diff --git a/rest_framework/compat.py b/rest_framework/compat.py
index cb1228465..6f7447add 100644
--- a/rest_framework/compat.py
+++ b/rest_framework/compat.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import django
 from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
+from django.conf import settings
 
 # Try to import six from Django, fallback to included `six`.
 try:
@@ -83,7 +84,6 @@ def get_concrete_model(model_cls):
 
 # Django 1.5 add support for custom auth user model
 if django.VERSION >= (1, 5):
-    from django.conf import settings
     AUTH_USER_MODEL = settings.AUTH_USER_MODEL
 else:
     AUTH_USER_MODEL = 'auth.User'
@@ -436,6 +436,42 @@ except ImportError:
         return force_text(url)
 
 
+# RequestFactory only provide `generic` from 1.5 onwards
+
+from django.test.client import RequestFactory as DjangoRequestFactory
+from django.test.client import FakePayload
+try:
+    # In 1.5 the test client uses force_bytes
+    from django.utils.encoding import force_bytes_or_smart_bytes
+except ImportError:
+    # In 1.3 and 1.4 the test client just uses smart_str
+    from django.utils.encoding import smart_str as force_bytes_or_smart_bytes
+
+
+class RequestFactory(DjangoRequestFactory):
+    def generic(self, method, path,
+            data='', content_type='application/octet-stream', **extra):
+        parsed = urlparse.urlparse(path)
+        data = force_bytes_or_smart_bytes(data, settings.DEFAULT_CHARSET)
+        r = {
+            'PATH_INFO':      self._get_path(parsed),
+            'QUERY_STRING':   force_text(parsed[4]),
+            'REQUEST_METHOD': str(method),
+        }
+        if data:
+            r.update({
+                'CONTENT_LENGTH': len(data),
+                'CONTENT_TYPE':   str(content_type),
+                'wsgi.input':     FakePayload(data),
+            })
+        elif django.VERSION <= (1, 4):
+            # For 1.3 we need an empty WSGI payload
+            r.update({
+                'wsgi.input': FakePayload('')
+            })
+        r.update(extra)
+        return self.request(**r)
+
 # Markdown is optional
 try:
     import markdown
diff --git a/rest_framework/renderers.py b/rest_framework/renderers.py
index 8b2428ad8..d7a7ef297 100644
--- a/rest_framework/renderers.py
+++ b/rest_framework/renderers.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from django import forms
 from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
 from django.http.multipartparser import parse_header
 from django.template import RequestContext, loader, Template
+from django.test.client import encode_multipart
 from django.utils.xmlutils import SimplerXMLGenerator
 from rest_framework.compat import StringIO
 from rest_framework.compat import six
@@ -571,3 +572,13 @@ class BrowsableAPIRenderer(BaseRenderer):
             response.status_code = status.HTTP_200_OK
 
         return ret
+
+
+class MultiPartRenderer(BaseRenderer):
+    media_type = 'multipart/form-data; boundary=BoUnDaRyStRiNg'
+    format = 'form'
+    charset = 'utf-8'
+    BOUNDARY = 'BoUnDaRyStRiNg'
+
+    def render(self, data, accepted_media_type=None, renderer_context=None):
+        return encode_multipart(self.BOUNDARY, data)
diff --git a/rest_framework/response.py b/rest_framework/response.py
index 5877c8a3e..c4b2aaa66 100644
--- a/rest_framework/response.py
+++ b/rest_framework/response.py
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ class Response(SimpleTemplateResponse):
         charset = renderer.charset
         content_type = self.content_type
 
