Chadderton driving test centre
9 Broadgate, Broadway Business Park,, Chadderton OLDHAM, Greater Manchester, OL9 9XA
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 Chadderton date? How to postpone it without losing the fee.
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No test booked yet? There is nothing to swap until you have one. Book on GOV.UK, then come back.
Chadderton in numbers
46.8% of car tests at Chadderton end in a pass, 3.2 points below the national average of 50%. Within North-west England it ranks 24th of 34. It is also one of the busiest centres in the country, putting roughly 307 car tests through every week, which means a lot of learners holding a Chadderton slot at any one time.
Pass rate
Below average- Passed here
- 46.8%15,988 tests, Apr 2025 to Mar 2026
- National average
- 50%same period
- On last year
- +1.9points up (44.9% the year before)
Waiting time
Longer than most- Median wait
- 16.1 weeks3.7 weeks longer than the national median of 12.4
- Still free to book
- 4.5%of the next 24 weeks
- Already taken
- 5,596of 5,858 slots in that window
Centres you can swap with from Chadderton
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 Chadderton. Anywhere else is refused on the call.
| Centre | Distance | Wait, weeks | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheetham Hill (Manchester) | about 5 miles | 10.0 | 44.7% -2.1 |
| Bury (Manchester) | about 8 miles | 5.7 | 46.3% same |
| Rochdale (Manchester) | about 8 miles | 5.6 | 48.3% +1.5 |
The four rules, applied here
You both need a change left
Two changes per car test, and a swap spends one of them. How changing a test works.
10 working days' notice
To whichever of the two tests is first. Monday to Saturday count; Sundays and public holidays do not.
Centres near each other
Chadderton's own three nearest are Cheetham Hill (Manchester), Rochdale (Manchester), Bury (Manchester).
Same test type
Weekday with weekday; evening and weekend tests only with each other.
Getting to Chadderton, 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
9 Broadgate
Broadway Business Park,
Chadderton OLDHAM
Greater Manchester
OL9 9XA
- Practice on site is strictly prohibited
- Toilets
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.
Driving around Chadderton 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 Chadderton route videos
The roundabouts around Chadderton
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.
| Roundabout | Exits | From the centre | Roads that meet there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greengate Roundabout | 5 | 0.5 miles | Greengate (B6393), Greengate East, Hollinwood Avenue, Hollinwood Avenue (A6104), Lightbowne Road (B6393), Moston Lane, Victoria Avenue East, Victoria Avenue East (A6104) |
| Fourways | 3 | 0.8 miles | Ainsbrook Avenue, Charlestown Road, Moston Lane |
| Kingsway | 5 | 1.0 miles | Hardfield Road, Kingsway, Manor Road, Mount Road, Uplands |
| Holly Lane | 3 | 1.9 miles | Birch Avenue, Holly Lane |
| Manchester Street | 5 | 2.1 miles | A627 (A627), A669 (A669), Manchester Street (A62), Manchester Street (A627), Oldham Way (A62) |
| Chadderton Roundabout | 3 | 2.1 miles | A627(M) (A627(M)), Broadway (A663), Burnley Lane, Chadderton Way (A627) |
| Featherstall Road North Roundabout | 3 | 2.2 miles | Chadderton Way (A627), Featherstall Road North (A6048), Oldham Way (A627) |
| Thorpe Road Roundabout | 3 | 2.2 miles | Lightbowne Road (B6393), Northampton Road, Thorp Road (B6393) |
| King Street Roundabout | 5 | 2.3 miles | A62 (A62), Emmott Way, King Street, King Street (A627), Oldham Way (A62), Park Road |
| Northampton Road | 3 | 2.3 miles | Northampton Road, The Gateway |
| Stakehill Roundabout | 3 | 2.7 miles | Rochdale Road (A664), Slattocks Link Road (A627), Whitbrook Way |
Swaps at Chadderton, 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 Chadderton 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.
-
Show me, tell me
When is the "show me" question asked?
- While you are driving
- Before you set off, with the bonnet open
- Only if you make a mistake earlier
- At the end of the test, parked
Show the answer
While you are driving. The "tell me" question comes at the start. The "show me" question is asked while you are driving, so it also tests whether you can do it safely on the move.
-
Road signs
What shape are most warning signs?
- A triangle
- An octagon
- A rectangle
- A circle
Show the answer
A triangle. Warning signs are mostly red-bordered triangles, point up.
-
Warning lights
A red warning light comes on while you are driving. What does red generally mean?
- Nothing; red lights are only tested at start-up
- Stop as soon as it is safe and find out why
- Have it checked at your next service
- 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.
Swapping at Chadderton: questions
Can I swap a test at Chadderton 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 Chadderton the list is Cheetham Hill (Manchester), Bury (Manchester), Rochdale (Manchester). Anywhere else is refused on the call.
What is the pass rate at Chadderton?
46.8% of car tests at Chadderton ended in a pass between April 2025 and March 2026, from 15,988 tests. The national average over the same period was 50%, so Chadderton is 3.2 points below it, ranking 246th 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 Chadderton?
Of the centres you can legally move a Chadderton test to, Rochdale (Manchester) has the highest pass rate at 48.3%, against 46.8% 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 Chadderton?
16.1 weeks. That is the median wait between booking and taking a test for people who sat one at Chadderton in September 2026, from DVSA's own monthly figures, so half of them waited longer. The national median that month was 12.4 weeks. 4.5% 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 Chadderton?
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 307 car tests a week at Chadderton, 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 Chadderton 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 Chadderton?
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 Chadderton 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.