Southport driving test centre
DVSA name: Southport (Liverpool) · Eastbank House, Eastbank Street, Southport, PR8 1HE
Drive the 5 routes around Southport before test day →
Key facts
- Southport's pass rate was 56.5% in 2025/26 from 7,949 tests, 6.5 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 7 of 31 centres in North West (North West average 49.0%), one of the higher pass rates in the region, 7.5 points above it.
- The rate has been stable since 2021/22, moving between 55.3% (2022/23) and 59.2% (2024/25).
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 16.9 weeks since booking (longer than the national median of 11.9 weeks); the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 23.4 weeks ahead.
- A year earlier (August 2025) the median wait was 13.4 weeks, so waits have grown by about 3.5 weeks.
- 38.4% 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.
Southport is a slow test. Close to three quarters of the roads mapped within 2.5 km of Eastbank Street carry a 20 mph limit, which is a very high share even by seaside-town standards, and almost all of the rest are 30. That changes what the examiner is watching. Speed is easy to get right and easy to get wrong by two or three miles an hour, and the faults come from creeping over a 20 on a wide, empty street rather than from anything dramatic. Five level crossings sit in the same radius. The pass rate is well above the national average and has been steady for years, but the wait has grown by about five weeks since last summer.
Drive the Southport test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 54 km in all, with 33 roundabouts and 150 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Southport; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Southport 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 · 150 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.
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- Route 1 · via Marine Drive9.2 km loop with 6 roundabouts, 17 right turns, 8 left turns and a stretch of Manchester Road.9.2 km · 31 turns · 6 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Marine Drive15.3 km loop with 10 roundabouts, 21 right turns, 14 left turns and a stretch of Cemetery Road.15.3 km · 45 turns · 10 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via Marine Drive10.4 km loop with 5 roundabouts, 13 right turns, 11 left turns and a stretch of Scarisbrick New Road.10.4 km · 29 turns · 5 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Bentham's Way9.7 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 6 left turns and a stretch of Weld Road.9.7 km · 21 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Eastbank Street9.0 km loop with 5 roundabouts, 10 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Lord Street.9.0 km · 24 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.
The first thing to know is that no conventional roundabouts are recorded in the mapping around this centre. What the area has instead is fifteen mini-roundabouts, and the practice loops on this page take in between five and eight roundabout entries each. Mini-roundabouts are marked more strictly than most learners expect: give way to the right, signal for your exit, and drive round the painted circle rather than across it.
The second thing is the right turns. One loop contains seventeen of them and another fifteen, which is a lot for routes of nine to twelve kilometres. Right turns out of side roads onto Eastbank Street, Scarisbrick New Road or Part Street are where the marking happens, because the gaps are short and hesitation costs as much as impatience.
Lord Street is the set piece. It is wide, busy, lined with parked cars and crossed by pedestrians who step out between them, and the limit is low the whole way along. Marine Drive, The Promenade and Esplanade give the other kind of driving, open and quiet, where the temptation is to let the speed drift up.
Five level crossings are mapped within 2.5 km. That is unusual, and it makes stopping at one a real part of the test rather than a theory question. Stop behind the line, wait for the barriers to rise fully, and do not creep.
Manoeuvres are more often set on the residential streets off Lulworth Road and Park Road, where the kerbs are straight and there is steady parking on one side.
Waiting time for a test at Southport
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 | 16.9 | 23.4 | 26 | 38.4% |
| Jul 2026 | 16.9 | 23 | 24 | 34.2% |
| Jun 2026 | 15.3 | 22.8 | 27 | 32.5% |
| May 2026 | 14.7 | 23 | 26 | 34.4% |
| Apr 2026 | 13 | 23.3 | 30 | 30.8% |
| Mar 2026 | 12.4 | 22 | 36 | 26.9% |
Pass rate at Southport, 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 | 7,949 | 56.5% | 56.5% | 56.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7,231 | 59.2% | 59.6% | 58.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7,440 | 56.3% | 56.4% | 56.2% |
| 2022/23 | 5,844 | 55.3% | 57.0% | 53.6% |
| 2021/22 | 5,006 | 56.1% | 57.9% | 54.6% |
| 2020/21 | 1,207 | 59.0% | 60.1% | 58.0% |
| 2019/20 | 5,699 | 50.7% | 55.2% | 46.7% |
| 2018/19 | 5,425 | 50.3% | 52.5% | 48.2% |
North West average 49% · GB 50%
Tell me when the wait at Southport drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Southport
The centre is at Eastbank House on Eastbank Street, in the town centre a short walk from Southport station. At 300 metres the station is about as close as any centre in the country gets, so a train and a walk is a genuine option if your instructor is meeting you there.
GOV.UK publishes that you can access this centre if you use a wheelchair, which is stated for only some centres and worth knowing in advance. The tests taken here are car, motorcycle module 2 on the road, and ADI part 3.
Nothing is published about candidate parking or the waiting room. A town-centre building of this kind usually means no dedicated bays, so the normal arrangement is a drop at the door with the car left in a nearby car park or on a side street. Treat that as typical rather than confirmed, and leave time for it.
The wait here runs well above the national median, so a booked slot is worth protecting. Arrive about ten minutes early. The examiner checks your licence, takes the signed insurance declaration and does the eyesight check outside on the street before you get in. Booking, moving and cancelling are done only through GOV.UK.
What DVSA publishes about Southport
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
- DVSA states you can access this centre in a wheelchair.
Other tests at Southport
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 Southport
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 Southport.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Eastbank House, Eastbank StreetSouthport PR8 1HE
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- BlackpoolFylde · FY4 2DP · 15 km51.8%+1.8 vs GB8.9 wkswait
- PrestonPR2 2PD · 21 km56.3%+6.3 vs GB18.4 wkswait
- Norris Green (Liverpool)Norris Green · L11 5BR · 23 km37.8%-12.2 vs GB15.3 wkswait
- WallaseyCH44 8AT · 25 km54.3%+4.3 vs GB20.5 wkswait
- ChorleyPR6 0BT · 25 km52.8%+2.8 vs GB12 wkswait
- St Helens (Liverpool)Liverpool · WA9 1NS · 28 km40.9%-9.1 vs GB6.6 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Southport
- Is Southport an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 56.5% 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 Southport?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Southport was 16.9 weeks, and you had to look about 23.4 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 Southport driving test centre?
- Southport test centre is at Eastbank House, Eastbank Street, Southport, PR8 1HE. 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 Southport do a year?
- 7,949 car tests were conducted at Southport in 2025/26, of which 4,493 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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