Portsmouth Driving Test Centre
The Portsmouth driving test centre is located in Paulsgrove, England (PO17 6AR). 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
71.1K passed, 82.2K failed, 153.3K total
How Portsmouth compares
Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth have been lengthening as demand outpaces examiner capacity. Booking requires patience: learners booking at Portsmouth typically wait around 18 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 Portsmouth
- Car
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 PO6 4SH, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Where do you actually take your car test if you book Portsmouth? You start in Paulsgrove, Fareham (PO17 6AR), and the examiner takes you through whatever mix of urban and outlying roads sits within a roughly twenty-minute drive of the centre. 153.3K 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.
How does Portsmouth compare nationally? 51.8% pass rate, #139 of 323 car centres in the DVSA network, 3.1 points above the UK average of 48.7%. The upper half of the country, in other words. The DVSA's first-attempt figure for Portsmouth sits at 51.6%, 2.6 points clear of the 49% UK average. The gap is wide enough to matter when you're deciding which local centre to book.
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 Portsmouth
- Centre difficulty is roughly average at Portsmouth. The same fault categories that fail candidates nationally (junctions, mirrors, observation) are what fail candidates here, in similar proportions.
- 153.3K tests through this centre over the published window. At that throughput, competition for short-notice slots is constant, set up a cancellation alert and check often.
- Ask any instructor working Portsmouth about the centre's "usual fails", they'll have two or three specific junctions or manoeuvres in mind. Practise those until they're automatic before your date.
- Book through the official DVSA service (gov.uk/book-driving-test). Third-party "fast-track" sites charge a premium for the same booking; the DVSA's own cancellation feed is free.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Portsmouth
Plan to arrive at Portsmouth about ten minutes before your slot. Parking varies between DVSA centres, so check the route and the surrounding streets on the DVSA centre finder (postcode PO17 6AR) a day or two ahead. With demand running high here and waits near 18 weeks, it is worth holding any earlier cancellation slot you are offered. Bring your provisional photocard licence; the examiner will not start without it, and you will need a roadworthy car with L plates and a working interior mirror. If 2 Start Training (Worthing) is fully booked, Portsmouth is the next closest centre, roughly 3 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 three tests includes 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.
You will know the result before you leave Portsmouth. The examiner explains the faults marked on your DL25 feedback form and, if you have passed, takes the provisional licence so a full one can be posted out. The pass standard is fixed nationally, 15 driving faults maximum and zero serious or dangerous faults, and 51.8% of candidates here meet it under current DVSA marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Portsmouth?
Is Portsmouth an easy or hard test centre?
How does Portsmouth compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Portsmouth each year?
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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.