Greater London · London & the South East
Croydon driving test centre
39.1% of car practical tests taken at Croydon passed in 2021-22, from 3,814 tests. Pass rates, local road types and how we prepare you for this centre.
Croydon pass rates
Pass rate 2021-22
39.1%
1,492 passes
National average
48.9%
-9.8 points here
Tests conducted
3,814
about 318 a month
Best published year
39.1%
2021-22
3,814 car practical tests were taken at Croydon in 2021-22. 39.1% passed, 9.8 percentage points below the national average of 48.9%. That is broadly where it stood in 2019-20 (38.8%).
The rate has stayed within 1 points across the published years, between 38.1% and 39.1%. In 2021-22 the rate was 41.3% for male candidates and 35.9% for female candidates. That works out at roughly 318 tests a month, which is what waiting times at Croydon depend on more than the pass rate does.
- Croydon
- National average
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate | National | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 3,814 | 1,492 | 39.1% | 48.9% | 41.3% | 35.9% |
| 2020-21 | 1,273 | 485 | 38.1% | 49.8% | 39.8% | 35.7% |
| 2019-20 | 5,448 | 2,115 | 38.8% | 45.9% | 42.5% | 34.2% |
Source: DVSA table DRT122A, car practical driving test pass rates by test centre, published on GOV.UK. Figures are financial years running April to March.
Where Croydon test centre is
Arrive ten minutes early and park where you can pull out easily. The waiting room is small at most centres, so your instructor will normally wait in the car park while you take the test.
Driving out of Croydon
Tests from Croydon run mostly on town-centre one-way system, tram crossings and suburban hills. Those road types sit close together, so several of them can appear in the first ten minutes.
Tram lines feature on several routes — observation and positioning matter. Hill starts are likely on the Shirley and Addington side.
Croydon covers learners in and around Croydon, and it is where most of our Croydon course students sit the test. If you are choosing between centres, practise the road types listed above rather than picking on pass-rate figures alone.
A marked mock test on these roads is the most useful thing you can do in the week before your slot.
Roads you are likely to meet
Town-centre one-way system
Tram crossings
Suburban hills
- Tram lines feature on several routes — observation and positioning matter.
- Hill starts are likely on the Shirley and Addington side.
Test routes are no longer published by the DVSA, and examiners vary them. Treat this as a guide to the local road types rather than a route list. Book your test and check availability on GOV.UK.
Where marks are lost at Croydon
Committing to a lane in good time
Entering a box junction without a clear exit is a fault regardless of how the lights change afterwards.
Reading the plate before the lane
A cyclist in a mandatory lane has priority you cannot take, and an examiner will mark the encroachment even if nothing was coming.
Hill starts and control
Roll-back is one of the fastest ways to pick up a serious fault here. Practise moving away uphill with the handbrake until it feels automatic.
How we prepare you for this centre
Local route practice
The last hours of your course are spent on town-centre one-way system and tram crossings near the centre, because that is what the examiner will put you on.
One rehearsal, examiner-style
Marked the way an examiner marks it, on a Croydon route, with a written debrief of every fault.
All four manoeuvres
Every manoeuvre practised with traffic present, because that is the version that appears on the day.
Test-day rehearsal
Licence and theory certificate checked, show me / tell me covered, and the sat-nav section practised before the day.
Courses that suit test-centre prep
Croydon test centre FAQs
What are the test routes like at Croydon?
The DVSA stopped publishing official routes, and examiners vary them. In practice, routes from Croydon draw on town-centre one-way system, tram crossings, suburban hills, so those are the conditions to rehearse rather than a fixed sequence of streets.
What do learners most often fail on at Croydon?
committing to a lane in good time, reading the plate before the lane, hill starts and control — all of which come directly from the road types on the local network.
Can I take an intensive course and test at Croydon?
Yes. We match you with a DVSA approved instructor who teaches on these roads day to day, and we look for the earliest practical slot at Croydon or a nearby centre serving Croydon.
How do I book a practical test at Croydon?
Practical tests are booked through GOV.UK with your provisional licence and theory certificate numbers. We can check cancellations for you once your course dates are set.
What happens when I get to Croydon?
Arrive with your provisional licence and a car that is legal, insured for the test and has no warning lights showing. We handle that side if you use one of our instructors' cars.
Is Croydon an easy test centre?
Pass rates are published by the DVSA, but they say more about the mix of candidates than the difficulty of the routes. Practising the road types above will move your odds more than switching centres.
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.