Reading driving test centre
Suite A, 1st Floor, Pacific House, Imperial Way, Reading, RG2 0TD
Drive the 5 routes around Reading before test day →
Key facts
- Reading's pass rate was 55.4% in 2025/26 from 9,237 tests, 5.4 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 12 of 30 centres in South East (South East average 52.9%), a mid-table pass rates in the region, 2.5 points above it.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has risen by 2.1 points, from 53.3% to 55.4%.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 13.9 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.
- 34.6% 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.
Reading's centre sits in the business park off Basingstoke Road, and the first thing to know is that it is a roundabout test. Every one of the practice loops on this page passes at least ten of them, and the longest passes fourteen in a little over twelve kilometres. Within two and a half kilometres of the door there are twenty-one mini-roundabouts and eighty-one signalled junctions, which is heavy for a suburban area. Half the roads mapped nearby are 30 mph, a quarter are 20 and another fifth are 40, so the limit changes often and rarely stays changed for long. The pass rate is comfortably above the national average and has risen since 2021. The wait, though, is longer than the national median.
Drive the Reading test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 59 km in all, with 59 roundabouts and 117 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Reading; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Reading from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 59 km · 117 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 Basingstoke Road12.5 km loop with 14 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 6 left turns and a stretch of Longwater Avenue.12.5 km · 28 turns · 14 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Basingstoke Road12.0 km loop with 13 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 4 left turns and a stretch of Great Lea.12.0 km · 25 turns · 13 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via Basingstoke Road13.6 km loop with 10 roundabouts, 10 right turns, 5 left turns and a stretch of Kybes Lane.13.6 km · 25 turns · 10 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Whitley Wood Lane12.2 km loop with 11 roundabouts, 5 right turns, 2 left turns and a stretch of Hollow Lane.12.2 km · 18 turns · 11 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Basingstoke Road8.5 km loop with 11 roundabouts, 5 right turns, 5 left turns and a stretch of Hartland Road.8.5 km · 21 turns · 11 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Imperial Way and Basingstoke Road carry the start of almost everything. Basingstoke Road is the spine of this part of Reading, wide, busy with commercial traffic and linked to the estates either side by roundabout rather than by junction. It is where most candidates settle, or fail to settle, in the first few minutes.
Roundabouts are the theme. The longest loop on this page takes in fourteen of them across twelve and a half kilometres, and the shortest still finds eleven in eight and a half. Stadium Roundabout, Rose Kiln Lane, Mereoak Lane, Aphelion Way and Longwater Avenue are the named ones in the area. What Reading asks for is lane discipline on the approach, held all the way round to the exit, on roundabouts wide enough to tempt you into drifting.
The residential half is quieter. Whitley Wood Lane, Hartland Road, Worton Drive and Church Lane run through the estates near the centre, and this is the kind of road where a bay park or a pull-up on the right is usually set: straight kerbs, and parking heavy enough on one side to make the manoeuvre worth doing properly. A quarter of the roads mapped within two and a half kilometres are 20 mph, so the drop from a 30 comes up regularly, and it has to happen at the sign.
Longer loops reach Great Lea and Hartley Court Road on the southern edge, where the limit rises. There are thirty-one schools in the area, so an afternoon slot in term time means parked cars and children near the kerb.
Pass rate at Reading, 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 | 9,237 | 55.4% | 55.6% | 55.1% |
| 2024/25 | 6,877 | 49.8% | 51.0% | 48.6% |
| 2023/24 | 6,766 | 47.9% | 50.1% | 45.5% |
| 2022/23 | 8,258 | 54.3% | 54.5% | 54.2% |
| 2021/22 | 11,031 | 53.3% | 55.4% | 51.0% |
| 2020/21 | 3,039 | 54.7% | 57.7% | 51.6% |
| 2019/20 | 12,192 | 47.8% | 51.4% | 44.6% |
| 2018/19 | 11,738 | 46.4% | 50.7% | 42.7% |
South East average 52.9% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Reading
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 | 13.9 | 24 | 34 | 34.6% |
| Jul 2026 | 13.9 | 24 | 39 | 37.7% |
| Jun 2026 | 11.6 | 23.2 | 43 | 32.7% |
| May 2026 | 4.3 | 24 | 56 | 23.8% |
| Apr 2026 | 5.9 | 24 | 55 | 26.5% |
| Mar 2026 | 5 | 24 | 55 | 28.5% |
Tell me when the wait at Reading drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Reading
DVSA publishes an arrival routine for Reading that changes what you do, so read it before you book an early slot. The waiting room is the main lobby of Pacific House, and the lobby and its toilets are open on weekdays only, from 07:45. For a weekday test starting at 07:03, or any test at the weekend, you wait in your own car and the examiner comes out to find you. Plan for that: use the toilet before you arrive, and keep your licence somewhere you can reach without getting out.
The centre itself is a first-floor suite on Imperial Way. Parking is not something DVSA publishes here. Units on business parks of this kind usually have marked bays nearby, but treat that as typical rather than promised and give yourself a few minutes to find a space.
The record lists car tests and ADI part 2 and part 3. There are no motorcycle tests. On access, DVSA says only that it will make arrangements for candidates with a disability, so there is no published statement about the building itself; ring the booking line if you need to know. Reading Green Park station is about two kilometres away. Booking, moving and cancelling all go through GOV.UK.
What DVSA publishes about Reading
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. 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
- Waiting room is in main lobby Any test starting at 07:03 weekdays or any test at the weekend the candidate will have to wait in their car and the examiner will come to them. There are toilets and waiting room available weekdays only from 07:45.
Learner reports from Reading
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 Reading.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Suite A, 1st Floor, Pacific House, Imperial WayReading RG2 0TD
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- FarnboroughGU14 6UU · 21 km59.7%+9.7 vs GB16 wkswait
- BasingstokeRG22 4LR · 22 km56.8%+6.8 vs GB19.6 wkswait
- High WycombeHP11 1TL · 26 km51.5%+1.5 vs GB4.6 wkswait
- Slough (London)Slough · SL3 6EZ · 31 km50.8%+0.8 vs GB6 wkswait
- Chertsey (London)Chertsey · KT16 9JX · 33 km52.9%+2.9 vs GB15.6 wkswait
- GuildfordGU1 1SA · 34 km57.1%+7.1 vs GB9.6 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Reading
- Is Reading an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 55.4% 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 Reading?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Reading was 13.9 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 Reading driving test centre?
- Reading test centre is at Suite A, 1st Floor, Pacific House, Imperial Way, Reading, RG2 0TD. 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 Reading do a year?
- 9,237 car tests were conducted at Reading in 2025/26, of which 5,118 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 Reading’s 5 test routes in 3D3 days free, then £9.99/month · or £14.99 once for 90 days
Try free