Bristol (Kingswood) Driving Test Centre
The Bristol (Kingswood) driving test centre is located in Bristol, England. Below are the official pass-rate statistics, multi-year trend, demographic breakdown, and how this centre compares against the UK average and its neighbours, all drawn from the DVSA quarterly statistical release.
Pass vs fail at a glance
52.5K passed, 51.6K failed, 104.1K total
How Bristol (Kingswood) compares
Bristol (Kingswood) performs notably better than the UK average. This often correlates with rural or suburban routes that have fewer multi-lane roundabouts and complex urban scenarios.
Where Bristol (Kingswood) ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Most common faults at this centre
The fault categories most frequently recorded against learners on test. Knowing them lets you target practice on the things examiners are most likely to penalise.
- 1Junctions - observation10
- 2Mirrors - change direction9
- 3Move off - safely8
- 4Junctions - turning right7
- 5Response to signs - traffic lights6
Per-centre fault breakdowns are derived from the DVSA national fault distribution applied to centre-level test outcomes.
Pass rate by demographic
Estimated wait time and demand
Wait times at Bristol (Kingswood) have been gradually shortening as DVSA recovers post-pandemic capacity. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Bristol (Kingswood) typically wait around 17 weeks from booking to test day.
Wait time is estimated from regional demand patterns reported in the National Audit Office investigation into car driving test waiting times (Dec 2024) and the DVSA Despatch blog updates, combined with this centre's test volume. Real availability fluctuates with examiner staffing and cancellations, always check the official DVSA booking service for live slots.
Centre details
Address
Source: DVSA find a driving test centre (Open Government Licence v3.0), captured 2026-05-12.
Tests offered at Bristol (Kingswood)
- car
- ADI part 3
Accessibility & facilities
Parking and toilet details aren't included in DVSA's published feed. For the current on-site facilities, check the DVSA find a driving test centre tool with postcode BS11 8AQ, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Bristol (Kingswood) is the DVSA car test centre in Bristol, West of England. Examiners use a small set of fixed routes built around the roads immediately surrounding the centre. 104.1K tests over 2017-18-2024-25. That's enough volume that the headline pass rate here moves slowly, a single bad quarter shifts it by a fraction of a percentage point rather than visibly.
Rank: #133 of 323. Pass rate: 52%. UK average: 48.7%. That's a upper half centre by the DVSA's own published figures. 52.9% of first-timers pass at Bristol (Kingswood), 3.9 points above the UK figure of 49%. A prepared first attempt has a real shot here in a way it doesn't at every centre.
All figures shown are aggregated from the DVSA quarterly statistical release covering the most recent reporting periods available. Pass-rate calculations exclude tests cancelled by the candidate or examiner. Sample sizes and methodology are described in the source attribution at the foot of this page.
What learners should know about Bristol (Kingswood)
- Bristol (Kingswood) doesn't deviate much from the national curve, so generic preparation advice (mock tests, mirror discipline, junction observation) applies here in the same shape it would anywhere.
- Volume at Bristol (Kingswood) is among the highest in the network. Don't take the first available date on faith, refreshing the DVSA booking page across a few days regularly turns up cancellations.
- If you can, take at least one lesson with an instructor who specifically works the Bristol (Kingswood) routes. Local instructors know which junctions are the centre's hardest and will drill them.
- Don't pay third-party sites for booking access at Bristol (Kingswood). Use gov.uk/book-driving-test directly; cancellations show up on the same booking flow.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Bristol (Kingswood)
Ten minutes early is the right target at Bristol (Kingswood). Parking differs between DVSA centres, so it pays to scout the route on the DVSA centre finder the day before. This centre sees high demand, modelled at roughly 17 weeks to a slot; booking well ahead and watching for cancellations both help. Bring the provisional photocard licence, the examiner checks for it first, and make sure your car is roadworthy with L plates and a working interior mirror. If Bristol (Kingswood) is fully booked, Bristol (Kingswood) is the next closest centre, roughly 5 miles away.
Plan for a drive of roughly 40 minutes, identical in structure to every other DVSA centre. First comes the 20-metre eyesight check and a pair of vehicle-safety questions, one show-me, one tell-me, then the examiner joins you for the road section. About 20 minutes is independent driving by sat nav or by following signs to a named target, you tackle one of four set manoeuvres, and around a third of candidates get an emergency stop. The drive works through whatever mix of urban and outlying roads sits within about a twenty-minute radius, and at a centre this busy that usually means heavier traffic to read. Across recent DVSA marking, the fault logged most often at this centre is junctions - observation, worth drilling on the local routes before your date.
There is no wait for the verdict, the examiner delivers it at the centre. They go over each fault recorded, hand you the DL25 feedback form, and on a pass retain your provisional licence so the full version arrives by post. To pass you need no more than 15 driving faults and not a single serious or dangerous one; 52% of candidates at Bristol (Kingswood) currently clear that.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Bristol (Kingswood)?
Is Bristol (Kingswood) an easy or hard test centre?
How does Bristol (Kingswood) compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Bristol (Kingswood) each year?
Which driving test centres are near Bristol (Kingswood)?
When is the best time to book a test at Bristol (Kingswood)?
How do I book a test at Bristol (Kingswood) and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Bristol (Kingswood)?
Data: DVSA quarterly statistical release, released under the Open Government Licence v3.0. PassRates.uk aggregates DVSA centre-level totals across reporting periods.
Edited by Vikas. DVSA data period: 2024-25.