Southall driving test centre
295 Allenby Road, Southall, Greater London, UB1 2HD
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 Southall 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.
Southall in numbers
44.8% of car tests at Southall end in a pass, 5.2 points below the national average of 50%. Within London it ranks 25th of 30. It runs roughly 164 car tests a week, so there is a steady population of learners holding a slot here.
Pass rate
Below average- Passed here
- 44.8%8,543 tests, Apr 2025 to Mar 2026
- National average
- 50%same period
- On last year
- -1.4points down (46.2% the year before)
Waiting time
Shorter than most- Median wait
- 5.4 weeks7.0 weeks shorter than the national median of 12.4
- Still free to book
- 3.8%of the next 24 weeks
- Already taken
- 2,635of 2,740 slots in that window
Centres you can swap with from Southall
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 Southall. Anywhere else is refused on the call.
| Centre | Distance | Wait, weeks | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yeading | about 2 miles | 3.0 | 52.8% +8 |
| Greenford (Horsenden Lane) | about 3 miles | 18.4 | 41.4% -3.4 |
| Isleworth (Fleming Way) | about 6 miles | 20.9 | 50.4% +5.6 |
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
Southall's own three nearest are Yeading, Greenford (Horsenden Lane), Isleworth (Fleming Way).
Same test type
Weekday with weekday; evening and weekend tests only with each other.
Getting to Southall, 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
295 Allenby Road
Southall
Greater London
UB1 2HD
- Parking spaces are available at this centre
- 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 Southall 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 Southall 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 Southall
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target Roundabout | 3 | 1.3 miles | A312 (A312), Church Road (A312), Western Avenue (A40) |
| White Hart | 5 | 1.3 miles | A4180 (A4180), Church Road (A312), Ruislip Road (B455), The Parkway (A312), Yeading Lane |
| Castle Road | 3 | 1.6 miles | Castle Road, Glamis Way |
| The Fairway | 4 | 1.7 miles | Glamis Way, Raglan Way, The Fairway |
| Oldfield Lane North | 4 | 1.9 miles | Berkeley Avenue, Clare Road, Oldfield Lane North |
| Oldfields Circus | 4 | 1.9 miles | Oldfields Circus, Orchard Close, The Fairway |
| Eaton Rise | 4 | 2.5 miles | Eaton Rise, Montpelier Avenue, Montpelier Road |
| Barra Hall Circus | 5 | 2.7 miles | Barra Hall Road, Botwell Lane, Freemans Lane, Judge Heath Lane |
| Eastcote Lane | 3 | 2.8 miles | Eastcote Lane, Rayners Lane, Roxeth Green Avenue |
| Haven Green | 3 | 2.8 miles | Haven Green (B455), Madeley Road |
Swaps at Southall, 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 Southall 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
Tell me: where would you find the recommended tyre pressures, and when should they be checked?
- On the tyre wall, checked after a long drive
- In the manufacturer's handbook, checked with a reliable gauge when the tyres are cold
- On the MOT certificate, checked once a year
- Ask the garage; they are the same for every car
Show the answer
In the manufacturer's handbook, checked with a reliable gauge when the tyres are cold. The handbook (or a sticker on the car) gives the pressures. Check them cold with a reliable gauge, include the spare, and refit the valve caps.
-
Road signs
A direction sign with a green background points along which kind of road?
- A tourist route
- A local road
- A motorway
- 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
An amber warning light comes on. What does amber generally mean?
- Stop immediately in the road
- Have it checked soon; you can usually drive on carefully
- The car needs fuel
- Something is switched on
Show the answer
Have it checked soon; you can usually drive on carefully. Amber is a fault worth checking soon, such as engine management, ABS or tyre pressure. Read the handbook for your car.
Swapping at Southall: questions
Can I swap a test at Southall 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 Southall the list is Yeading, Greenford (Horsenden Lane), Isleworth (Fleming Way). Anywhere else is refused on the call.
What is the pass rate at Southall?
44.8% of car tests at Southall ended in a pass between April 2025 and March 2026, from 8,543 tests. The national average over the same period was 50%, so Southall is 5.2 points below it, ranking 271st 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 Southall?
Of the centres you can legally move a Southall test to, Yeading has the highest pass rate at 52.8%, against 44.8% 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 Southall?
5.4 weeks. That is the median wait between booking and taking a test for people who sat one at Southall in September 2026, from DVSA's own monthly figures, so half of them waited longer. The national median that month was 12.4 weeks. 3.8% 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 Southall?
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 164 car tests a week at Southall, 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 Southall 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 Southall?
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 Southall 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.