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Aberdeen North driving test centre

Cloverhill Road, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, AB23 8FE

16.5 weeks
median wait from booking to test, national 12.4
48.2%
pass rate, -1.8 on the national 50%
75
car tests a week, so a steady pool of learners holding a slot

A swap only works when one of you moves forward and the other moves back, so the date somebody cannot use is worth as much as the date somebody wants. DVSA will exchange the two bookings over the phone, free. What they will not do is put the two of you in touch, and that is the part this page is for. Not ready for your Aberdeen North date? How to postpone it without losing the fee.

Aberdeen North · free

Join the swap list for Aberdeen North

Tell us where your test is booked and which way you want to move it. When a learner who could swap with you joins, we email you. Your email is never shown to anyone.

When would you rather have it?

One email to confirm, no password, and one click takes you off the list. How we handle your details.

No test booked yet? There is nothing to swap until you have one. Book on GOV.UK, then come back.

Aberdeen North in numbers

48.2% of car tests at Aberdeen North end in a pass, 1.8 points below the national average of 50%. Within Scotland it ranks 62nd of 74. It runs roughly 75 car tests a week, so there is a steady population of learners holding a slot here. The rate has moved noticeably too: up 5.1 points on the year before (43.1%).

Pass rate

Below average
Passed here
48.2%3,906 tests, Apr 2025 to Mar 2026
National average
50%same period
On last year
+5.1points up (43.1% the year before)

Official DVSA figures, dataset DRT122A, April 2025 to March 2026. A low pass rate does not make a test harder to swap. It often means more learners trying to move, which is the thing a swap needs. Every centre ranked by pass rate. Didn't pass? What to do next.

Waiting time

Longer than most
Median wait
16.5 weeks4.1 weeks longer than the national median of 12.4
Still free to book
9.9%of the next 24 weeks
Already taken
1,132of 1,257 slots in that window

DVSA dataset DRT122F, September 2026, published monthly under the Open Government Licence v3.0. A median means half the people who sat a test here that month waited longer than this. A swap does not join that queue: it moves you into a slot somebody has already booked. Every centre's wait, ranked.

Centres you can swap with from Aberdeen North

GOV.UK allows a swap with a learner booked at the same centre as you, at one of your three nearest, or at a centre you first booked at. Three nearest is measured by driving distance avoiding motorways, and DVSA publishes the list. A swap moves both learners, so the condition has to hold from each side, and the centres below are the ones that work in both directions from Aberdeen North. Anywhere else is refused on the call.

CentreDistanceWait, weeksPass rate
Aberdeen South (Cove)about 9 miles9.152.4% +4.2
Inverurieabout 17 miles12.461.9% +13.7
Peterheadabout 29 miles6.453.2% +5

Pass rates are DVSA figures for April 2025 to March 2026, compared with Aberdeen North. They describe the centre, not you.

The four rules, applied here

  1. You both need a change left

    Two changes per car test, and a swap spends one of them. How changing a test works.

  2. 10 working days' notice

    To whichever of the two tests is first. Monday to Saturday count; Sundays and public holidays do not.

  3. Centres near each other

    Aberdeen North's own three nearest are Aberdeen South (Cove), Inverurie, Peterhead.

  4. Same test type

    Weekday with weekday; evening and weekend tests only with each other.

The rules in full

Not done one before? A driving test swap, start to finish.

Test day

Getting to Aberdeen North, and what to take

Straight from DVSA's own list of test centres. Worth reading the week before rather than the morning of.

Where it is

Cloverhill Road
Bridge of Don
Aberdeen
Aberdeenshire
AB23 8FE

  • No car park is available at the test centre
  • Toilets
  • Step-free access

DVSA's note for this centre: For Car Tests: Please Keep to the one way system around the building and meet your examiner at the VIC waiting room on left of the DVSA building. Please also note that no practising is allowed on site.

Theory tests are taken at separate centres, not here. Find a theory test centre on GOV.UK.

What to take

  • Your UK driving licence. No photocard means a valid passport and your paper licence.
  • Your theory test pass certificate if you have it. If it is lost the examiner can look the pass up.
  • A car. Most people use their instructor's.

Turn up without the right things and DVSA cancels the test and keeps the fee. The full list on GOV.UK.

Using your own car? It needs tax, an MOT if it is over three years old, insurance that covers a driving test, L plates front and rear, an extra interior mirror, and no warning lights showing. The own-car rules.

Address, facilities and the centre note come from DVSA's own test centre file, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Check your booking confirmation for the venue on the day: it is the version that counts.

Know the roads first

Driving around Aberdeen North before test day

Nobody can give you the examiner's route. DVSA stopped publishing routes in 2010, and four tests in five are led by a sat nav the examiner sets up, so there is no sequence to learn. The roads are a different matter: which roundabout, which multi-lane junction, where the limit changes. Instructors film those, and watching them is the cheapest practice available.

