Although the installation of photovoltaic (PV) in distribution systems can contribute to the decarbonization of electricity generation, the PV output fluctuates depending on weather conditions, which in turn complicates power flow and destabilizes the voltage levels in distribution systems. Conventionally, step voltage regulators (SVRs) have been used to maintain voltage profiles within allowable ranges, however, the conventional control strategy might not be enough to successfully mitigate high speed voltage fluctuation caused by PVs. In this study, we focused on the time‐limit characteristic of tap operation in a system with two SVRs located, respectively, upstream near the distribution substation and downstream from the substation. Three methods for the cooperative control of two SVRs using moving average filters were proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed methods was validated through numerical simulation based on a model of a rural distribution system with a PV plant integrated at the end feeder. The performance of the proposed methods was compared with each other using evaluation indices such as the amount of voltage deviation and number of tap operations, and it was shown that the method with band‐pass filter for differential control had the best objective function. © 2021 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.