-        if content_type is None and charset is not None:
+        if content_type is None and charset is not None and ';' not in media_type:
             content_type = "{0}; charset={1}".format(media_type, charset)
         elif content_type is None:
             content_type = media_type
diff --git a/rest_framework/test.py b/rest_framework/test.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..92281cafc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rest_framework/test.py
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+from rest_framework.compat import six, RequestFactory
+from rest_framework.renderers import JSONRenderer, MultiPartRenderer
+
+
+class APIRequestFactory(RequestFactory):
+    renderer_classes = {
+        'json': JSONRenderer,
+        'form': MultiPartRenderer
+    }
+    default_format = 'form'
+
+    def __init__(self, format=None, **defaults):
+        self.format = format or self.default_format
+        super(APIRequestFactory, self).__init__(**defaults)
+
+    def _encode_data(self, data, format, content_type):
+        if not data:
+            return ('', None)
+
+        format = format or self.format
+
+        if content_type is None and data is not None:
+            renderer = self.renderer_classes[format]()
+            data = renderer.render(data)
+            # Determine the content-type header
+            if ';' in renderer.media_type:
+                content_type = renderer.media_type
+            else:
+                content_type = "{0}; charset={1}".format(
+                    renderer.media_type, renderer.charset
+                )
+            # Coerce text to bytes if required.
+            if isinstance(data, six.text_type):
+                data = bytes(data.encode(renderer.charset))
+
+        return data, content_type
+
+    def post(self, path, data=None, format=None, content_type=None, **extra):
+        data, content_type = self._encode_data(data, format, content_type)
+        return self.generic('POST', path, data, content_type, **extra)
+
+    def put(self, path, data=None, format=None, content_type=None, **extra):
+        data, content_type = self._encode_data(data, format, content_type)
+        return self.generic('PUT', path, data, content_type, **extra)
+
+    def patch(self, path, data=None, format=None, content_type=None, **extra):
+        data, content_type = self._encode_data(data, format, content_type)
+        return self.generic('PATCH', path, data, content_type, **extra)
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_authentication.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_authentication.py
index 6a50be064..f2c51c68f 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_authentication.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_authentication.py
@@ -21,14 +21,14 @@ from rest_framework.authtoken.models import Token
 from rest_framework.compat import patterns, url, include
 from rest_framework.compat import oauth2_provider, oauth2_provider_models, oauth2_provider_scope
 from rest_framework.compat import oauth, oauth_provider
-from rest_framework.tests.utils import RequestFactory
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 from rest_framework.views import APIView
-import json
 import base64
 import time
 import datetime
+import json
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
 
 class MockView(APIView):
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_decorators.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_decorators.py
index 1016fed3f..195f0ba3e 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_decorators.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_decorators.py
@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 from django.test import TestCase
 from rest_framework import status
+from rest_framework.authentication import BasicAuthentication
+from rest_framework.parsers import JSONParser
+from rest_framework.permissions import IsAuthenticated
 from rest_framework.response import Response
 from rest_framework.renderers import JSONRenderer
-from rest_framework.parsers import JSONParser
-from rest_framework.authentication import BasicAuthentication
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 from rest_framework.throttling import UserRateThrottle
-from rest_framework.permissions import IsAuthenticated
 from rest_framework.views import APIView
 from rest_framework.decorators import (
     api_view,
@@ -17,13 +18,11 @@ from rest_framework.decorators import (
     permission_classes,
 )
 
-from rest_framework.tests.utils import RequestFactory
-
 
 class DecoratorTestCase(TestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
-        self.factory = RequestFactory()
+        self.factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
     def _finalize_response(self, request, response, *args, **kwargs):
         response.request = request
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_filters.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_filters.py
index aaed62478..c9d9e7ffa 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_filters.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_filters.py
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@ from decimal import Decimal
 from django.db import models
 from django.core.urlresolvers import reverse
 from django.test import TestCase
-from django.test.client import RequestFactory
 from django.utils import unittest
 from rest_framework import generics, serializers, status, filters
 from rest_framework.compat import django_filters, patterns, url
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 from rest_framework.tests.models import BasicModel
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
 
 class FilterableItem(models.Model):
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_generics.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_generics.py
index 37734195a..1550880b5 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_generics.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_generics.py
@@ -3,12 +3,11 @@ from django.db import models
 from django.shortcuts import get_object_or_404
 from django.test import TestCase
 from rest_framework import generics, renderers, serializers, status
-from rest_framework.tests.utils import RequestFactory
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 from rest_framework.tests.models import BasicModel, Comment, SlugBasedModel
 from rest_framework.compat import six
-import json
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
 
