Listed in the official practical test centre dataset when last checked. Opening hours may change. Check the official office page before travelling.
You can access this test centre if you use a wheelchair.
Northampton follows the standard DVSA format for car driving tests. Practise observing traffic, managing speed, choosing a safe road position and driving independently on a range of roads.
The published address is Gladstone Business Centre, Gladstone Road, Northampton, NN5 7QA. Before you travel, check the map, your booking confirmation and any instructions on where to report. Check whether parking is available for candidates.
Local access, parking, and reception arrangements can change. Follow current signs and official appointment instructions when you arrive.
Treat these as preparation themes, not published test routes. Change the direction, timing, and traffic conditions with your instructor so you practise reading the road.
Make moving off, stopping, steering, speed changes, and safe clearance feel routine enough that your attention stays on the road around you.
Vary the junctions and roundabouts you practise. Look early, judge gaps without pressure, and choose the correct lane before the decision becomes rushed.
Follow traffic signs or directions from a sat nav. If you miss a turn, keep driving safely and avoid sudden changes in direction.
Practise on suitable local roads, including residential streets, urban and rural roads, and roads with higher speed limits. Build the skills to adapt to unfamiliar routes.
Read a number plate from 20 metres away, or from 20.5 metres if the plate uses the older format. Before you drive, answer a ‘tell me’ question about vehicle safety.
GOV.UK says the driving portion lasts around 35 minutes. You drive in varied road and traffic conditions while the examiner assesses observation, control, and safe decisions.
Follow a sat nav, traffic signs, or both for 20 to 35 minutes. A wrong turn is not a fault if you continue safely.
Complete one reversing exercise and answer a “show me” question while driving. You might also be asked for an emergency stop.
DVSA does not publish routes used in driving tests. If you take a wrong turn during independent driving, the examiner will help you get back on route. The turn itself does not count as a fault. Practise on a variety of local roads to build confidence in unfamiliar conditions.
Bring your physical UK driving licence and your theory test pass certificate if you have it.
Use a suitable car. Most learners use their instructor’s car. If you bring your own, check that it meets the DVSA rules.
Recheck the appointment time, published address, route to the centre, and any instructions in your confirmation.
Allow extra time for travel and follow any arrival instructions in your booking confirmation.
Official guidance: what happens during the car test, what to take to a car test, book or manage a practical test and driving test faults and results. Always recheck the official requirements before the appointment.
In 2025/26, 7,050 of 13,539 car driving tests at Northampton resulted in a pass. The pass rate was 52.1%. The national average was 50.0%. Northampton ranked 158th out of 317 car test centres in Great Britain. The rate is 1.7 percentage points higher than the 50.4% recorded in 2024/25.
Among the 6 nearest driving test centres with published figures, Wellingborough has the highest pass rate at 60.0% and Banbury the lowest at 41.3%. 2 of those 6 pass more candidates than Northampton.
Source: DVSA table DRT122A, financial years 2025/26 and 2024/25. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
DVSA reports a median wait of 7.9 weeks for a car driving test at Northampton, 5.4 weeks shorter than a year earlier. 40 of 5,447 appointment slots in the current booking window are still open. Figures are for July 2026.
08/25 to 07/26 · Median wait in weeks
Monthly median waits ranged from 7.9 to 16.1 weeks. Each point shows the monthly median published by DVSA. Current appointment availability can vary.
The longest wait for a driving test at Northampton in this period was 16.1 weeks in August 2025, and the shortest was 7.9 weeks in July 2026. DVSA measures this as the median wait across appointments booked at the test centre, so it moves as examiner capacity and demand change.
Source: DVSA table DRT122F, published 12 August 2026.
The July 2026 snapshot records a median actual wait of 7.9 weeks at this centre, compared with 13.29 weeks in July 2025, a year-on-year shortening of 5.4 weeks. 0.7% of standard slots were shown as available. These figures describe completed tests and a monthly view of booking capacity rather than the next appointment, so they are strongest as evidence of recent booking pressure, not a promise about a date.
Nearby results show why distance, waiting time and pass rate should stay separate. Wellingborough, 8.7 miles away, records a median wait of 21.4 weeks and a 60% pass rate. Kettering, 11.9 miles away, records 7.3 weeks and 49.1%. Against this centre's 7.9-week wait and 52.1% rate, the alternatives shift each measure independently, so the practical choice still depends on travel and familiar roads as well as the published figures.
The spread among the nearest published comparisons is material. Kettering has the shortest recorded wait at 7.3 weeks from 11.9 miles away, while Wellingborough has the highest observed pass rate at 60% from 8.7 miles away. This centre records 7.9 weeks and 52.1%. None of these statistics measures live appointment inventory or personal test difficulty; they provide a transparent shortlist for checking in the official booking service.
Analysis by the Drivings editorial team, drafted with AI assistance and checked against the DVSA figures on this page on 14 August 2026. Every figure is tested against the published datasets before release.
Northampton does not run that test. The nearest theory test centre is a separate site of the same name, 1.3 miles away.
The closest is Wellingborough, 8.7 miles from Northampton. The furthest is 22.8 miles away. 1 of the 6 is within 10 miles.
Distances are measured directly between locations. Driving distances can vary.