. It is a small change with a big upside for anyone stuck on a long waiting list, but it comes with strict conditions. Here is how a swap works, who qualifies, and how to do it safely.
What a swap actually is
Swapping is not the same as changing your test. When you change a test, you go hunting for a new date or time on the booking service. When you swap, you and one other learner simply exchange your existing bookings: you take their date, time and centre, and they take yours. Nothing new is created, you are just trading slots that already exist.
One important catch: a swap still counts as one of the two changes you are allowed to make to a booking. If you have already used both of your changes, you cannot swap. So treat a swap as a deliberate move, not something to do casually.
Who can swap, and the conditions you both must meet
From 12 May 2026, only the learner can swap their own car driving test, and only with another learner. It is against the law for a driving instructor, a third party, or a website to arrange a swap on your behalf. Both of you must genuinely want each other's exact date, time and test centre.
Three conditions have to line up. First, you both need at least one of your two allowed changes still available. Second, you must request the swap at least 10 full working days before whichever of the two tests comes first, counting Monday to Saturday but not Sundays or public holidays. Third, your tests must be the same type and price band: weekday tests (£62) can only swap with other weekday tests, and evening, weekend and bank holiday tests (£75) can only swap with the same. Tests with extra time for a disability or health condition, and extended tests for disqualified drivers, can each only swap with the same type.
The location rule from 9 June 2026
Where your tests are booked matters too. Before 9 June 2026 you could swap with a learner at any test centre in the country. From 9 June 2026, you can only swap with someone whose test is at the same centre as yours, at one of your three nearest test centres, or at the centre you first booked. Check that both of your centres meet this rule before you call, because the swap cannot go ahead unless the location rule is satisfied for both learners.
It is also worth a quick word with your instructors first. Both of you should confirm your instructor agrees you will be ready for the new date, and that they are free to take you to the test at the new date, time and centre.
How the phone swap works, step by step
You can only swap by phone. There is no option to do it online, by email, by webchat, by text, or through any DVSA social media or WhatsApp account. You both need to be free at the same time, though you do not have to be in the same place, because DVSA will phone the other learner directly.
Before you ring, make sure each booking has the correct phone number and email on it, as DVSA uses those details to complete the swap. Updating your contact details does not use up one of your changes. Have ready your driving licence number, your booking reference number, the card you paid with, and details of any previous tests. The person who makes the call also needs the other learner's booking reference number.
On the call, one of you phones DVSA customer services on 0300 200 1122 (option 1). DVSA runs security checks with the caller, takes the other learner's booking reference, then puts the caller on hold and rings the second learner on the number recorded for their booking. Once both learners pass security and agree to the swap, DVSA completes it. The swap will not go through if either person fails the checks, declines the legal declaration, or has already used both changes, or if the other learner does not answer or has the wrong number on file.
Staying safe and what to do afterwards
Protect your personal details. DVSA will never ask for your full card number or security code to make a swap, and you should never hand your driving licence number, theory test pass certificate number, address, phone number, email or card details to another learner. The only thing you exchange is a booking reference number.
After a successful swap, you keep your own booking reference, your payment details and any special requirements, but you take on the other learner's date, time and centre. You will not get a confirmation email, so write down your new slot during the call. Your next reminder from DVSA will show the updated details.
Swapping is a handy tool, but it only helps if your knowledge is already solid. Lock in your theory first so you are ready to grab a better slot the moment one appears. Practise full mock tests and hazard perception clips with Theory Test Passed, and walk into your test confident and prepared.
