Sidcup driving test centre
2 Crayside, Five Arches Business Estate, Maidstone Road, Sidcup, Greater London, DA14 5AG
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 Sidcup date? How to postpone it without losing the fee.
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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.
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No test booked yet? There is nothing to swap until you have one. Book on GOV.UK, then come back.
Sidcup in numbers
58.7% of car tests at Sidcup end in a pass, 8.7 points above the national average of 50%. That is the highest of the 30 centres in London. It is also one of the busiest centres in the country, putting roughly 275 car tests through every week, which means a lot of learners holding a Sidcup slot at any one time.
Pass rate
Above average- Passed here
- 58.7%14,318 tests, Apr 2025 to Mar 2026
- National average
- 50%same period
- On last year
- -0.3points down (59% the year before)
Waiting time
Longer than most- Median wait
- 23 weeks10.6 weeks longer than the national median of 12.4
- Still free to book
- 4.6%of the next 24 weeks
- Already taken
- 3,988of 4,178 slots in that window
Centres you can swap with from Sidcup
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 Sidcup. Anywhere else is refused on the call.
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
Sidcup's own three nearest are Belvedere, Bromley, Erith.
Same test type
Weekday with weekday; evening and weekend tests only with each other.
Getting to Sidcup, 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
2 Crayside, Five Arches Business Estate
Maidstone Road
Sidcup
Greater London
DA14 5AG
- Parking spaces are available
- 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 Sidcup 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.
6 practice routes from the Sidcup test centre. Real roads, turn by turn, with the roundabout exits numbered and a manoeuvre to try on each one. Built from OpenStreetMap. Practice loops, not the examiner's route, because nobody has that.
The roundabouts around Sidcup
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruxley Corner | 4 | 0.4 miles | Edgington Way (A223), Maidstone Road (A211), Maidstone Road (B2173), North Cray Road (A223), Sandy Lane |
| Crittall's Corner | 4 | 0.6 miles | A20 (A20), A223 (A223), Cray Road (A224), Sevenoaks Way (A224) |
| Frognal Corner | 3 | 1.0 miles | A20 (A20), Chislehurst Road (A222), Perry Street (A222) |
| Hurst Road | 3 | 1.4 miles | Foots Cray Lane, Hurst Road, Penhill Road |
| Ravensbury Road | 4 | 2.0 miles | Berens Way, Ravensbury Road, Wimborne Avenue |
| Penhill Road | 4 | 2.0 miles | Blackfen Road, Bleddyn Close, Blendon Road (A221), Danson Underpass (A221), Penhill Road (A221) |
| Blendon Road | 3 | 2.0 miles | Blendon Road (A221), Blendon Road (B2210), Kestlake Road (A221) |
| Forest Way | 4 | 2.3 miles | Forest Way, Friar Road, Kedleston Drive |
| London Road | 3 | 2.6 miles | Bartholomew Way (B2173), London Road, London Road (B2173), St Marys Road |
| Albion Road | 4 | 2.7 miles | Albion Road (A207), Highland Road, Townley Road |
| Crouch Croft | 3 | 2.7 miles | Colemans Heath, Crouch Croft |
| High Street | 3 | 2.9 miles | Goldsel Road (B258), High Street (B2173), High Street (B258), Swanley Lane (B258) |
Swaps at Sidcup, 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 Sidcup 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
Open the bonnet. Tell me: how would you check there is enough engine coolant?
- Find the high and low marks on the header tank, or the radiator cap, and describe topping up to the right level
- Check the temperature gauge reads normal
- Open the radiator cap with the engine warm and look inside
- Check the windscreen washer bottle
Show the answer
Find the high and low marks on the header tank, or the radiator cap, and describe topping up to the right level. Identify the high and low level markings on the header tank where fitted, or the radiator filler cap, and describe how to top up to the correct level.
-
Road signs
A direction sign with a green background points along which kind of road?
- A motorway
- A local road
- A tourist route
- A primary route
Show the answer
A primary route. Green backgrounds are primary routes, blue are motorways, white are other roads, and brown point to tourist attractions.
-
Warning lights
A red warning light comes on while you are driving. What does red generally mean?
- Something is switched on
- 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
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 Sidcup: questions
Can I swap a test at Sidcup 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 Sidcup the list is Belvedere, Bromley, Erith. Anywhere else is refused on the call.
What is the pass rate at Sidcup?
58.7% of car tests at Sidcup ended in a pass between April 2025 and March 2026, from 14,318 tests. The national average over the same period was 50%, so Sidcup is 8.7 points above it, ranking 62nd of 314 centres in Great Britain. These are DVSA's own published figures and they describe the centre, not you.
How long is the wait for a driving test at Sidcup?
23 weeks. That is the median wait between booking and taking a test for people who sat one at Sidcup in September 2026, from DVSA's own monthly figures, so half of them waited longer. The national median that month was 12.4 weeks. 4.6% 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 Sidcup?
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 275 car tests a week at Sidcup, 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 Sidcup 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 Sidcup?
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 Sidcup 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.