The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has just released an update about the test-swapping process. Before 12 May 2026, if you and another learner wanted to swap your test dates, you could get your instructor – or more importantly, a third party app – to do it for you.
However, third-party services had been exploiting the booking system, making it harder for learners to access tests at the standard price. In other words, not ideal when waiting times for a test are super long already.
No cigar
From 12 May 2026, the rules changed: only you and the learner you wanted to swap with were allowed to arrange the swap.
The problem? The process required you both to be available at exactly the same time so DVSA could carry out security checks, confirm your identities and make the switch.
Reducing friction
DVSA has now tweaked its approach to make the process more practical.
From 1 October 2026, you still need to call DVSA to request a date swap with another learner. However, the other learner no longer needs to be available at the same time: they can call separately on the same working day to confirm the request.
Here’s how DVSA breaks the process down step by step:
Right move, wrong move?
The move is designed to make the process less stressful and more practical. As Carly Brookfield, CEO of Driving Instructors Association, says, “removing the requirement for both learners to be available at exactly the same time is a sensible improvement and addresses one of the more impractical elements of the original process.”
However, she does believe the system could be simplified even further as, even with the tweaked approach, it still “requires two learners to telephone DVSA on the same working day.”
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Images by Dalle-E