Portsmouth driving test centre
Portsmouth Marriott Hotel, Southampton Road, PO6 4SH
Drive the 5 routes around Portsmouth before test day →
Key facts
- Portsmouth's pass rate was 52.8% in 2025/26 from 13,518 tests, 2.8 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 16 of 30 centres in South East (South East average 52.9%), a mid-table pass rates in the region.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has risen by 2.4 points, from 50.4% to 52.8%.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 13 weeks since booking; the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 19.2 weeks ahead.
- A year earlier (August 2025) the median wait was 15.4 weeks, so waits have shortened by about 2.4 weeks.
- 35.7% 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.
Portsmouth's test centre has an address most candidates read twice: the Portsmouth Marriott Hotel on Southampton Road, on the northern edge of the city, near Cosham. That setting explains the two instructions DVSA publishes for it. Park in the marked DVSA bays, and do not arrive more than five minutes before your test. The driving splits cleanly in two. Around three fifths of the roads mapped within 2.5 km carry a 20 mph limit, which is the estate half of the test on roads like Allaway Avenue and Western Road, and the rest is the faster network of roundabouts around the top of the harbour, with Port Way and Southampton Road doing most of the work. Pass rates here have risen since 2021 and sit slightly above the national average.
Drive the Portsmouth test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 56 km in all, with 33 roundabouts and 138 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Portsmouth; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Portsmouth 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 · 138 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 Southampton Road12.9 km loop with 9 roundabouts, 10 right turns, 10 left turns and a stretch of Port Way.12.9 km · 29 turns · 9 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Southampton Road9.1 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 13 right turns, 13 left turns and a stretch of Port Way.9.1 km · 33 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via Southampton Road10.5 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 11 right turns, 5 left turns and a stretch of Port Way.10.5 km · 23 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Western Road12.7 km loop with 5 roundabouts, 9 right turns, 11 left turns and a stretch of Southampton Road.12.7 km · 25 turns · 5 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Southampton Road10.7 km loop with 5 roundabouts, 11 right turns, 12 left turns and a stretch of Western Road.10.7 km · 28 turns · 5 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Port Way is on four of the five practice loops on this page and it sets the tone. It is one of the faster roads in the area, linked by roundabouts rather than junctions, and the busiest loop passes nine roundabouts across roughly 13 kilometres. Portsbridge Roundabout, Spur Road Roundabout, Castle Street, Tintagel Way, Norway Road, Copnor Road and Old London Road are the named ones nearby. Approach lane, then a held line round to the exit, is the skill the whole area asks for.
Against that, three fifths of the roads mapped within 2.5 km of the centre are 20 mph. Allaway Avenue, Western Road, Compass Road, Ludlow Road and the streets off them are the residential half, and the change of pace between the two is abrupt. Coming off a roundabout link into a 20 zone is where speed faults get picked up, because the limit drops at the sign rather than gradually.
Northarbour Road and Southampton Road carry the commercial traffic, with lorries turning in and out and lanes that fill up at the wrong times of day.
Manoeuvres are usually set on the quieter estate roads, where the kerbs are straight and parking is heavy enough on one side to make a pull-up on the right worth doing properly. Matapan Road, Normandy Road and Salerno Road are that kind of street.
There is a level crossing in the area as well. The loops run from 9.1 to 12.9 kilometres, so even the shortest gives you very little warm-up before the first roundabout.
Pass rate at Portsmouth, 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 | 13,518 | 52.8% | 53.6% | 51.9% |
| 2024/25 | 11,305 | 51.8% | 52.2% | 51.3% |
| 2023/24 | 11,237 | 50.3% | 50.3% | 50.4% |
| 2022/23 | 11,948 | 48.2% | 49.7% | 46.3% |
| 2021/22 | 10,234 | 50.4% | 52.3% | 48.3% |
| 2020/21 | 2,907 | 53.3% | 55.9% | 50.3% |
| 2019/20 | 7,747 | 47.2% | 50.9% | 43.8% |
| 2018/19 | 7,373 | 44.5% | 48.3% | 41.1% |
South East average 52.9% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Portsmouth
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 | 13 | 19.2 | 30 | 35.7% |
| Jul 2026 | 13 | 19.8 | 36 | 30.3% |
| Jun 2026 | 13 | 20.6 | 33 | 28.5% |
| May 2026 | 13.1 | 23.8 | 35 | 32.3% |
| Apr 2026 | 11.7 | 24 | 37 | 29.3% |
| Mar 2026 | 14.1 | 24 | 37 | 33.9% |
Tell me when the wait at Portsmouth drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Portsmouth
Three things DVSA publishes about this centre change what you do on the day. Park in the DVSA marked bays, not wherever there is space on the hotel site. Arrive no more than five minutes before your test, so the usual advice about turning up early does not apply here. And there is no practising allowed on site, which rules out a last-minute bay park in the car park before you go in.
The good news is that a waiting area and toilets are confirmed, which is not true of every centre. On accessibility, DVSA says only that it will make arrangements for candidates with a disability; there is no published statement of wheelchair access, so ring the booking line ahead if you need to know what the building is like.
The centre runs car tests and ADI part 3. It does not do ADI part 2, motorcycle or lorry tests, so check the test type when you book.
Cosham station is about a mile away in a straight line, so walking it is realistic if your instructor is meeting you at the centre. The examiner checks your licence, takes the signed insurance declaration and does the eyesight check outside before you get in. Booking and cancelling go through GOV.UK.
What DVSA publishes about Portsmouth
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 3
- 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.
- On the day
- Candidates are to park in the DVSA marked parking bays and arrive no more than 5 minutes before their test. There is no practicing allowed on site. There is a waiting area, and toilets are available.
Other tests at Portsmouth
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 Portsmouth
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 Portsmouth.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Portsmouth Marriott Hotel, Southampton RoadPortsmouth PO6 4SH
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- Lee On The SolentLee on the Solent · PO13 9JY · 8.7 km63.2%+13.2 vs GB20 wkswait
- Newport (Isle Of Wight)Newport · PO30 5WB · 21 km54.1%+4.1 vs GB8.9 wkswait
- ChichesterPO20 2FR · 27 km61.6%+11.6 vs GB4.7 wkswait
- Southampton (Maybush)Southampton · SO16 9FP · 27 km50.3%+0.3 vs GB13.1 wkswait
- WinchesterSO23 9SY · 29 km52.2%+2.2 vs GB7.1 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Portsmouth
- Is Portsmouth an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 52.8% 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 Portsmouth?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Portsmouth was 13 weeks, and you had to look about 19.2 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 Portsmouth driving test centre?
- Portsmouth test centre is at Portsmouth Marriott Hotel, Southampton Road, PO6 4SH. 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 Portsmouth do a year?
- 13,518 car tests were conducted at Portsmouth in 2025/26, of which 7,141 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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