Derby driving test centre
DVSA name: Derby (Alvaston) · Off Belmore Way, Alvaston, Derby, DE21 7AY
Drive the 5 routes around Derby before test day →
Key facts
- Derby's pass rate was 51.8% in 2025/26 from 8,086 tests, 1.8 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 12 of 20 centres in East Midlands (East Midlands average 50.8%), a mid-table pass rates in the region.
- The rate has been stable since 2021/22, moving between 47.3% (2023/24) and 51.8% (2025/26).
- Male candidates passed at 54.4% and female candidates at 49.1%, a gap of 5.3 points.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 7.4 weeks since booking (shorter than the national median of 11.9 weeks); the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 24 weeks ahead.
- A year earlier (August 2025) the median wait was 21.6 weeks, so waits have shortened by about 14.2 weeks.
Raynesway runs past this centre as dual carriageway, and that sets the tone. Alvaston is a fast test by the standards of a city, with the A5111 and the A6005 on the loops and roughly forty per cent of the roads tagged near the centre at 40 mph or above. Only about five per cent are 20 mph, so you will not spend the hour reading limit signs in an estate.
Eight level crossings sit within a mile and a half of the centre, which tells you this is railway country. The junctions are big and named: Thulston Island, Snelsmoor Island, Blue Peter Island and Raynesway Island all come up on the loops. The pass rate has been steady for several years, and the wait has fallen a long way since last summer.
Drive the Derby test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 60 km in all, with 56 roundabouts and 158 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Derby; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Derby from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 60 km · 158 marked turns
- Examiner-style marking on signalling and observation
- Street View tour of each route
- Every roundabout and junction, in the order you'll meet them
- The four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios, included
One payment, no renewal. Or £9.99 a month with a 3-day free trial. Cancel any time.
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- Route 1 · via Fernhook Avenue11.9 km loop with 15 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of London Road.11.9 km · 32 turns · 15 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Raynesway10.3 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 12 right turns, 11 left turns and a stretch of West Service Road.10.3 km · 30 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via Raynesway12.7 km loop with 12 roundabouts, 10 right turns, 17 left turns and a stretch of London Road.12.7 km · 39 turns · 12 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Raynesway11.4 km loop with 12 roundabouts, 9 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Boulton Lane.11.4 km · 30 turns · 12 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Alvaston Bypass14.1 km loop with 10 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Raynesway.14.1 km · 27 turns · 10 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Two roads run through nearly every loop: London Road and Raynesway. London Road is the old through route, thirty limit, side turnings close together, buses and parked cars narrowing what is left. Raynesway is its opposite, a dual carriageway where the question is whether you can join at the speed of the traffic already there and shed it again before the limit drops. The longest loop, 14.1 km, uses Raynesway. The one with most junction work, 11.9 km, uses London Road and takes in fifteen roundabout entries.
Signals are dense here. Forty-nine sets sit within a mile and a half of the centre and the loops meet a good number of them. The fault they produce is rarely a jumped red. It is creeping over the stop line while waiting, or being in the wrong gear because the light changed sooner than expected.
The roundabouts are large and they have names. Thulston Island, Snelsmoor Island, Blue Peter Island and Raynesway Island are the ones the loops keep returning to, and they are multi-lane. Choose the approach lane early, hold it round, and check the mirror before you leave. Lane discipline on a wide island is what separates candidates who learned everything on mini-roundabouts from those who did not.
Eight level crossings sit inside the area the loops cover, more than at most centres. Drive over one before the day so the markings and the stopping position are familiar. Twenty-five schools are in the same area, so the middle of the afternoon carries extra traffic. Manoeuvres are usually set on the quieter residential streets rather than on the through routes, which is typical rather than confirmed for Alvaston.
Pass rate at Derby, 2007/08 to 2025/26
Share of car tests passed each April-to-March year. Dashed line: Great Britain average for 2025/26.