 class RootView(generics.ListCreateAPIView):
@@ -71,9 +70,8 @@ class TestRootView(TestCase):
         """
         POST requests to ListCreateAPIView should create a new object.
         """
-        content = {'text': 'foobar'}
-        request = factory.post('/', json.dumps(content),
-                               content_type='application/json')
+        data = {'text': 'foobar'}
+        request = factory.post('/', data, format='json')
         with self.assertNumQueries(1):
             response = self.view(request).render()
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
@@ -85,9 +83,8 @@ class TestRootView(TestCase):
         """
         PUT requests to ListCreateAPIView should not be allowed
         """
-        content = {'text': 'foobar'}
-        request = factory.put('/', json.dumps(content),
-                              content_type='application/json')
+        data = {'text': 'foobar'}
+        request = factory.put('/', data, format='json')
         with self.assertNumQueries(0):
             response = self.view(request).render()
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_405_METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED)
@@ -148,9 +145,8 @@ class TestRootView(TestCase):
         """
         POST requests to create a new object should not be able to set the id.
         """
-        content = {'id': 999, 'text': 'foobar'}
-        request = factory.post('/', json.dumps(content),
-                               content_type='application/json')
+        data = {'id': 999, 'text': 'foobar'}
+        request = factory.post('/', data, format='json')
         with self.assertNumQueries(1):
             response = self.view(request).render()
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
@@ -189,9 +185,8 @@ class TestInstanceView(TestCase):
         """
         POST requests to RetrieveUpdateDestroyAPIView should not be allowed
         """
-        content = {'text': 'foobar'}
-        request = factory.post('/', json.dumps(content),
-                               content_type='application/json')
+        data = {'text': 'foobar'}
+        request = factory.post('/', data, format='json')
         with self.assertNumQueries(0):
             response = self.view(request).render()
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_405_METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED)
@@ -201,9 +196,8 @@ class TestInstanceView(TestCase):
         """
         PUT requests to RetrieveUpdateDestroyAPIView should update an object.
         """
-        content = {'text': 'foobar'}
-        request = factory.put('/1', json.dumps(content),
-                              content_type='application/json')
+        data = {'text': 'foobar'}
+        request = factory.put('/1', data, format='json')
         with self.assertNumQueries(2):
             response = self.view(request, pk='1').render()
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
@@ -215,9 +209,8 @@ class TestInstanceView(TestCase):
         """
         PATCH requests to RetrieveUpdateDestroyAPIView should update an object.
         """
-        content = {'text': 'foobar'}
-        request = factory.patch('/1', json.dumps(content),
-                              content_type='application/json')
+        data = {'text': 'foobar'}
+        request = factory.patch('/1', data, format='json')
 
