Watford driving test centre
The pass rate, how long you'll wait for a test, and the other centres nearby.
Watford's pass rate has been below Britain's pass rate for the last two years, after mostly being above it before then.
Quick answers
- Where is it? CP House Otterspool Way, Watford, WD25 8HU. Directions
- What's the pass rate? 46% overall (manual 49%, automatic 41%), compared with the 50% national average.
- How long is the wait? If you book now, expect about 3½ months. Check gov.uk for the real earliest date.
- Is it hard to pass? Harder than most. Only 56 of Britain's 276 bigger centres had a lower pass rate.
- What's nearby? Borehamwood is the closest, 12 minutes away. Its pass rate is 51% and its typical wait about 3½ months. St Albans, 16 minutes away, has a shorter wait, about 1½ months, and a pass rate of 51%.
Waiting times
Over the last 12 months, the typical wait here averaged about 2½ months, up from about 2 months in the 12 months before. Waits here have been rising, so yours could be longer.
Before the pandemic, from May 2019 to February 2020, the typical wait here averaged about 1½ months.
| Year | Watford | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1½ months | 1½ months |
| 2020 | 2 months | 2½ months |
| 2021 | 5½ months | 4 months |
| 2022 | 1½ months | 2½ months |
| 2023 | 2½ months | 2½ months |
| 2024 | 1½ months | 2 months |
| 2025 | 2½ months | 2½ months |
| 2026 | 2½ months | 2½ months |
2019 starts in May and 2026 runs to September.
See how waits have changed across Britain in our report on driving test waiting times.
Other test centres nearby
There are 12 other centres within half an hour's drive. Of those, Enfield Innova Business Park has the shortest wait, less than a month, and the highest pass rate too, 54%. The table shows the closest eight.
| Test centre | Driving time | Pass rate | Typical wait | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| Borehamwood (London) 6 miles by road | 12 minutes | 50.8% | 52.5% | 48.4% | 3½ months |
| Mill Hill (London) 7 miles by road | 12 minutes | 51.4% | 51.7% | 51.2% | 4 months |
| St Albans 8 miles by road | 16 minutes | 50.7% | 52.2% | 47.7% | 1½ months |
| Hendon (London) 9 miles by road | 16 minutes | 51.4% | 51.8% | 51.0% | 5 months |
| Pinner (London) 8 miles by road | 20 minutes | 49.7% | 51.8% | 47.6% | 5½ months |
| Barnet (London) 10 miles by road | 21 minutes | 49.9% | 51.2% | 48.1% | 4½ months |
| Luton 16 miles by road | 22 minutes | 39.2% | 41.2% | 36.5% | 2½ months |
| Uxbridge (London) 18 miles by road | 26 minutes | 52.3% | 53.4% | 50.3% | 4 months |
Driving times are without traffic.
Pass rate over the years
In the 12 months to March 2026, Watford's pass rate was 46%, compared with 50% across Great Britain.
The automatic pass rate here was lower than manual, as it is almost everywhere: 41%, compared with 49%. That gap is about the same as at most centres. Its automatic pass rate is around the middle of the 267 centres that ran 100 or more automatic tests. 37% of tests here were in automatic cars, compared with 29% across Great Britain.
Men had a higher pass rate than women here: 48%, compared with 44%. That's a wider gap than across Great Britain, where men's pass rate was 51% and women's 49%.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| 2025 to 2026 | 12,939 | 46.2% | 49.2% | 41.1% | 220th of 276 |
| 2024 to 2025 | 10,896 | 46.6% | 49.1% | 41.9% | 198th of 275 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 10,957 | 48.3% | 49.8% | 45.1% | 152nd of 277 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 8,883 | 48.9% | 50.7% | 44.1% | 145th of 271 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 5,893 | 52.7% | 54.7% | 46.3% | 106th of 280 |
Each year runs from April to March.
Compare every centre in our report on driving test pass rates.
Before your test
In the weeks before your test, ask your instructor to take you round the roads near the centre, and practise the faults learners make most often. If you're still looking for an instructor, see who teaches in Watford.
Frequently asked questions
What's the pass rate for automatic cars at Watford?
41% in the 12 months to March 2026, compared with Britain's automatic pass rate of 45%.
How can I get a test sooner at Watford?
Check gov.uk often: tests other people cancel come back up there. Or book a centre nearby: St Albans, 16 minutes away, had a typical wait of about 1½ months.
How busy is Watford test centre?
It ran 12,939 car tests in the 12 months to March 2026. Only 28 of Britain's 311 test centres ran more.
Can I move my test from Watford to another centre?
Yes. You can move it to any centre with a free date, on gov.uk. Before you do, check your instructor can take you there, and bear in mind it's harder to pass on roads you don't know. The closest other centre is Borehamwood, about 12 minutes away by road.
Figures from DVSA: pass rates for the 12 months to March 2026, waits for September 2026, published 14 October 2026. Driving times by road, from OpenRouteService. How we worked these out.