Driving test pass rates in South East, 2025/26
30 test centres in South East with at least 100 tests, ranked highest to lowest. The region averaged 52.9% from 230,858 tests, 2.9 points above the 50% Great Britain average. Tunbridge Wells was the highest at 64.5%.
| # | Test centre | Region | Tests | Passed | Pass rate | vs GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tunbridge Wells | South East | 5,726 | 3,695 | 64.5% | +14.5 |
| 2 | Lee On The Solent | South East | 8,502 | 5,374 | 63.2% | +13.2 |
| 3 | Chichester | South East | 6,672 | 4,109 | 61.6% | +11.6 |
| 4 | Maidstone | South East | 8,053 | 4,850 | 60.2% | +10.2 |
| 5 | Farnborough | South East | 10,482 | 6,258 | 59.7% | +9.7 |
| 6 | Sevenoaks | South East | 6,740 | 3,978 | 59.0% | +9.0 |
| 7 | Guildford | South East | 4,542 | 2,592 | 57.1% | +7.1 |
| 8 | Basingstoke | South East | 5,009 | 2,844 | 56.8% | +6.8 |
| 9 | Gillingham | South East | 14,886 | 8,389 | 56.4% | +6.4 |
| 10 | Herne Bay | South East | 10,674 | 5,970 | 55.9% | +5.9 |
| 11 | Eastbourne | South East | 6,031 | 3,342 | 55.4% | +5.4 |
| 12 | Reading | South East | 9,237 | 5,118 | 55.4% | +5.4 |
| 13 | Newport (Isle Of Wight) | South East | 3,616 | 1,958 | 54.1% | +4.1 |
| 14 | Redhill Aerodrome | South East | 5,408 | 2,916 | 53.9% | +3.9 |
| 15 | Chertsey (London) | South East | 9,082 | 4,804 | 52.9% | +2.9 |
| 16 | Portsmouth | South East | 13,518 | 7,141 | 52.8% | +2.8 |
| 17 | Hastings (Ore) | South East | 3,892 | 2,039 | 52.4% | +2.4 |
| 18 | Winchester | South East | 4,602 | 2,404 | 52.2% | +2.2 |
| 19 | Bletchley | South East | 9,415 | 4,845 | 51.5% | +1.5 |
| 20 | High Wycombe | South East | 3,534 | 1,821 | 51.5% | +1.5 |
| 21 | Slough (London) | South East | 10,509 | 5,343 | 50.8% | +0.8 |
| 22 | Oxford (Cowley) | South East | 5,419 | 2,741 | 50.6% | +0.6 |
| 23 | Southampton (Maybush) | South East | 10,480 | 5,273 | 50.3% | +0.3 |
| 24 | Aylesbury | South East | 5,255 | 2,589 | 49.3% | -0.7 |
| 25 | Ashford (Kent) | South East | 5,475 | 2,530 | 46.2% | -3.8 |
| 26 | Canterbury | South East | 4,670 | 2,138 | 45.8% | -4.2 |
| 27 | Burgess Hill | South East | 11,237 | 5,111 | 45.5% | -4.5 |
| 28 | Crawley | South East | 11,305 | 4,831 | 42.7% | -7.3 |
| 29 | Folkestone | South East | 7,818 | 3,313 | 42.4% | -7.6 |
| 30 | Banbury | South East | 9,069 | 3,741 | 41.3% | -8.7 |
Why pass rates differ so much between centres
The spread is wide: the top of this table is above 70% and the bottom below 35%, for the same test and the same marking sheet. Three things explain most of it. Rural centres put candidates on roads with fewer junctions, less traffic and simpler roundabouts. Urban centres, especially in London and Birmingham, see more candidates who learn in a hurry, take the test sooner, and retake more often. And who books where matters: some centres draw candidates from far away precisely because of their reputation.
A high pass rate does not mean easier examiners. Examiners rotate, and DVSA monitors their pass rates. What a high rate does tell you is that the local roads are forgiving, which is worth knowing if you have a choice of centres within reach.
Addresses, waiting times and route notes for every centre here are in the South East test centre directory, and the same ranking for the whole country is on the national pass rate table.