         with self.assertNumQueries(2):
             response = self.view(request, pk=1).render()
@@ -293,9 +286,8 @@ class TestInstanceView(TestCase):
         """
         PUT requests to create a new object should not be able to set the id.
         """
-        content = {'id': 999, 'text': 'foobar'}
-        request = factory.put('/1', json.dumps(content),
-                              content_type='application/json')
+        data = {'id': 999, 'text': 'foobar'}
+        request = factory.put('/1', data, format='json')
         with self.assertNumQueries(2):
             response = self.view(request, pk=1).render()
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
@@ -309,9 +301,8 @@ class TestInstanceView(TestCase):
         if it does not currently exist.
         """
         self.objects.get(id=1).delete()
-        content = {'text': 'foobar'}
-        request = factory.put('/1', json.dumps(content),
-                              content_type='application/json')
+        data = {'text': 'foobar'}
+        request = factory.put('/1', data, format='json')
         with self.assertNumQueries(3):
             response = self.view(request, pk=1).render()
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
@@ -324,10 +315,9 @@ class TestInstanceView(TestCase):
         PUT requests to RetrieveUpdateDestroyAPIView should create an object
         at the requested url if it doesn't exist.
         """
-        content = {'text': 'foobar'}
+        data = {'text': 'foobar'}
         # pk fields can not be created on demand, only the database can set the pk for a new object
-        request = factory.put('/5', json.dumps(content),
-                              content_type='application/json')
+        request = factory.put('/5', data, format='json')
         with self.assertNumQueries(3):
             response = self.view(request, pk=5).render()
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
@@ -339,9 +329,8 @@ class TestInstanceView(TestCase):
         PUT requests to RetrieveUpdateDestroyAPIView should create an object
         at the requested url if possible, else return HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN error-response.
         """
-        content = {'text': 'foobar'}
-        request = factory.put('/test_slug', json.dumps(content),
-                              content_type='application/json')
+        data = {'text': 'foobar'}
+        request = factory.put('/test_slug', data, format='json')
         with self.assertNumQueries(2):
             response = self.slug_based_view(request, slug='test_slug').render()
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
@@ -415,9 +404,8 @@ class TestCreateModelWithAutoNowAddField(TestCase):
 
         https://github.com/tomchristie/django-rest-framework/issues/285
         """
-        content = {'email': 'foobar@example.com', 'content': 'foobar'}
-        request = factory.post('/', json.dumps(content),
-                               content_type='application/json')
+        data = {'email': 'foobar@example.com', 'content': 'foobar'}
+        request = factory.post('/', data, format='json')
         response = self.view(request).render()
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
         created = self.objects.get(id=1)
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_hyperlinkedserializers.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_hyperlinkedserializers.py
index 129600cb4..61e613d75 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_hyperlinkedserializers.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_hyperlinkedserializers.py
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 import json
 from django.test import TestCase
-from django.test.client import RequestFactory
 from rest_framework import generics, status, serializers
 from rest_framework.compat import patterns, url
-from rest_framework.tests.models import Anchor, BasicModel, ManyToManyModel, BlogPost, BlogPostComment, Album, Photo, OptionalRelationModel
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
+from rest_framework.tests.models import (
+    Anchor, BasicModel, ManyToManyModel, BlogPost, BlogPostComment,
+    Album, Photo, OptionalRelationModel
+)
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
 
 class BlogPostCommentSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
@@ -21,7 +24,7 @@ class BlogPostCommentSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
 
 class PhotoSerializer(serializers.Serializer):
     description = serializers.CharField()
-    album_url = serializers.HyperlinkedRelatedField(source='album', view_name='album-detail', queryset=Album.objects.all(), slug_field='title', slug_url_kwarg='title')
+    album_url = serializers.HyperlinkedRelatedField(source='album', view_name='album-detail', queryset=Album.objects.all(), lookup_field='title', slug_url_kwarg='title')
 
     def restore_object(self, attrs, instance=None):
         return Photo(**attrs)
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_negotiation.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_negotiation.py
index 7f84827f0..04b89eb60 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_negotiation.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_negotiation.py
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 from django.test import TestCase
-from django.test.client import RequestFactory
 from rest_framework.negotiation import DefaultContentNegotiation
 from rest_framework.request import Request
 from rest_framework.renderers import BaseRenderer
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
 
 class MockJSONRenderer(BaseRenderer):
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_pagination.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_pagination.py
index e538a78e5..85d4640ea 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_pagination.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_pagination.py
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@ from decimal import Decimal
 from django.db import models
 from django.core.paginator import Paginator
 from django.test import TestCase
-from django.test.client import RequestFactory
 from django.utils import unittest
 from rest_framework import generics, status, pagination, filters, serializers
 from rest_framework.compat import django_filters
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 from rest_framework.tests.models import BasicModel
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
 
 class FilterableItem(models.Model):
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ class TestCustomPaginationSerializer(TestCase):
         self.page = paginator.page(1)
 