Month by month, 2025/26
By year and gender
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 8,086 | 51.8% | 54.4% | 49.1% |
| 2024/25 | 9,260 | 51.3% | 52.7% | 49.6% |
| 2023/24 | 9,467 | 47.3% | 49.5% | 44.8% |
| 2022/23 | 8,300 | 48.7% | 51.4% | 45.8% |
| 2021/22 | 10,242 | 51.0% | 54.1% | 47.5% |
| 2020/21 | 2,971 | 52.0% | 54.7% | 49.0% |
| 2019/20 | 9,139 | 48.0% | 52.7% | 43.7% |
| 2018/19 | 9,038 | 46.3% | 51.6% | 41.6% |
East Midlands average 50.8% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Derby
Median weeks between booking and taking the test, for tests taken each month. Dashed line: GB median for August 2026.
| Month | Median wait | Weeks to free slots | Slots offered | Still free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 7.4 | 24 | 40 | 38.1% |
| Jul 2026 | 7.4 | 24 | 50 | 38.9% |
| Jun 2026 | 13.4 | 24 | 39 | 36.4% |
| May 2026 | 14.9 | 19 | 36 | 37.9% |
| Apr 2026 | 12.7 | 24 | 35 | 33.5% |
| Mar 2026 | 10.1 | 24 | 39 | 30.7% |
Tell me when the wait at Derby drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Derby
The centre is off Belmore Way rather than on it, so the entrance is set back and easy to drive past. Give yourself a minute to find it rather than arriving with none to spare.
GOV.UK lists the test types held here and nothing else. It publishes no accessibility line for Alvaston, so if you use a wheelchair or need arrangements made for a disability, ask DVSA before the day rather than assuming. Nothing is published about candidate parking or the waiting room either. A unit of this kind normally has some marked bays on the site, but treat that as typical rather than confirmed.
Car tests are held here, along with ADI part 2 and ADI part 3. There are no motorcycle tests at Alvaston. Booking, moving and cancelling a test is done only through GOV.UK.
Spondon station is a shade under two kilometres off, which makes arriving by train possible but not comfortable. Most candidates come with an instructor. Ten minutes ahead of your slot is enough. The examiner calls you by name, checks your licence and asks you to sign the declaration confirming the car is insured for the test. The eyesight check happens outside before you get in, and the estate roads give you very little warm-up before the first island.
What DVSA publishes about Derby
Taken from the GOV.UK test centre finder, checked 3 September 2026. Where DVSA says nothing, this site says nothing.
- Tests conducted here
- carADI part 2ADI part 3
- Wheelchair access
- Not published. Ring DVSA before the day rather than assuming.
Other tests at Derby
This centre is not car only. DVSA publishes results for these categories separately, and they are taken by different candidates on different vehicles, so the rates are not comparable with the car figure above.
Learner reports from Derby
No reports yet for this centre. If you tested here, the first one is yours to write.
What examiners mark most often
DVSA does not publish faults by centre, but it does publish them nationally. These collected the most marks across every car test in Great Britain in 2025/26, and they are the same ones you will be marked on at Derby.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Off Belmore Way, AlvastonDerby DE21 7AY
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- Nottingham (Chilwell)Beeston · NG9 6DZ · 13 km49.9%-0.1 vs GB7.7 wkswait
- Burton on TrentBurton · DE14 2TG · 19 km54.7%+4.7 vs GB17 wkswait
- LoughboroughLE11 1JP · 20 km42.3%-7.7 vs GB23 wkswait
- Nottingham (Colwick )Nottingham · NG4 2JU · 25 km46.4%-3.6 vs GB8.3 wkswait
- AshfieldSutton-in-Ashfield · NG17 5LA · 28 km57.3%+7.3 vs GB18.2 wkswait
- Leicester (Cannock Street)Leicester · LE4 9HT · 35 km40.2%-9.8 vs GB6.4 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Derby
- Is Derby an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 51.8% of car tests were passed there in 2025/26, against 50.0% nationally. Pass rates reflect the local roads and who takes tests there as much as the examiners, so treat it as a guide, not a guarantee.
- How long is the wait for a driving test at Derby?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Derby was 7.4 weeks, and you had to look about 24 weeks ahead to find a week with at least 10% of slots free. DVSA publishes this monthly; the figure above updates when they do.
- Where is Derby driving test centre?
- Derby test centre is at Off Belmore Way, Alvaston, Derby, DE21 7AY. Arrive at least 10 minutes early with your provisional licence; parking rules vary by centre, so check the learner reports below.
- How many driving tests does Derby do a year?
- 8,086 car tests were conducted at Derby in 2025/26, of which 4,186 were passed.
Source: DVSA tables DRT122A (pass rates by centre and month) and DRT122F (waiting times and availability), Open Government Licence v3.0. PassRank adds the comparisons and rankings.
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