Winchester Driving Test Centre
Winchester in Winchester, England has a current pass rate of 47.9%, 0.8 points below the UK average of 48.7%. This page breaks down the multi-year trend, the first-time and gender pass rates, the waiting time and how it compares with the rest of the UK, all from the DVSA quarterly data.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Winchester sits in the bottom half of car pass rates nationally (Bottom 31%, rank #223 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Lee On The Solent, about 18.5 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 32.2K passed, 35.4K failed, 67.6K total
How Winchester compares
With a gap of under one point to the national average, Winchester (ranked 223 of 323 in its category) neither helps nor hurts; treat any difference you have heard about as noise.
Where Winchester ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Winchester has given up 3.4 points since 2017-18 (51.3% then, 47.9% now); the low water mark was 47.9% in 2024-25.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Winchester
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 18.8 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Winchester in May 2026 had waited 5.5 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 Winchester
- 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 SO23 9SY, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Of the DVSA car centres across England, Winchester is the one covering Winchester, Hampshire. The routes are built around the roads the centre's examiners can reach inside the test's time budget. If you're cross-checking this pass rate against other sources, the sample size matters. 67.6K tests over 2017-18-2024-25 is large enough that any rounding you see between sites is just rounding, not disagreement on the underlying data.
If you've been told Winchester is "an easy centre" or "a hard one", the data won't fully back that. 47.9% is within a point of the UK car average of 48.7%, which is rank #223 out of 323. Across 2.1K first attempts, the pass rate at Winchester is 46.9%, against 49% nationally. Booking your first test here is doable, but it's worth a few lessons around the centre before the date.
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 Winchester
- Winchester 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.
- Winchester is a high-volume centre. Booking pressure is real, check the DVSA booking service daily for earlier slots rather than relying on the headline available date.
- Ask any instructor working Winchester 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.
- If you missed the earlier slots at Winchester, 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 Winchester
Arrive at Winchester with about ten minutes to spare and know your parking options in advance, they vary site to site across the DVSA network. The DVSA centre finder maps the centre and its surroundings. With very high demand and waits near 20 to 24 weeks, take any earlier slot the booking service offers rather than holding out. Don't set off without your provisional photocard licence; the test cannot start without it, and your car needs L plates and a working interior mirror. If Southampton (Maybush) is fully booked, Winchester is the next closest centre, roughly 12 miles away.
Once underway the test takes around 40 minutes and is the same wherever you sit it. The examiner verifies your eyesight at 20 metres, puts one tell-me question to you, then accompanies the drive and asks one show-me question while you are driving. About 20 minutes is independent driving, sat nav or road signs to a named destination, with one of the set manoeuvres and an emergency stop on roughly one test in seven. 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.
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; 47.9% of candidates at Winchester currently clear that.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Winchester?
Is Winchester an easy or hard test centre?
How does Winchester compare to the UK average?
How many driving tests does Winchester record?
Which driving test centres are near Winchester?
When is the best time to book a test at Winchester?
How do I book a test at Winchester and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Winchester?
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.