     def test_custom_pagination_serializer(self):
-        request = RequestFactory().get('/foobar')
+        request = APIRequestFactory().get('/foobar')
         serializer = CustomPaginationSerializer(
             instance=self.page,
             context={'request': request}
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_permissions.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_permissions.py
index 6caaf65b0..e2cca3808 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_permissions.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_permissions.py
@@ -3,11 +3,10 @@ from django.contrib.auth.models import User, Permission
 from django.db import models
 from django.test import TestCase
 from rest_framework import generics, status, permissions, authentication, HTTP_HEADER_ENCODING
-from rest_framework.tests.utils import RequestFactory
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 import base64
-import json
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
 
 class BasicModel(models.Model):
@@ -56,15 +55,13 @@ class ModelPermissionsIntegrationTests(TestCase):
         BasicModel(text='foo').save()
 
     def test_has_create_permissions(self):
-        request = factory.post('/', json.dumps({'text': 'foobar'}),
-                               content_type='application/json',
+        request = factory.post('/', {'text': 'foobar'}, format='json',
                                HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=self.permitted_credentials)
         response = root_view(request, pk=1)
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
 
     def test_has_put_permissions(self):
-        request = factory.put('/1', json.dumps({'text': 'foobar'}),
-                              content_type='application/json',
+        request = factory.put('/1', {'text': 'foobar'}, format='json',
                               HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=self.permitted_credentials)
         response = instance_view(request, pk='1')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
@@ -75,15 +72,13 @@ class ModelPermissionsIntegrationTests(TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_204_NO_CONTENT)
 
     def test_does_not_have_create_permissions(self):
-        request = factory.post('/', json.dumps({'text': 'foobar'}),
-                               content_type='application/json',
+        request = factory.post('/', {'text': 'foobar'}, format='json',
                                HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=self.disallowed_credentials)
         response = root_view(request, pk=1)
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN)
 
     def test_does_not_have_put_permissions(self):
-        request = factory.put('/1', json.dumps({'text': 'foobar'}),
-                              content_type='application/json',
+        request = factory.put('/1', {'text': 'foobar'}, format='json',
                               HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=self.disallowed_credentials)
         response = instance_view(request, pk='1')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN)
@@ -95,28 +90,26 @@ class ModelPermissionsIntegrationTests(TestCase):
 
     def test_has_put_as_create_permissions(self):
         # User only has update permissions - should be able to update an entity.
-        request = factory.put('/1', json.dumps({'text': 'foobar'}),
-                              content_type='application/json',
+        request = factory.put('/1', {'text': 'foobar'}, format='json',
                               HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=self.updateonly_credentials)
         response = instance_view(request, pk='1')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
 
         # But if PUTing to a new entity, permission should be denied.
-        request = factory.put('/2', json.dumps({'text': 'foobar'}),
-                              content_type='application/json',
+        request = factory.put('/2', {'text': 'foobar'}, format='json',
                               HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=self.updateonly_credentials)
         response = instance_view(request, pk='2')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN)
 
     def test_options_permitted(self):
-        request = factory.options('/', content_type='application/json',
+        request = factory.options('/',
                                HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=self.permitted_credentials)
         response = root_view(request, pk='1')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
         self.assertIn('actions', response.data)
         self.assertEqual(list(response.data['actions'].keys()), ['POST'])
 
-        request = factory.options('/1', content_type='application/json',
+        request = factory.options('/1',
                                HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=self.permitted_credentials)
         response = instance_view(request, pk='1')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
@@ -124,26 +117,26 @@ class ModelPermissionsIntegrationTests(TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(list(response.data['actions'].keys()), ['PUT'])
 
     def test_options_disallowed(self):
-        request = factory.options('/', content_type='application/json',
+        request = factory.options('/',
                                HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=self.disallowed_credentials)
         response = root_view(request, pk='1')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
         self.assertNotIn('actions', response.data)
 
-        request = factory.options('/1', content_type='application/json',
+        request = factory.options('/1',
                                HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=self.disallowed_credentials)
         response = instance_view(request, pk='1')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
         self.assertNotIn('actions', response.data)
 
     def test_options_updateonly(self):
-        request = factory.options('/', content_type='application/json',
+        request = factory.options('/',
                                HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=self.updateonly_credentials)
         response = root_view(request, pk='1')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
         self.assertNotIn('actions', response.data)
 