Find Aberdeen North route videos

No curated set for this centre yet, so this search is aimed at Aberdeen North specifically. Local instructors film these roads constantly.

Swaps at Aberdeen North, month by month

Most people know the month they need rather than the date. Each of these says how much of that month can still be swapped into under the ten working day rule, and which centres a Aberdeen North booking can move to. DVSA releases slots in a rolling 24-week window, so these are the months anybody can be holding a test in.

    Three quick questions

    One each on the car safety questions, road signs and warning lights: the parts of the test you can learn off the page. Have a guess, then open the answer.

    1. Show me, tell me

      Tell me: how do you make sure the head restraint gives the best protection in a crash?

      • As low as it goes, so it supports the neck
      • It does not matter; it is for comfort
      • Tilted forward so it touches the back of the head
      • The rigid part at least as high as your eyes or the top of your ears, and as close to the back of the head as is comfortable
      Show the answer

      The rigid part at least as high as your eyes or the top of your ears, and as close to the back of the head as is comfortable. DVSA's answer: rigid part at least as high as the eyes or top of the ears, and as close to the back of the head as is comfortable. Some are not adjustable.

    2. Road signs

      A direction sign with a brown background points to what?

      • A motorway
      • A tourist attraction
      • A diversion
      • A primary route
      Show the answer

      A tourist attraction. Brown signs direct you to tourist attractions and facilities.

    3. Warning lights

      What does a green or blue light on the dashboard tell you?

      • There is a fault to check soon
      • Something is switched on
      • The car is in eco mode
      • Stop as soon as it is safe
      Show the answer

      Something is switched on. Green and blue lights are information: dipped headlights, front fog lights, main beam, indicators.

    More in the quizzes: show me, tell me, road signs and warning lights, and the driving skills course: 18 lessons with pictures, from moving off to independent driving. Free, no sign-up.

    Swapping at Aberdeen North: questions

    Can I swap a test at Aberdeen North for one at another centre?

    Only if it is the same centre, one of your three nearest, or a centre you first booked at. A swap moves both learners, so it has to work from each side. From Aberdeen North the list is Aberdeen South (Cove), Inverurie, Peterhead. Anywhere else is refused on the call.

    What is the pass rate at Aberdeen North?

    48.2% of car tests at Aberdeen North ended in a pass between April 2025 and March 2026, from 3,906 tests. The national average over the same period was 50%, so Aberdeen North is 1.8 points below it, ranking 228th of 314 centres in Great Britain. These are DVSA's own published figures and they describe the centre, not you.

    Which nearby centre has a better pass rate than Aberdeen North?

    Of the centres you can legally move a Aberdeen North test to, Inverurie has the highest pass rate at 61.9%, against 48.2% here. That is a difference in the centre, not a promise about your test, and a swap has to suit the other learner too.

    How long is the wait for a driving test at Aberdeen North?

    16.5 weeks. That is the median wait between booking and taking a test for people who sat one at Aberdeen North in September 2026, from DVSA's own monthly figures, so half of them waited longer. The national median that month was 12.4 weeks. 9.9% of the slots in DVSA's 24-week booking window here were still free to book. A swap sidesteps that queue entirely, because you are moving into a date another learner has already booked.

    How long does it take to find a swap at Aberdeen North?

    That depends on how many learners hold a slot here and whether any of them want the opposite of what you want. DVSA runs about 75 car tests a week at Aberdeen North, so the pool holding a slot is reasonable. Join the list at the top of this page and we email you when a learner who could swap with you joins. A three-way chain often resolves faster than waiting for a perfect pair.

    Does swapping at Aberdeen North cost anything?

    No. You exchange slots rather than rebooking, so you keep your original booking reference and payment. Matching here is free, and DVSA does the swap on the phone at no charge.

    How much notice do I need?

    At least 10 full working days before whichever of the two tests comes first. Monday to Saturday count as working days; Sundays and public holidays do not, so the real deadline falls earlier than the calendar suggests.

    Can my instructor arrange it for me?

    No. Since 12 May 2026 only the candidate can book or manage their own test, and that applies to instructors too. Yours can sit next to you while you make the call.

    Is this the same as a cancellation app for Aberdeen North?

    No. A cancellation app scans the booking service for unclaimed appointments, and since 12 May 2026 learners are not allowed to use services that do that. A swap works the other way round: the date you want is already booked by another learner, the two of you agree to exchange, and you make the call yourself.

    Your Aberdeen North date is somebody's dream date

    Somewhere there is a learner holding the slot you want, who would rather have yours. Join the list and we email you when a learner who could swap with you joins. Free, no card, nothing to pay when it works.

    A swap needs both people on the list, so sending this to a classmate or an instructors' group chat improves your own odds as well.