Chichester Driving Test Centre
Chichester posts a 64.2% pass rate, with Portsmouth the nearest alternative about 14 miles away. Read on for its full DVSA history, first-time pass rate, waiting time and demographic breakdown.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Chichester sits in the top 10% of UK car pass rates nationally (Top 8%, rank #27 of 323). No nearby car centre currently posts a higher pass rate.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 45.1K passed, 35.4K failed, 80.6K total
How Chichester compares
Chichester clears the UK average by 15.5 points and sits ranked 27 of 323 in its category. That margin says more about its route mix than about marking, the DVSA standard is identical everywhere.
Where Chichester ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Chichester has climbed 10 points across the series, 54.2% in 2017-18 to 64.2% now; the weakest year on record was 52% in 2018-19.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Chichester
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 24 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Chichester in May 2026 had waited 8 weeks from booking to test day.
Official DVSA data, May 2026. The median is the time between booking and taking the test; for live availability use the DVSA booking service.
Centre details
Address
Source: DVSA find a driving test centre (Open Government Licence v3.0), captured 2026-05-12.
Tests offered at Chichester
- car
- ADI part 2
- 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 PO20 2FR, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Chichester is one of the DVSA's car test sites in England, located in Chichester, West Sussex. The choice of routes reflects the local mix of road types rather than any standard national template. The DVSA has logged 80.6K tests at this centre over 2017-18-2024-25. At that scale, the year-on-year shifts you see in the chart correspond to genuine changes in how the centre is performing, not statistical wobble.
Chichester passes higher than most. At 64.2% versus a UK average of 48.7%, it ranks #27 of 323 car centres, the top ten percent of the network. First-time pass rate: 64.6%. UK average: 49%. Chichester is 15.6 points to the good on first attempts, a meaningful gap, not a rounding artefact.
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 Chichester
- Don't read a higher pass rate as a softer test. Chichester's rate reflects route geography more than examiner discretion, DVSA marking is centrally trained. Prepare for the same fault categories you'd prepare for anywhere.
- 64.6% of first-timers pass at Chichester, so the centre is on the forgiving side. If your instructor is signing you off as test-ready, your own preparation matters far more than the venue.
- 80.6K tests through this centre over the published window. At that throughput, competition for short-notice slots is constant, so make a habit of checking the official booking page often.
- Practising the roads around the centre is the preparation that most reliably pays off. Most ADI instructors in Chichester will know the road types and junctions learners commonly meet near the centre.
- If you missed the earlier slots at Chichester, cancellations appear on the official DVSA booking service throughout the day. Check at off-peak times (early morning, late evening) for the best chance of catching one.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Chichester
Turn up at Chichester ten minutes before your appointment, and check ahead where you can park, DVSA sites vary on that. You can preview the location on the DVSA centre finder. Demand is very high and waits are near 20 to 24 weeks, so an early booking plus a cancellation watch is the sensible approach. The examiner will ask to see your provisional photocard licence before anything else, and your car must carry L plates and a working interior mirror. If Portsmouth is fully booked, Chichester is the next closest centre, roughly 14 miles away.
The practical lasts about 40 minutes and uses the standard DVSA format nationwide. After an eyesight check at 20 metres and one show-me and one tell-me question, the examiner sits in for the drive. Roughly 20 minutes of that is independent driving, either following a sat nav set by the examiner or following road signs, and you will complete one of four set manoeuvres; about one in seven tests includes an emergency stop, a frequency the DVSA reduced in late 2025. 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 DVSA marking nationally, the fault recorded most often on car tests is junctions - observation, worth drilling on the local routes before your date.
The result is given immediately when you get back. Whatever the outcome, the examiner reads through the marked faults and prints your DL25 feedback form; pass and they take the provisional licence to trigger your full one by post. The threshold is the national one, 15 driving faults at most and zero serious or dangerous, which 64.2% of Chichester's candidates reach right now.
Frequently asked questions
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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.