Dorchester driving test centre
66 Peverell Avenue West, Poundbury, Dorchester, DT1 3SU
Drive the 5 routes around Dorchester before test day →
Key facts
- Dorchester's pass rate was 69% in 2025/26 from 4,353 tests, 19 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 1 of 21 centres in South West (South West average 51.7%), one of the higher pass rates in the region, 17.3 points above it.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has risen by 4.3 points, from 64.7% to 69%.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 10.9 weeks since booking; the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 24 weeks ahead.
- A year earlier (August 2025) the median wait was 19.9 weeks, so waits have shortened by about 9 weeks.
- 25.7% of the standard slots in the booking window were still unbooked in August 2026, which usually means a cancellation or new date is realistic here.
Dorchester has the highest pass rate of any test centre in the South West, and the roads explain part of it. A third of the roads tagged within a mile and a half of the centre are at the national speed limit and a further sixth are at 50, so a good share of the test is open country driving rather than town work. There is one mini-roundabout in the whole area and six schools. The centre sits on Peverell Avenue West in Poundbury, where the streets are narrow, kerbed and short of sightlines by design. Most tests are two halves: careful, slow work on the estate, then a B-road where the limit is 60 and the bends decide the speed for you.
Drive the Dorchester test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 54 km in all, with 41 roundabouts and 115 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Dorchester; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Dorchester from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 54 km · 115 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
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- Route 1 · via Dorchester Bypass12.6 km loop with 10 roundabouts, 11 right turns, 5 left turns and a stretch of Poundbury Road.12.6 km · 26 turns · 10 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Peverell Avenue East10.3 km loop with 9 roundabouts, 12 right turns, 5 left turns and a stretch of Poundbury Road.10.3 km · 26 turns · 9 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via Poundbury Road10.2 km loop with 9 roundabouts, 11 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Middle Farm Way.10.2 km · 29 turns · 9 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Dorchester Bypass11.4 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 6 right turns, 2 left turns and a stretch of Bats Lane.11.4 km · 15 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Poundbury Road9.6 km loop with 6 roundabouts, 9 right turns, 4 left turns and a stretch of Peverell Avenue East.9.6 km · 19 turns · 6 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
The named roundabouts do the structural work here. Top O'Town, Monkey's Jump, Weirs and the Stadium roundabout are the points the loops hang on, and most of them take in seven to ten roundabout entries in about ten kilometres. They are conventional roundabouts rather than minis. There is only one mini-roundabout in the whole area, so what is being tested is lane choice and position on a wide approach, not the quick give-and-take a painted circle demands.
Speed is the other half of a Dorchester test. A third of the roads tagged near the centre are at 60 and a further sixth are at 50, which is a rural profile rather than a town one. Bridport Road and the Dorchester Bypass are among the through routes the loops use. On a 60 road with hedges and bends the limit is a ceiling and not a target, and speed that is wrong for the conditions is marked as readily as speed over the sign. Coming back down matters just as much: the drop into a 30 happens at the sign, not where the houses begin.
Poundbury is the contrast. Peverell Avenue East, Middle Farm Way and Poundbury Crescent are the loop streets on that side, and estate roads of this kind give short sightlines at junctions and parked cars on both sides. Manoeuvres are usually set on streets like these, where the kerb is straight and there is enough parking to make a pull-up on the right worth doing properly.
There are no level crossings in the area the loops cover and only six schools, so the afternoon traffic that catches candidates in bigger towns is much less of a factor.
Pass rate at Dorchester, 2010/11 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 | 4,353 | 69.0% | 68.4% | 69.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4,561 | 66.7% | 67.6% | 65.7% |
| 2023/24 | 5,689 | 63.5% | 64.9% | 62.0% |
| 2022/23 | 5,202 | 62.0% | 63.5% | 60.3% |
| 2021/22 | 5,999 | 64.7% | 66.8% | 62.6% |
| 2020/21 | 1,559 | 65.7% | 66.1% | 65.3% |
| 2019/20 | 4,498 | 59.5% | 62.8% | 56.6% |
| 2018/19 | 4,223 | 62.4% | 65.3% | 59.8% |
South West average 51.7% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Dorchester
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 | 10.9 | 24 | 45 | 25.7% |
| Jul 2026 | 10.9 | 23 | 41 | 26.4% |
| Jun 2026 | 6.4 | 22.6 | 53 | 22.7% |
| May 2026 | 5.9 | 24 | 52 | 22.3% |
| Apr 2026 | 9.4 | 18.8 | 45 | 29.8% |
| Mar 2026 | 10.4 | 24 | 43 | 31% |
Tell me when the wait at Dorchester drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Dorchester
The centre is at 66 Peverell Avenue West in Poundbury. That is a street address rather than an industrial unit, so the number on the door is the thing to look for.
GOV.UK publishes no accessibility line for Dorchester. If you use a wheelchair or need arrangements made for a disability, ask DVSA before the day rather than turning up and hoping. Nothing is published about candidate parking or the waiting room either. On an ordinary residential street, expect to park on the road and walk the last part. That is what is typical, not something confirmed for Peverell Avenue West.
Car tests are held here, along with motorcycle module 2 on the road and ADI part 3. Module 1 is not done at Dorchester and neither is ADI part 2. Booking, moving and cancelling a test is done only through GOV.UK.
Dorchester West station is a little under two kilometres away, so arriving by train and walking is realistic if you are not carrying much. Most candidates come with an instructor. Arrive about ten minutes before your slot. 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 is done outside at the roadside first.
What DVSA publishes about Dorchester
Taken from the GOV.UK test centre finder, checked 3 September 2026. Where DVSA says nothing, this site says nothing.
- Tests conducted here
- carmotorcycle module 2 (on-road)ADI part 3
- Wheelchair access
- Not published. Ring DVSA before the day rather than assuming.
Other tests at Dorchester
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 Dorchester
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 Dorchester.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
66 Peverell Avenue West, PoundburyDorchester DT1 3SU
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
Questions learners ask about Dorchester
- Is Dorchester an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 69% 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 Dorchester?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Dorchester was 10.9 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 Dorchester driving test centre?
- Dorchester test centre is at 66 Peverell Avenue West, Poundbury, Dorchester, DT1 3SU. 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 Dorchester do a year?
- 4,353 car tests were conducted at Dorchester in 2025/26, of which 3,002 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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