Lincoln driving test centre
Earlsfield Close, Off Sadler Road, Lincoln, LN6 3RT
Drive the 5 routes around Lincoln before test day →
Key facts
- Lincoln's pass rate was 52.1% in 2025/26 from 6,192 tests, 2.1 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 10 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 48.3% (2023/24) and 52.1% (2025/26).
- Male candidates passed at 53.6% and female candidates at 50.4%, a gap of 3.2 points.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 17.1 weeks since booking (longer than the national median of 11.9 weeks); the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 24 weeks ahead.
- 35.6% 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.
Lincoln is the fast one. Just one per cent of the roads tagged within two and a half kilometres of the centre are 20 mph, and more than a third are 40. Another quarter are national speed limit and a sixth are 70. That profile is the opposite of most town centres, and it changes what fails people here. The centre is on Earlsfield Close, off Sadler Road on the industrial estate west of the city, so the routes open on Whisby Road and Doddington Road rather than in traffic, then run out to the roundabouts at Skellingthorpe and Doddington and back through the Birchwood estate. The pass rate sits a little above the national average and has been steady for several years. The wait is long, at over seventeen weeks.
Drive the Lincoln test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 51 km in all, with 32 roundabouts and 119 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Lincoln; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Lincoln from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 51 km · 119 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 Lincoln Road9.9 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 12 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Doddington Road.9.9 km · 28 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Whisby Road9.5 km loop with 6 roundabouts, 11 right turns, 8 left turns and a stretch of Birchwood Avenue.9.5 km · 25 turns · 6 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via Whisby Road11.7 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 6 right turns, 5 left turns and a stretch of Kingsley Road.11.7 km · 18 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Teal Park Road8.0 km loop with 5 roundabouts, 11 right turns, 7 left turns and a stretch of Pershore Way.8.0 km · 23 turns · 5 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Lincoln Road12.4 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 9 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Whisby Road.12.4 km · 25 turns · 7 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Speed is the theme. Around a third of the roads tagged within two and a half kilometres of the centre are 40 mph, a quarter are national speed limit and a sixth are 70. Barely any are 20. Whisby Road, Doddington Road and Station Road carry the faster part of the routes, and the practice loops on this page run between eight and twelve kilometres, so a good share of each one is spent at a speed where a small error covers a lot of ground.
The consequence is that the marking here is often about speed itself. Sitting at 30 on a 40 road can be marked as undue hesitation, and that costs as much as being over the limit. So is arriving at a limit change still carrying the previous speed. Learn where the signs are on Doddington Road and Whisby Road, and change the speed at the sign rather than after it.
Roundabouts are large rather than numerous. Only three mini-roundabouts are tagged in the area, with conventional roundabouts at Skellingthorpe, Doddington, Teal Park Road and Whisby Road, and the loops pick up five to seven of them each. These are fast approaches. The observation has to happen early, because there is no time to look once you are at the line.
Two level crossings sit within the same radius. If one comes up, approach at a speed that lets you stop, and never move on without a clear exit.
Manoeuvres are usually asked for on the residential streets in the Birchwood area, off Birchwood Avenue and Pershore Way, where the roads are quiet and the kerbs are straight.
Waiting time for a test at Lincoln
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 | 17.1 | 24 | 43 | 35.6% |
| Jul 2026 | 17.1 | 24 | 32 | 26.5% |
| Jun 2026 | 14.9 | 24 | 32 | 32.3% |
| May 2026 | 10.9 | 24 | 34 | 24.4% |
| Apr 2026 | 11 | 24 | 37 | 26.7% |
| Mar 2026 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 32% |
Pass rate at Lincoln, 2008/09 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 | 6,192 | 52.1% | 53.6% | 50.4% |
| 2024/25 | 6,345 | 49.8% | 50.9% | 48.5% |
| 2023/24 | 8,043 | 48.3% | 49.3% | 47.1% |
| 2022/23 | 7,151 | 50.8% | 53.3% | 48.1% |
| 2021/22 | 6,029 | 51.7% | 54.6% | 48.5% |
| 2020/21 | 1,398 | 50.9% | 53.6% | 48.1% |
| 2019/20 | 5,824 | 45.4% | 49.7% | 41.7% |
| 2018/19 | 5,779 | 48.0% | 52.3% | 44.4% |
East Midlands average 50.8% · GB 50%
Tell me when the wait at Lincoln drops
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Test day at Lincoln
The centre is on Earlsfield Close, off Sadler Road, in the industrial area west of Lincoln near Whisby Road. It is an estate unit rather than a building on a main road, so follow the close in rather than looking for a frontage.
GOV.UK publishes that you can access this centre if you use a wheelchair. The range of tests is wide: car, motorcycle module 1 off-road and module 2 on-road, and ADI parts 2 and 3. That means the site handles motorcycle candidates as well as cars, so keep to the marked areas when you arrive.
Parking is not published. Industrial estate units of this kind usually have bays outside and space on the estate roads, which is typical rather than confirmed, so allow a few minutes rather than assuming a space at the door.
Hykeham station is a little over a kilometre away, which is walkable, though most candidates arrive with an instructor. Tests are booked, moved and cancelled through GOV.UK only.
The examiner checks your licence, has you sign the declaration that the car is insured, and does the eyesight check on the estate. The first stretch is a wide industrial road, and the temptation is to relax into it. The speed limit changes come quickly after that.
What DVSA publishes about Lincoln
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 1 (off-road)motorcycle module 2 (on-road)ADI part 2ADI part 3
- Wheelchair access
- DVSA states you can access this centre in a wheelchair.
Other tests at Lincoln
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 Lincoln
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 Lincoln.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Earlsfield Close, Off Sadler RoadLincoln LN6 3RT
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- Grantham (Somerby)Grantham · NG31 7TX · 34 km57.9%+7.9 vs GB16.3 wkswait
- WorksopS81 8BW · 39 km55.2%+5.2 vs GB11 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Lincoln
- Is Lincoln an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 52.1% 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 Lincoln?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Lincoln was 17.1 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 Lincoln driving test centre?
- Lincoln test centre is at Earlsfield Close, Off Sadler Road, Lincoln, LN6 3RT. 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 Lincoln do a year?
- 6,192 car tests were conducted at Lincoln in 2025/26, of which 3,225 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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