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South-west England

Bristol (Kingswood) driving test centre

The Siston Centre, Station Road, Kingswood, Bristol, Gloucestershire, BS15 4GQ

5.9 weeks
median wait from booking to test, national 12.4
51.9%
pass rate, +1.9 on the national 50%
286
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 Bristol (Kingswood) date? How to postpone it without losing the fee.

Bristol (Kingswood) · free

Join the swap list for Bristol (Kingswood)

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.

Bristol (Kingswood) in numbers

51.9% of car tests at Bristol (Kingswood) end in a pass, 1.9 points above the national average of 50%. Within South-west England it ranks 10th of 21. It is also one of the busiest centres in the country, putting roughly 286 car tests through every week, which means a lot of learners holding a Bristol (Kingswood) slot at any one time.

Pass rate

Above average
Passed here
51.9%14,863 tests, Apr 2025 to Mar 2026
National average
50%same period
On last year
-0.1points down (52% 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

Shorter than most
Median wait
5.9 weeks6.5 weeks shorter than the national median of 12.4
Still free to book
29.9%of the next 24 weeks
Already taken
3,328of 4,748 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 Bristol (Kingswood)

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 Bristol (Kingswood). Anywhere else is refused on the call.

CentreDistanceWait, weeksPass rate
Bristol (Avonmouth)about 14 miles12.155.5% +3.6
Chippenhamabout 17 miles11.756.4% +4.5
Trowbridgeabout 21 miles5.655.2% +3.3

Pass rates are DVSA figures for April 2025 to March 2026, compared with Bristol (Kingswood). 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

    Bristol (Kingswood)'s own three nearest are Bristol (Avonmouth), Chippenham, Trowbridge.

  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 Bristol (Kingswood), 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

The Siston Centre
Station Road, Kingswood
Bristol
Gloucestershire
BS15 4GQ

  • A car park is available at this centre
  • Male and female toilets available

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 Bristol (Kingswood) 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 Bristol (Kingswood) route videos

No curated set for this centre yet, so this search is aimed at Bristol (Kingswood) specifically. Local instructors film these roads constantly.

The roundabouts around Bristol (Kingswood)

Every named roundabout with three or more exits within three miles of the centre, nearest first, read off OpenStreetMap. DVSA stopped publishing test routes in 2010, so this is not a route and nobody can tell you which of these you will be sent round. It is the ground the test is driven on, and these are the junctions worth having met before the morning rather than on it.

RoundaboutExitsFrom the centreRoads that meet there
Siston Hill Roundabout30.3 milesA4174 (A4174), Carsons Road Link, Station Road Link (A4175)
Deanery Road Roundabout30.9 milesA4174 (A4174), Deanery Road (A420)
Rosary Roundabout31.6 milesA4174 (A4174), Emerson Way, Willowherb Road
Speedwell Road31.6 milesSpeedwell Road, Whiteway Road
Lyde Green Roundabout31.9 milesA4174 (A4174), Westerleigh Road
Somerfield Roundabout32.8 milesSaint Anne's Road, Wootton Road, Wyatts View

6 named roundabouts within three miles of Bristol (Kingswood). Each name opens that junction on Google Maps.

Swaps at Bristol (Kingswood), 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 Bristol (Kingswood) 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

      Show me how you would wash and clean the rear windscreen. Which control do you use?

      • The rear washer and wiper control
      • None; you pull over and wipe it by hand
      • The rear demister
      • The front windscreen washer
      Show the answer

      The rear washer and wiper control. The rear wash and wipe, often on the end of the wiper stalk. It is asked while you are driving, so know where it is in the car you will test in before the day.

    2. Road signs

      Why do the stop and give way signs have shapes no other sign uses?

      • So they can be seen from further away at night
      • So they fit on narrow footways
      • So they can be recognised even when the face is hidden, for example by snow or dirt
      • Because they are the oldest signs
      Show the answer

      So they can be recognised even when the face is hidden, for example by snow or dirt. The octagon and the upside-down triangle can be recognised from their shape alone, even from behind or when the face is covered.

    3. Warning lights

      A red warning light comes on while you are driving. What does red generally mean?

      • Stop as soon as it is safe and find out why
      • Have it checked at your next service
      • Nothing; red lights are only tested at start-up
      • Something is switched on
      Show the answer

      Stop as soon as it is safe and find out why. Red means a problem that should not be driven on: oil pressure, brakes, overheating, charging. Stop when safe and find out why.

    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 Bristol (Kingswood): questions

    Can I swap a test at Bristol (Kingswood) 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 Bristol (Kingswood) the list is Bristol (Avonmouth), Chippenham, Trowbridge. Anywhere else is refused on the call.

    What is the pass rate at Bristol (Kingswood)?

    51.9% of car tests at Bristol (Kingswood) ended in a pass between April 2025 and March 2026, from 14,863 tests. The national average over the same period was 50%, so Bristol (Kingswood) is 1.9 points above it, ranking 160th 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 Bristol (Kingswood)?

    Of the centres you can legally move a Bristol (Kingswood) test to, Chippenham has the highest pass rate at 56.4%, against 51.9% 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 Bristol (Kingswood)?

    5.9 weeks. That is the median wait between booking and taking a test for people who sat one at Bristol (Kingswood) in September 2026, from DVSA's own monthly figures, so half of them waited longer. The national median that month was 12.4 weeks. 29.9% 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 Bristol (Kingswood)?

    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 286 car tests a week at Bristol (Kingswood), so the pool holding a slot is large. 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 Bristol (Kingswood) 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 Bristol (Kingswood)?

    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 Bristol (Kingswood) 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.