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Isle of Skye (Portree) driving test centre

Springfield Guest House, Home Farm Road, Portree, Highlands, IV51 9LX

3.4 weeks
median wait from booking to test, national 12.4
57%
pass rate, +7 on the national 50%
2
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 Isle of Skye (Portree) date? How to postpone it without losing the fee.

Isle of Skye (Portree) · free

Join the swap list for Isle of Skye (Portree)

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.

Isle of Skye (Portree) in numbers

57% of car tests at Isle of Skye (Portree) end in a pass, 7 points above the national average of 50%. Within Scotland it ranks 42nd of 74. It is a small centre by national standards, at roughly 2 car tests a week, so swaps here depend on catching the right person rather than on volume. The rate has moved noticeably too: down 12.9 points on the year before (69.9%).

Pass rate

Above average
Passed here
57%128 tests, Apr 2025 to Mar 2026
National average
50%same period
On last year
-12.9points down (69.9% 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
3.4 weeks9.0 weeks shorter than the national median of 12.4
Still free to book
0%of the next 24 weeks
Already taken
16of 16 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 Isle of Skye (Portree)

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 Isle of Skye (Portree). Anywhere else is refused on the call.

CentreDistanceWait, weeksPass rate
Kyle of Lochalshabout 35 miles7.757.4% same
Mallaigabout 48 miles22.064.2% +7.2
Benbecula Islandabout 66 miles–72.9% +15.9

Pass rates are DVSA figures for April 2025 to March 2026, compared with Isle of Skye (Portree). 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

    Isle of Skye (Portree)'s own three nearest are Kyle of Lochalsh, Mallaig, Benbecula Island.

  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 Isle of Skye (Portree), 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

Springfield Guest House
Home Farm Road
Portree
Highlands
IV51 9LX

  • No car park is available
  • Male only toilets available
  • Arrangements will be made at this test centre if you have a disability

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 Isle of Skye (Portree) 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 Isle of Skye (Portree) route videos

No curated set for this centre yet, so this search is aimed at Isle of Skye (Portree) specifically. Local instructors film these roads constantly.

Swaps at Isle of Skye (Portree), 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 Isle of Skye (Portree) 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

      Which of these is NOT one of the "show me" tasks?

      • Show me how you would operate the horn
      • Show me how you would check the oil level
      • Show me how you would open and close the side window
      • Show me how you would demist the front windscreen
      Show the answer

      Show me how you would check the oil level. The seven "show me" tasks are all done from the driving seat on the move: wash the rear and front windscreens, dipped headlights, rear demister, horn, demist the front windscreen, open and close a side window. Checking the oil is a "tell me" question.

    2. Road signs

      What shape are most warning signs?

      • A circle
      • A rectangle
      • An octagon
      • A triangle
      Show the answer

      A triangle. Warning signs are mostly red-bordered triangles, point up.

    3. Warning lights

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

      • Something is switched on
      • There is a fault to check soon
      • 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 Isle of Skye (Portree): questions

    Can I swap a test at Isle of Skye (Portree) 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 Isle of Skye (Portree) the list is Kyle of Lochalsh, Mallaig, Benbecula Island. Anywhere else is refused on the call.

    What is the pass rate at Isle of Skye (Portree)?

    57% of car tests at Isle of Skye (Portree) ended in a pass between April 2025 and March 2026, from 128 tests. The national average over the same period was 50%, so Isle of Skye (Portree) is 7 points above it, ranking 83rd 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 Isle of Skye (Portree)?

    Of the centres you can legally move a Isle of Skye (Portree) test to, Benbecula Island has the highest pass rate at 72.9%, against 57% 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 Isle of Skye (Portree)?

    3.4 weeks. That is the median wait between booking and taking a test for people who sat one at Isle of Skye (Portree) in September 2026, from DVSA's own monthly figures, so half of them waited longer. The national median that month was 12.4 weeks. 0% 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 Isle of Skye (Portree)?

    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 2 car tests a week at Isle of Skye (Portree), so the pool holding a slot is small, and patience counts for more here. 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 Isle of Skye (Portree) 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 Isle of Skye (Portree)?

    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 Isle of Skye (Portree) 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.