Hampshire · London & the South East
Portsmouth driving test centre
52.8% of car practical tests taken at Portsmouth passed in 2025-26, from 13,518 tests. Pass rates, local road types and how we prepare you for this centre.
Portsmouth pass rates
Pass rate 2025-26
52.8%
7,141 passes
National average
50%
+2.8 points here
Tests conducted
13,518
about 1,127 a month
Best published year
53.3%
2020-21
13,518 car practical tests were taken at Portsmouth in 2025-26. 52.8% passed, 2.8 percentage points above the national average of 50%. It is up on 2019-20, when 47.2% passed.
Over the published years the rate has moved between 47.2% in 2019-20 and 53.3% in 2020-21, so a single year's figure is a weak guide on its own. That works out at roughly 1,127 tests a month, which is what waiting times at Portsmouth depend on more than the pass rate does.
- Portsmouth
- National average
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate | National | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 13,518 | 7,141 | 52.8% | 50% | 53.6% | 51.9% |
| 2024-25 | 11,305 | 5,857 | 51.8% | 48.7% | 52.2% | 51.3% |
| 2023-24 | 11,237 | 5,655 | 50.3% | 47.9% | 50.3% | 50.4% |
| 2022-23 | 11,948 | 5,756 | 48.2% | 48.4% | 49.7% | 46.3% |
| 2021-22 | 10,234 | 5,160 | 50.4% | 48.9% | 52.3% | 48.3% |
| 2020-21 | 2,907 | 1,549 | 53.3% | 49.8% | 55.9% | 50.3% |
| 2019-20 | 7,747 | 3,655 | 47.2% | 45.9% | 50.9% | 43.8% |
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.
Driving out of Portsmouth
Routes out of Portsmouth use the roads around the centre: gridded city streets, m275 approach and docks traffic. Each of them is marked differently, which is why the last few hours of tuition are worked around the centre.
Frequent junctions mean a high number of observation opportunities in a short route.
Portsmouth covers learners in and around Portsmouth, and it is where most of our Portsmouth 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.
Book the mock early enough that there is time to fix whatever it finds.
Roads you are likely to meet
Gridded city streets
M275 approach
Docks traffic
- Frequent junctions mean a high number of observation opportunities in a short route.
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 Portsmouth
Busy-centre awareness
Progress matters here too. Sitting at a clear crossing waiting for nobody is marked as undue hesitancy.
Anticipation and pedestrians
Busy footfall means a lot of the marking is about looking far enough ahead — spotting the person about to step out, not reacting once they have.
How we prepare you for this centre
Practice where you will be marked
Your instructor works the roads around Portsmouth in the sessions before your test — gridded city streets included — not generic estate roads.
A marked mock run
Run silently and scored properly — no coaching mid-drive — then debriefed fault by fault.
Manoeuvres to standard
Bay park, parallel park, pull up on the right and forward bay — rehearsed on live roads near the centre rather than an empty car park.
Everything around the drive
Paperwork, show me / tell me questions and the independent drive, run through in advance.
Courses that suit test-centre prep
Portsmouth test centre FAQs
What are the test routes like at Portsmouth?
The DVSA stopped publishing official routes, and examiners vary them. In practice, routes from Portsmouth draw on gridded city streets, m275 approach, docks traffic, so those are the conditions to rehearse rather than a fixed sequence of streets.
What do learners most often fail on at Portsmouth?
busy-centre awareness, anticipation and pedestrians — all of which come directly from the road types on the local network.
Can I take an intensive course and test at Portsmouth?
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 Portsmouth or a nearby centre serving Portsmouth.
How do I book a practical test at Portsmouth?
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 do I need to bring to Portsmouth?
Aim to be there ten minutes before your slot with your provisional licence. Your instructor will normally use the half hour beforehand for a warm-up drive on nearby roads rather than sitting in the car park.
Does Portsmouth have a good pass rate?
Travelling for a higher published pass rate usually backfires: you arrive tired, on roads you have never driven. Preparing properly for Portsmouth is the better use of the same hours.
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.