Test centre guides
UK driving test centres
What the roads around each DVSA practical test centre are actually like, and the faults local learners lose marks on most. Official pass rates and booking are handled by the DVSA on GOV.UK.
London & the South East
Mill Hill (London)
Suburban residential · A-road dual carriageway · Multi-lane roundabouts
Hither Green (London)
Dense residential streets · Bus lanes · Box junctions
Croydon
Town-centre one-way system · Tram crossings · Suburban hills
Romford
Ring road · A12 / A127 dual carriageway · Residential estates
Watford
Ring road · Multi-lane roundabouts · Residential streets
St Albans
Historic narrow streets · Country lanes · A-roads
Slough
Large roundabouts · Dual carriageway · Industrial estate roads
Reading
Inner distribution road · Bus lanes · Suburban streets
Guildford
Steep hills · A3 slip roads · Town centre
Brighton
Seafront · Steep residential hills · Bus lanes
Portsmouth
Gridded city streets · M275 approach · Docks traffic
Southampton (Maybush)
Ring road · Dual carriageway · Residential estates
Basingstoke
Roundabout network · Dual carriageway · Estate roads
Milton Keynes
Grid roads at 70mph · Roundabouts · Estate roads
Luton
Airport approach roads · Hills · Town centre
South West
Bristol (Avonmouth)
Industrial estate roads · Dual carriageway · Suburban streets
Bristol (Kingswood)
Hilly residential · Busy high streets · Ring road
Bath
Steep hills · Narrow Georgian streets · A-roads
Swindon
Magic Roundabout · Dual carriageway · Residential
Gloucester
Ring road · Rural lanes · Town streets
Exeter
City streets · A38 dual carriageway · Suburban hills
Plymouth
Steep hills · Busy junctions · Dual carriageway
Torquay
Seafront · Narrow hilly streets · A380 links
Bournemouth
Wessex Way · Seafront roads · Residential
East of England
Cambridge
Cycle-heavy city roads · Ring road · Rural lanes
Peterborough
Parkways · Roundabouts · Estate roads
Norwich (Peachman Way)
Ring road · Rural roads · Residential
Ipswich
Dual carriageway · Docks approach · Town centre
Chelmsford
One-way system · A12 links · Residential
Basildon
Wide new-town roads · A127 · Roundabouts
Southend-on-Sea
Seafront · Dense residential · A127
Midlands
Birmingham (Garretts Green)
Dual carriageway · Industrial roads · Residential estates
Birmingham (Kings Heath)
Busy high streets · Bus lanes · Suburban streets
Wolverhampton
Ring road · Suburban streets · A-roads
Coventry
Ring road with short slips · City streets · Residential
Leicester (Cannock Street)
Outer ring road · Residential · Dual carriageway
Nottingham (Colwick)
Industrial estate · Dual carriageway · Suburban hills
Derby (Alvaston)
A6 corridor · Residential · Rural fringe
Stoke-on-Trent (Cobridge)
Hilly terraced streets · A500 links · Town centre
Northampton
Roundabouts · Dual carriageway · Estate roads
Worcester
Narrow bridges · Country lanes · City streets
North West
Manchester (Cheetham Hill)
Busy arterial roads · Bus lanes · Dense residential
West Didsbury (Manchester)
Suburban streets · Tram crossings · A-roads
Sale / Salford area
Residential · A-roads · Roundabouts
Stockport
Steep hills · Gyratory · A6
Bolton
Town centre · Hilly residential · A-roads
Macclesfield
Rural lanes · Market-town streets · A523
Warrington
Dual carriageway · Roundabouts · Residential
Liverpool (Speke)
Industrial roads · Dual carriageway · Residential
Liverpool (Norris Green)
Dense residential · Bus lanes · Arterial roads
Chester
Narrow city approaches · A55 links · Residential
Preston
City streets · Dual carriageway · Rural fringe
Blackpool
Promenade · Tram crossings · Residential
Yorkshire & the North East
Leeds (Harehills)
Dense residential · Bus lanes · Inner ring road
Horsforth (Leeds)
Suburban roads · A65 · Hills
Bradford (Thornbury)
Steep hills · Terraced streets · A647
Halifax
Valley gradients · Narrow roads · A629
Huddersfield
Hilly town roads · Ring road · Rural
Wakefield
Town centre · Dual carriageway · Residential
Sheffield (Handsworth)
Hilly residential · Dual carriageway · Tram crossings
Rotherham
Roundabouts · Town centre · A-roads
Doncaster
Wide flat roads · Dual carriageway · Residential
York
A1237 ring road · City streets · Cycle-heavy roads
Hull
Flat city roads · A63 · Residential
Newcastle upon Tyne
Central motorway · Bridges · Bus lanes
Gateshead
Hilly approaches · A184 · Residential
Sunderland
Arterial roads · Coastal roads · Residential
Durham
Steep banks · Narrow streets · Rural roads
Middlesbrough
A19 links · Roundabouts · Industrial roads
Scotland
Glasgow (Shieldhall)
M8 slip roads · Industrial roads · Residential
Anniesland (Glasgow)
Busy junctions · Bus lanes · Suburban streets
Edinburgh (Currie)
City bypass links · 20mph zones · Suburban
Musselburgh (Edinburgh)
Coastal roads · Town streets · A1 links
Paisley
Town centre · Airport roads · Residential
Stirling
Rural A-roads · City streets · Hills
Dundee
Kingsway dual carriageway · Steep suburbs · City streets
Aberdeen (Cove)
AWPR bypass links · Suburban · City streets
What these guides are for
The DVSA stopped publishing practical test routes in 2010, and examiners vary the route they take on the day. Anyone selling you "the routes" for a centre is selling a guess. What can be known — and what actually helps — is the road mix around each centre: whether you will meet multi-lane roundabouts or single-track lanes, a 70mph dual carriageway or a one-way system, a busy retail park or quiet suburbs.
That mix is what each guide describes, because it is what your last few lessons should be spent on. A learner who has only driven residential streets and is tested from a centre surrounded by fast A-roads is not short of skill, they are short of exposure — and exposure is easy to plan for once you know what the local roads look like.
Official pass rates, test availability and booking all sit with the DVSA on GOV.UK. We do not republish pass rates here, because centre-level figures move year to year and are easily misread — a low rate often reflects a difficult road network rather than harsh examiners, and it says nothing about your own chances on the day.
How to use a test centre guide
Check the road types
Compare them against the roads you have actually driven. Anything on the list you have not met is a session to book.
Plan the last few hours
The final block of any course should be spent on the road types your centre uses, not on generic estate roads.
Run a full mock
One mock test on those roads, marked the way an examiner marks it, tells you more than three ordinary lessons.
Book the test after
Book the date once you are consistently passing mocks. Booking first and hoping is the most expensive order to do it in.
Book and manage your practical test on GOV.UK. If you would rather see the towns we cover instead, browse areas we cover.
Not sure how many hours you need?
Answer four quick questions and we will recommend a course based on your experience, not a sales target.