Isle of Skye driving test centre
DVSA name: Isle of Skye (Portree) · Portree GVTS, Industrial Estate,, Home Farm Road, Lisigarry Place, Portree, IV51 9BD
Drive the 5 routes around Isle of Skye before test day →
Key facts
- Isle of Skye's pass rate was 57% in 2025/26 from 128 tests, 7 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 35 of 67 centres in Scotland (Scotland average 49.3%), a mid-table pass rates in the region, 7.7 points above it.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has fallen by 11.1 points, from 68.1% to 57%.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 8.3 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 5.8 weeks, so waits have grown by about 2.5 weeks.
Portree is the busiest test centre on Skye and the easiest to book on this part of the coast. It passed 57 per cent of candidates in 2025/26 from 128 tests, 7 points above the national average and 75th of 302 centres, and the wait is a median of 8.3 weeks against a national 11.9 — one of the few Highland centres where the diary is shorter than the average rather than double it. The pass rate has slipped 11.1 points since 2021/22, when it was 68.1. The roads are the reason: 46 per cent of the distance on the practice loops on this page is at 30 mph, with 11 give-way junctions and five schools in a small town.
Drive the Isle of Skye test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 56 km in all, with 14 roundabouts and 69 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Isle of Skye; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Isle of Skye from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 56 km · 69 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.
Everything else on PassRank, every centre, its pass rate, its waiting time and the forum, is free and needs no account.
- Route 1 · via Dunvegan Road11.3 km loop with 4 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 8 left turns and a stretch of Staffin Road.11.3 km · 20 turns · 4 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Storr Road Path9.3 km loop with 4 roundabouts, 4 right turns, 5 left turns and a stretch of Dunvegan Road.9.3 km · 13 turns · 4 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via Dunvegan Road11.8 km loop with 2 roundabouts, 5 right turns, 5 left turns and a stretch of Staffin Road.11.8 km · 12 turns · 2 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Dunvegan Road12.7 km loop with 2 roundabouts, 6 right turns, 4 left turns and a stretch of Rathad Sgorrabric.12.7 km · 12 turns · 2 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Struan Road10.6 km loop with 2 roundabouts, 4 right turns, 6 left turns and a stretch of Dunvegan Road.10.6 km · 12 turns · 2 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
This is a town test with a long tail. Forty-six per cent of the distance is at 30 mph, 22 per cent at 20, 18 per cent at 60 and 14 per cent at 40. The 60 sections are the single-track and open stretches out towards Staffin and Dunvegan; the rest is Portree itself, where the streets are tight, the gradients are real and the town fills with visitors from spring onwards.
Eleven give-way junctions across 55.7 kilometres is the highest count of anything here, and it tells you what the test is about: deciding for yourself, repeatedly, on approaches where a wall or a parked van shortens the view. There are also four sets of traffic signals, four signalled crossings, three zebra crossings and one piece of traffic calming. Dunvegan Road is the one named roundabout, and every loop takes in at least two roundabouts.
The turn counts are moderate — an 11.3 kilometre loop asks for eight right turns and eight left, the others sit between four and six of each. With 5 schools in the area, the pressure comes from pedestrians rather than from traffic volume, and the zebra crossings are where hesitation and late braking show up.
Dunvegan Road, Struan Road, Bridge Road, Viewfield Road, Staffin Road, Mill Road, Sgorrabreac, Rathad Sgorrabric and Ionad na Liseagaraidh carry most of the driving. There are no level crossings and no dual carriageway.
Pass rate at Isle of Skye, 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 | 128 | 57.0% | 65.2% | 48.4% |
| 2024/25 | 133 | 69.9% | 71.2% | 69.1% |
| 2023/24 | 126 | 65.1% | 62.3% | 67.7% |
| 2022/23 | 110 | 67.3% | 69.0% | 65.4% |
| 2021/22 | 160 | 68.1% | 74.3% | 64.3% |
| 2019/20 | 135 | 70.4% | 66.2% | 75.0% |
| 2018/19 | 144 | 65.3% | 74.6% | 58.8% |
| 2017/18 | 158 | 68.4% | 70.3% | 66.7% |
Scotland average 49.3% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Isle of Skye
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 | 8.3 | 24 | 40 | 0% |
| Jul 2026 | 8.3 | 24 | 42 | 0% |
| May 2026 | 7.4 | 24 | 44 | 0% |
| Apr 2026 | 3.1 | 24 | 67 | 0% |
| Mar 2026 | 5.3 | 24 | 67 | 4.8% |
| Feb 2026 | 2.9 | 24 | 77 | 0% |
Tell me when the wait at Isle of Skye drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Isle of Skye
The centre is at Portree GVTS on the industrial estate, Home Farm Road, Lisigarry Place, IV51 9BD. It is signed off the Home Farm Road end rather than from the town centre, so allow a few minutes to find it the first time.
Car tests are conducted here, and so are motorcycle module 2 on-road tests and lorry and bus tests. GOV.UK says DVSA will make arrangements for you at this test centre if you have a disability.
There is no railway station on the island, and parking is not published for the site. It is an industrial estate, so there is usually room on the estate roads, but the marked bays belong to the units and the vehicle test area needs to stay clear.
The wait was a median of 8.3 weeks for tests taken in July 2026, shorter than the national median of 11.9, and it has been improving — a year earlier it was 10.6 weeks. The first week with a tenth of its slots still free was 24 weeks ahead, so the sensible move is to take a date and keep checking for something sooner.
Isle of Skye (Broadford) is 27.9 kilometres away and passes 51.5 per cent. Kyle of Lochalsh is 33.2 kilometres at 57.4 per cent, with a 14.1 week wait. Booking and cancelling is on GOV.UK only.
What DVSA publishes about Isle of Skye
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)lorry and bus
- Wheelchair access
- Not published. DVSA says it will make arrangements for candidates with a disability, which is not the same as step-free access. Ring DVSA before the day rather than assuming.
Learner reports from Isle of Skye
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 Isle of Skye.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Portree GVTS, Industrial Estate,, Home Farm RoadLisigarry Place, Portree IV51 9BD
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- Isle of Skye (Broadford)Broadford · IV49 9AQ · 28 km51.5%+1.5 vs GB–wait
- Kyle of LochalshIV40 8BP · 33 km57.4%+7.4 vs GB14.1 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Isle of Skye
- Is Isle of Skye an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 57% 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 Isle of Skye?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Isle of Skye was 8.3 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 Isle of Skye driving test centre?
- Isle of Skye test centre is at Portree GVTS, Industrial Estate,, Home Farm Road, Lisigarry Place, Portree, IV51 9BD. 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 Isle of Skye do a year?
- 128 car tests were conducted at Isle of Skye in 2025/26, of which 73 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.
Drive Isle of Skye’s 5 test routes in 3D3 days free, then £9.99/month · or £14.99 once for 90 days
Try free