-        request = factory.options('/1', content_type='application/json',
+        request = factory.options('/1',
                                HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=self.updateonly_credentials)
         response = instance_view(request, pk='1')
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_relations_hyperlink.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_relations_hyperlink.py
index 2ca7f4f2b..3c4d39af6 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_relations_hyperlink.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_relations_hyperlink.py
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 from django.test import TestCase
-from django.test.client import RequestFactory
 from rest_framework import serializers
 from rest_framework.compat import patterns, url
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 from rest_framework.tests.models import (
     BlogPost,
     ManyToManyTarget, ManyToManySource, ForeignKeyTarget, ForeignKeySource,
     NullableForeignKeySource, OneToOneTarget, NullableOneToOneSource
 )
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 request = factory.get('/')  # Just to ensure we have a request in the serializer context
 
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_renderers.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_renderers.py
index 95b597411..df6f4aa63 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_renderers.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_renderers.py
@@ -4,19 +4,17 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 from decimal import Decimal
 from django.core.cache import cache
 from django.test import TestCase
-from django.test.client import RequestFactory
 from django.utils import unittest
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 from rest_framework import status, permissions
-from rest_framework.compat import yaml, etree, patterns, url, include
+from rest_framework.compat import yaml, etree, patterns, url, include, six, StringIO
 from rest_framework.response import Response
 from rest_framework.views import APIView
 from rest_framework.renderers import BaseRenderer, JSONRenderer, YAMLRenderer, \
     XMLRenderer, JSONPRenderer, BrowsableAPIRenderer, UnicodeJSONRenderer
 from rest_framework.parsers import YAMLParser, XMLParser
 from rest_framework.settings import api_settings
-from rest_framework.compat import StringIO
-from rest_framework.compat import six
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 import datetime
 import pickle
 import re
@@ -121,7 +119,7 @@ class POSTDeniedView(APIView):
 class DocumentingRendererTests(TestCase):
     def test_only_permitted_forms_are_displayed(self):
         view = POSTDeniedView.as_view()
-        request = RequestFactory().get('/')
+        request = APIRequestFactory().get('/')
         response = view(request).render()
         self.assertNotContains(response, '>POST<')
         self.assertContains(response, '>PUT<')
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_request.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_request.py
index a5c5e84ce..8d64d79f2 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_request.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_request.py
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ from django.contrib.auth.models import User
 from django.contrib.auth import authenticate, login, logout
 from django.contrib.sessions.middleware import SessionMiddleware
 from django.test import TestCase, Client
-from django.test.client import RequestFactory
 from rest_framework import status
 from rest_framework.authentication import SessionAuthentication
 from rest_framework.compat import patterns
@@ -19,12 +18,13 @@ from rest_framework.parsers import (
 from rest_framework.request import Request
 from rest_framework.response import Response
 from rest_framework.settings import api_settings
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 from rest_framework.views import APIView
 from rest_framework.compat import six
 import json
 
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
 
 class PlainTextParser(BaseParser):
@@ -116,16 +116,7 @@ class TestContentParsing(TestCase):
         Ensure request.DATA returns content for PUT request with form content.
         """
         data = {'qwerty': 'uiop'}
-
-        from django import VERSION
-
-        if VERSION >= (1, 5):
-            from django.test.client import MULTIPART_CONTENT, BOUNDARY, encode_multipart
-            request = Request(factory.put('/', encode_multipart(BOUNDARY, data),
-                                  content_type=MULTIPART_CONTENT))
-        else:
-            request = Request(factory.put('/', data))
-
+        request = Request(factory.put('/', data))
         request.parsers = (FormParser(), MultiPartParser())
         self.assertEqual(list(request.DATA.items()), list(data.items()))
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_reverse.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_reverse.py
index 93ef56377..690a30b11 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_reverse.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_reverse.py
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 from django.test import TestCase
-from django.test.client import RequestFactory
 from rest_framework.compat import patterns, url
 from rest_framework.reverse import reverse
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
 
