North Northamptonshire · Midlands
Kettering driving test centre
49.1% of car practical tests taken at Kettering passed in 2025-26, from 11,876 tests. Pass rates, local road types and how we prepare you for this centre.
Kettering pass rates
Pass rate 2025-26
49.1%
5,829 passes
National average
50%
-0.9 points here
Tests conducted
11,876
about 990 a month
Best published year
49.1%
2025-26
11,876 car practical tests were taken at Kettering in 2025-26 and 49.1% of them passed. The national average that year was 50%, so this centre sits in line with the rest of Great Britain. It is up on 2019-20, when 47.8% passed.
Over the published years the rate has moved between 40.5% in 2021-22 and 49.1% in 2025-26, so a single year's figure is a weak guide on its own. That works out at roughly 990 tests a month, which is what waiting times at Kettering depend on more than the pass rate does.
- Kettering
- National average
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate | National | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 11,876 | 5,829 | 49.1% | 50% | 49.6% | 48.5% |
| 2024-25 | 8,489 | 3,903 | 46% | 48.7% | 45.7% | 46.3% |
| 2023-24 | 11,221 | 5,430 | 48.4% | 47.9% | 48.8% | 47.9% |
| 2022-23 | 9,776 | 4,376 | 44.8% | 48.4% | 47.2% | 42% |
| 2021-22 | 8,447 | 3,425 | 40.5% | 48.9% | 43.6% | 37.4% |
| 2019-20 | 7,919 | 3,786 | 47.8% | 45.9% | 54.3% | 42.3% |
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 Kettering 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 Kettering
Instructors who teach out of Kettering report the same road mix on most routes: market-town roads, roundabouts and edge-of-town dual carriageway. Learners who have only driven quiet estate roads tend to find the pace higher than they expect.
Progress is marked as well as caution: hanging back on clear A-road stretches reads as hesitancy. Sat-nav sections usually run on the wider through-routes rather than the back streets. Kettering covers a wide slice of North Northamptonshire, and instructors who teach it weekly know which approach roads back up.
Kettering takes candidates from across North Northamptonshire, so plenty arrive having learned on a different road mix. That usually shows in the first five minutes of the drive.
Most learners who retake at Kettering say the driving was fine and the pressure was not.
Roads you are likely to meet
Market-town roads
Roundabouts
Edge-of-town dual carriageway
- Progress is marked as well as caution: hanging back on clear A-road stretches reads as hesitancy.
- Sat-nav sections usually run on the wider through-routes rather than the back streets.
- Kettering covers a wide slice of North Northamptonshire, and instructors who teach it weekly know which approach roads back up.
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 Kettering
Roundabout observation and lane choice
Marks are lost for arriving in the wrong lane, or for hesitating at a gap that was long enough. Decide your lane at the sign, not at the give-way line.
Merging with faster traffic
Emerging too slowly forces other drivers to react, and that is marked. Use the full length of the slip road and match the flow before you merge.
How we prepare you for this centre
Time on the real roads
We plan the final sessions around Kettering itself, so the market-town roads you meet on test day are ones you have already driven.
A full mock test
A full-length mock from the Kettering area, scored on the DVSA sheet so you see exactly where the marks went.
Manoeuvres in real locations
All four test manoeuvres, practised in the kind of streets examiners around Kettering actually use.
The paperwork and the routine
We walk the whole sequence — arrival, documents, eyesight check, independent drive — so nothing on the day is new.
Courses that suit test-centre prep
Kettering test centre FAQs
What are the test routes like at Kettering?
The DVSA stopped publishing official routes, and examiners vary them. In practice, routes from Kettering draw on market-town roads, roundabouts, edge-of-town dual carriageway, so those are the conditions to rehearse rather than a fixed sequence of streets.
What do learners most often fail on at Kettering?
roundabout observation and lane choice, merging with faster traffic — all of which come directly from the road types on the local network.
Can I take an intensive course and test at Kettering?
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 Kettering.
How do I book a practical test at Kettering?
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.
How early should I arrive at Kettering?
Ten minutes early is enough. Bring your provisional licence; the eyesight check happens outside before you get in the car, so know which plate you can read.
Should I travel to a different centre instead?
We will not sell you a pass rate. Published DVSA figures reflect who books there as much as the roads, and a centre an hour away that you cannot practise around is a worse bet than the one your instructor drives every week.
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.