# Dorchester Driving Test Centre — Pass Rate & Waiting Time

> Dorchester driving test centre has a 69% pass rate and an average 10.9 weeks wait. Compare it with nearby DVSA centres.

Source: https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/dorchester/

# Dorchester driving test centre

South West, England · Peverell Avenue West, Poundbury, Dorset · DT1 3SU

## Dorchester at a glance

Pass rate

69%

April 2025 to March 2026

Average wait

10.9 weeks

August 2026

Tests a year

4,353

April 2025 to March 2026

Slots still free

25.7%

Of the 24-week booking window

## How Dorchester compares

Dorchester passes **69%** of car tests, which is **18.9 points above the 50.1% national average**. The typical wait between booking and testing is **10.9 weeks**, 1.9 weeks shorter than the national average of 12.8 weeks. It conducted **4,353** car tests in April 2025 to March 2026. In the most recent month DVSA has published, March 2026, the rate was **72.5%** — a single month, so expect it to bounce around the annual figure.

## Trends at Dorchester

Pass rate

Mar 2026: **72.5%**

Monthly car practical pass rate at Dorchester driving test centre, most recent 12 published months.
| Month | Pass rate |
| --- | --- |
| March 2026 | 72.5% |
| February 2026 | 72.2% |
| January 2026 | 70.8% |
| December 2025 | 67.6% |
| November 2025 | 63.4% |
| October 2025 | 66.7% |
| September 2025 | 69.9% |
| August 2025 | 68.2% |
| July 2025 | 69.3% |
| June 2025 | 69.3% |
| May 2025 | 67.8% |
| April 2025 | 70.2% |

Waiting time

Aug 2026: **10.9w**

Average wait in weeks between booking and taking a car test at Dorchester, most recent 12 published months.
| Month | Average wait |
| --- | --- |
| August 2026 | 10.9 weeks |
| July 2026 | 10.9 weeks |
| June 2026 | 6.4 weeks |
| May 2026 | 5.9 weeks |
| April 2026 | 9.4 weeks |
| March 2026 | 10.4 weeks |
| February 2026 | 10.6 weeks |
| January 2026 | 13.1 weeks |
| December 2025 | 11.9 weeks |
| November 2025 | 7.6 weeks |
| October 2025 | 14.5 weeks |
| September 2025 | 17.2 weeks |

Tests conducted each month

Mar 2026: **484**

Car practical tests conducted each month at Dorchester, most recent 12 published months.
| Month | Tests conducted |
| --- | --- |
| March 2026 | 484 |
| February 2026 | 431 |
| January 2026 | 332 |
| December 2025 | 284 |
| November 2025 | 478 |
| October 2025 | 466 |
| September 2025 | 376 |
| August 2025 | 324 |
| July 2025 | 283 |
| June 2025 | 231 |
| May 2025 | 292 |
| April 2025 | 372 |

## Year by year

Car practical tests, passes and pass rate at Dorchester driving test centre by DVSA financial year (April to March).
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-26 | 4,353 | 3,002 | 69% |
| 2024-25 | 4,561 | 3,042 | 66.7% |
| 2023-24 | 5,689 | 3,614 | 63.5% |
| 2022-23 | 5,202 | 3,224 | 62% |
| 2021-22 | 5,999 | 3,880 | 64.7% |
| 2020-21 | 1,559 | 1,024 | 65.7% |
| 2019-20 | 4,498 | 2,677 | 59.5% |
| 2018-19 | 4,223 | 2,636 | 62.4% |
| 2017-18 | 4,876 | 3,129 | 64.2% |
| 2016-17 | 5,926 | 3,707 | 62.6% |

## Where it is

## Nearby test centres

There is no catchment area for the practical test — you can book at any of these instead.

-   [Yeovil](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/yeovil/)
    
    28 km away
    
    63.4% pass · 16.3 weeks wait
    
-   [Taunton](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/taunton/)
    
    55 km away
    
    59.5% pass · 11.9 weeks wait
    
-   [Salisbury](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/salisbury/)
    
    62 km away
    
    48.5% pass · 5.3 weeks wait
    
-   [Trowbridge](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/trowbridge/)
    
    70 km away
    
    55.2% pass · 8.9 weeks wait
    
-   [Exeter](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/exeter/)
    
    74 km away
    
    46.8% pass · 7.6 weeks wait
    
-   [Southampton (Maybush)](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/southampton-maybush/)
    
    76 km away
    
    50.3% pass · 13.1 weeks wait
    

Everything on this page describes Dorchester driving test centre. Figures come from the DVSA statistical data sets [DRT122A and DRT122F](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/driving-test-and-theory-test-data-cars), published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Pass rates run to March 2026 and waiting times to August 2026. This page was last updated 14 September 2026.