 def null_view(request):
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_routers.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_routers.py
index d375f4a8c..5fcccb741 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_routers.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_routers.py
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 from django.db import models
 from django.test import TestCase
-from django.test.client import RequestFactory
 from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
 from rest_framework import serializers, viewsets, permissions
 from rest_framework.compat import include, patterns, url
 from rest_framework.decorators import link, action
 from rest_framework.response import Response
 from rest_framework.routers import SimpleRouter, DefaultRouter
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
 urlpatterns = patterns('',)
 
@@ -193,6 +193,7 @@ class TestActionKeywordArgs(TestCase):
             {'permission_classes': [permissions.AllowAny]}
         )
 
+
 class TestActionAppliedToExistingRoute(TestCase):
     """
     Ensure `@action` decorator raises an except when applied
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_throttling.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_throttling.py
index d35d37092..19bc691ae 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_throttling.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_throttling.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.contrib.auth.models import User
 from django.core.cache import cache
-from django.test.client import RequestFactory
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 from rest_framework.views import APIView
 from rest_framework.throttling import UserRateThrottle, ScopedRateThrottle
 from rest_framework.response import Response
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ class ThrottlingTests(TestCase):
         Reset the cache so that no throttles will be active
         """
         cache.clear()
-        self.factory = RequestFactory()
+        self.factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
     def test_requests_are_throttled(self):
         """
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ class ScopedRateThrottleTests(TestCase):
                 return Response('y')
 
         self.throttle_class = XYScopedRateThrottle
-        self.factory = RequestFactory()
+        self.factory = APIRequestFactory()
         self.x_view = XView.as_view()
         self.y_view = YView.as_view()
         self.unscoped_view = UnscopedView.as_view()
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_urlpatterns.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_urlpatterns.py
index 29ed4a961..8132ec4c8 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_urlpatterns.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_urlpatterns.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 from collections import namedtuple
 from django.core import urlresolvers
 from django.test import TestCase
-from django.test.client import RequestFactory
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 from rest_framework.compat import patterns, url, include
 from rest_framework.urlpatterns import format_suffix_patterns
 
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ class FormatSuffixTests(TestCase):
     Tests `format_suffix_patterns` against different URLPatterns to ensure the URLs still resolve properly, including any captured parameters.
     """
     def _resolve_urlpatterns(self, urlpatterns, test_paths):
-        factory = RequestFactory()
+        factory = APIRequestFactory()
         try:
             urlpatterns = format_suffix_patterns(urlpatterns)
         except Exception:
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_validation.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_validation.py
index a6ec0e993..ebfdff9cd 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_validation.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_validation.py
@@ -2,10 +2,9 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 from django.db import models
 from django.test import TestCase
 from rest_framework import generics, serializers, status
-from rest_framework.tests.utils import RequestFactory
-import json
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
 
 # Regression for #666
@@ -33,8 +32,7 @@ class TestPreSaveValidationExclusions(TestCase):
         validation on read only fields.
         """
         obj = ValidationModel.objects.create(blank_validated_field='')
-        request = factory.put('/', json.dumps({}),
-                              content_type='application/json')
+        request = factory.put('/', {}, format='json')
         view = UpdateValidationModel().as_view()
         response = view(request, pk=obj.pk).render()
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/test_views.py b/rest_framework/tests/test_views.py
index 2767d24c8..c0bec5aed 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/test_views.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/test_views.py
@@ -1,17 +1,15 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import copy
-
 from django.test import TestCase
-from django.test.client import RequestFactory
-
 from rest_framework import status
 from rest_framework.decorators import api_view
 from rest_framework.response import Response
 from rest_framework.settings import api_settings
+from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory
 from rest_framework.views import APIView
 
-factory = RequestFactory()
+factory = APIRequestFactory()
 
 
 class BasicView(APIView):