Freebird Driving School

12/06/2026

DVSA
Taking stronger action against those breaking the rules
As you know, from 12 May 2026 only learner drivers have been allowed to book, change, swap or cancel a car driving test.

This rule change has given us new powers to take direct action against those who misuse the booking service. And we are using those powers to make things fairer for all learner drivers.

Cancelling driving tests
We have started to cancel driving test that we have identified as being booked or managed outside of the new rules.

So far, we have cancelled 450 tests.

They were cancelled as they were booked using a payment card that has been used to pay for lots of driving tests for different learner drivers. This means that the tests were not booked by the learner driver taking the test. Our terms and conditions allow us to cancel tests where this happens.

We are continually monitoring the booking service and will keep cancelling tests where we have evidence of bookings made in breach of the law and our terms and conditions.

This will not stop.

We have placed 4,034 online booking suspensions on the system
A suspension means the driving licence holder can no longer book or manage tests online. They will need to call our customer service centre instead.

We’ve also updated our guidance to confirm that a suspension stays in place for 12 months.

We have reported apps to Apple and Google
We have successfully removed 17 apps from on the Apple and Google platforms that break the terms and conditions of our booking service. We will continue to monitor the platforms and report any new apps to have them removed as well.

Help us get the message to your pupils
Please remind your pupils of 3 simple things:

Do not use unofficial apps or websites to find or book a test slot.
Do not book a test through anyone on social media.
Only ever use GOV.UK - it is free and secure.
If they ignore this advice, the consequences are serious.

DVSA can suspend their online booking access. Their test can be cancelled. They could lose hundreds of pounds with no way to get it back.

And once they hand over their personal data to a scammer, they have no control over what happens to it.

We’ve published guidance for your pupils about this.

Find out more about the risks of unofficial driving test booking services and social media scams.

Thank you for your continued support in helping to make the system fairer for every learner.

10/06/2026

Trowbridge, junction plan.

10/06/2026

Changes to the driving test booking rules happening today.
For existing bookings, this applies to wherever the test is booked today - not the original booking location.

For any changes made from today, the 3 nearest centres are calculated from the booked test centre at the time of any change.

Why we're doing this
Our priority is to stop learners being exploited by third parties, put them in control of their driving test and make the process fairer by clamping down on businesses that resell tests at inflated prices.

Today's location restrictions will help deter bookings at centres where learners do not intend to sit their test.

A reminder of the other changes already in place
From 31 March 2026, learners are limited to 2 changes per booking.

From 12 May 2026, only the learner can book, change, swap or cancel their own test. It’s now against the law for you or anyone else to book a test for your pupils. You’re also not allowed to change, swap or cancel a driving test for someone else.

Since 12 May, we have suspended 3,605 accounts from booking online, acted against bot use and reported apps to store providers for removal.

We will continue to monitor misuse of the system and take action against those doing so.

12/05/2026

Congratulations Emily. 1st attempt pass in Trowbridge. 🎉🎉🎉🎊🎊🎉🎉🎉🎉🎂

06/05/2026

Driving test swap guidance published for learners
We have published guidance for your pupils about how tests can be swapped from 12 May.

The guidance provides further detail on how test swaps will work when the change to learner-only booking comes into force.

You can read the full guidance on swapping tests on GOV.UK.

What’s included
From 12 May, test swaps can only be done by learner drivers, through the DVSA customer service centre.

The guidance covers:

what a test swap is
who can swap a driving test
how to swap
what to do before calling
Protecting learners’ personal data
To protect your pupil’s personal data, the guidance makes it clear that they:

only need to share their driving test booking reference number with the other learner driver they want to swap tests with.
should never give their driving licence number, theory test pass certificate number, address, phone number, email address or payment card details to another learner driver.

GOV.UK - The best place to find government services and information.

30/04/2026

Congratulations Chloe. Pass pass in Trowbridge today. 🎊🎊🎊🎉🎊🎉

29/04/2026

Congratulations Laticha. Nice pass in Trowbridge 🎂🎂🎂🎉🎉🎉🎉🎊

28/04/2026

Congratulations Megan Jones. 0 minor pass today in Trowbridge. 😀🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂👌🎊🎊🎂🎉

21/04/2026

Congratulations Archie. First attempt pass in Chippenham. 🎉🎉🎉🎉🥳🥳

10/04/2026

Congratulations Emily Douglas. First attempt pass, with 3 minors in Trowbridge today. 🎂🎂🎂🎂🎉🎉🥳