Tilbury driving test centre
Montana House, Russell Road, Tilbury, RM18 7AE
Drive the 5 routes around Tilbury before test day →
Key facts
- Tilbury's pass rate was 50.4% in 2025/26 from 5,083 tests, in line with the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 14 of 24 centres in East of England (East of England average 51.4%), a mid-table pass rates in the region.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has risen by 5.6 points, from 44.8% to 50.4%.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 7.1 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 12.5 weeks, so waits have shortened by about 5.4 weeks.
- 30% 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.
Eleven level crossings sit within two and a half kilometres of the Tilbury centre. That is more than most candidates meet in a year of ordinary driving, and it comes from the freight lines feeding the docks. The test is built around that dock traffic. Dock Road, Thurrock Park Way and St Andrew's Road carry lorries all day, and the dual carriageway runs down to the port gates. Away from those, the streets are a grid of 30 mph residential roads named after the places the ships sailed to, Toronto Road, Calcutta Road, Montreal Road, and that is where the manoeuvres happen. The pass rate has risen since 2021 and now sits level with the national average. Tilbury Town station is three hundred metres from the door.
Drive the Tilbury test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 53 km in all, with 35 roundabouts and 111 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Tilbury; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Tilbury from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 53 km · 111 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 Dock Road11.8 km loop with 8 roundabouts, 12 right turns, 11 left turns and a stretch of St Andrew's Road.11.8 km · 31 turns · 8 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Dock Road11.4 km loop with 8 roundabouts, 6 right turns, 4 left turns and a stretch of St Andrew's Road.11.4 km · 18 turns · 8 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via St Andrew's Road12.4 km loop with 4 roundabouts, 5 right turns, 7 left turns and a stretch of Ferry Road.12.4 km · 16 turns · 4 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Dock Road8.9 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 6 right turns, 7 left turns and a stretch of Dock Approach Road.8.9 km · 20 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via St Andrew's Road8.4 km loop with 8 roundabouts, 10 right turns, 8 left turns and a stretch of Dock Road.8.4 km · 26 turns · 8 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Start with the level crossings. Eleven of them sit inside the area around the centre, serving the freight lines into the docks, and they are what separates a Tilbury test from a test anywhere else nearby. Barriers down means stopping well short with the handbrake on and no creeping. Lights off still means looking both ways and never stopping on the rails.
Dock traffic is the second thing. Dock Road, Thurrock Park Way and St Andrew's Road carry heavy goods vehicles most of the day, and the dual carriageway takes them down to the port. Emerging onto a road with a loaded lorry coming is the judgement this test asks for again and again, and the gap you need is longer than it looks.
Three quarters of the roads tagged within two and a half kilometres are 30 mph, so this is not a fast test. It is a busy one. Twenty-nine mini-roundabouts are spread through the residential streets, more than at most centres of this size, and three of the five practice loops on this page take in eight roundabouts each. The named ones in the area include Thurrock Park Way Roundabout, Daneholes Roundabout and The Circle.
The residential grid is where manoeuvres go. Toronto Road, Calcutta Road, Montreal Road and Windrush Road are straight, kerbed and parked on both sides in places, which makes a pull-up on the right or a reverse into a gap the natural thing to ask for. Twenty-two schools sit in the area, so most of the 20 mph you meet is around them and time-limited.
Pass rate at Tilbury, 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 | 5,083 | 50.4% | 50.9% | 49.7% |
| 2024/25 | 4,185 | 49.1% | 50.1% | 47.9% |
| 2023/24 | 4,350 | 51.1% | 52.2% | 49.8% |
| 2022/23 | 3,698 | 42.8% | 44.0% | 41.7% |
| 2021/22 | 3,717 | 44.8% | 46.9% | 42.9% |
| 2020/21 | 1,300 | 45.1% | 49.9% | 40.6% |
| 2019/20 | 4,382 | 43.5% | 45.8% | 41.6% |
| 2018/19 | 5,628 | 42.8% | 45.9% | 40.2% |
East of England average 51.4% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Tilbury
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 | 7.1 | 24 | 54 | 30% |
| Jul 2026 | 7.1 | 24 | 50 | 34% |
| Jun 2026 | 8.1 | 24 | 48 | 30.6% |
| May 2026 | 4.3 | 24 | 54 | 28.1% |
| Apr 2026 | 3.9 | 24 | 60 | 20.9% |
| Mar 2026 | 4.6 | 24 | 53 | 25.1% |
Tell me when the wait at Tilbury drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Tilbury
The centre is at Montana House on Russell Road, about three hundred metres from Tilbury Town station. That is close enough to arrive by train without a taxi at the other end, which is rare for a test centre and worth using if you are not travelling in your instructor's car.
Car tests are conducted here, along with ADI part 2 and part 3. DVSA's note says it will make arrangements for candidates with a disability, but nothing is published about step-free entry or the layout of the building, so ring the centre in advance if you need either confirmed.
Parking is not published either. Offices of this kind usually have some on site, shared with the other occupiers, which is typical rather than certain. If you are driving yourself, plan on finding a space on a nearby street and walking the last part.
Arrive about ten minutes before your slot. The examiner calls you by name, checks your licence, takes the signed declaration that the car is insured for the test, then does the eyesight check outside on the road. Tests are booked, moved and cancelled only through GOV.UK. The wait here runs at around seven weeks, well under the national median and a fraction of what candidates face at Hornchurch, fourteen kilometres north.
What DVSA publishes about Tilbury
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.
Learner reports from Tilbury
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 Tilbury.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Montana House, Russell RoadTilbury RM18 7AE
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- Erith (London)Erith · DA17 6LJ · 14 km51.6%+1.6 vs GB7 wkswait
- Hornchurch (London)Romford · RM12 6JX · 14 km46.3%-3.7 vs GB23 wkswait
- Belvedere (London)Belvedere · DA17 5EE · 15 km40.5%-9.5 vs GB9.4 wkswait
- Sidcup (London)Sidcup · DA14 5AG · 17 km58.7%+8.7 vs GB17.9 wkswait
- Brentwood (London)Brentwood · CM14 5JN · 17 km48.5%-1.5 vs GB3.6 wkswait
- BasildonSS14 3JS · 17 km49.1%-0.9 vs GB4.8 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Tilbury
- Is Tilbury an easy test centre?
- It is close to the national average: 50.4% of tests were passed in 2025/26 against 50.0% across Great Britain.
- How long is the wait for a driving test at Tilbury?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Tilbury was 7.1 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 Tilbury driving test centre?
- Tilbury test centre is at Montana House, Russell Road, Tilbury, RM18 7AE. 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 Tilbury do a year?
- 5,083 car tests were conducted at Tilbury in 2025/26, of which 2,560 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 Tilbury’s 5 test routes in 3D3 days free, then £9.99/month · or £14.99 once for 90 days
Try free