Goodmayes driving test centre has a pass rate 43.7% overall and 41.5% in automatic cars. Find it 98 Goodmayes Road, Ilford (IG3 9UZ), nearest station Goodmayes (Elizabeth line). Expect routes built around the A12, the A13, Goodmayes Road and Seven Kings Lane, with manoeuvres on residential streets, with dual-carriageway lane discipline on the A12 and A13.
Taking your driving test at Goodmayes? Here's everything you need to know about the Goodmayes test centre (the routes, the roads, the pass rate and the faults that catch people out), plus how Wharf Driving School prepares you for all of it.
Goodmayes Test Centre: Quick Facts
Source: Driving test and theory test data: cars, gov.uk, table DRT122A for the overall rate and DRT122E for the automatic rate, sheet 2025-26. Figures cover April 2025 to March 2026, the most recent period DVSA publishes at test-centre level.
The Goodmayes Test Routes
Routes head out along Goodmayes Road and Green Lane into Seven Kings, taking in Barley Lane and South Park Drive, with manoeuvres on the parked-up residential streets nearby.
Routes commonly take in the A12, the A13, Goodmayes Road and Seven Kings Lane, with the King George Avenue Roundabout, the Seven Kings junction and the busy Ilford and Chadwell Heath town centres.
Common Faults at Goodmayes
Box-junction violations on the A118 High Road and Seven Kings junction, and drifting into timed bus lanes, both marked as serious faults. We rehearse manoeuvres on the residential streets off Goodmayes Road, where cars are parked on both sides so nothing surprises you on the day, and we keep returning to the spots that catch people out until they feel routine.
On the Day at Goodmayes
The test itself is the same everywhere in Great Britain; only the roads change. Arrive about ten minutes early with your provisional licence, and in a car that is taxed, insured for the test and roadworthy. If you are taking your test in our car, all of that is our job rather than yours.
- An eyesight check first: you read a number plate from 20 metres. Get it wrong and the test stops there, so bring your glasses or lenses if you need them.
- One "tell me" question before you drive off and one "show me" question while you are driving.
- Around 35 minutes of driving, of which 20 to 35 minutes is independent driving, following either a sat nav or road signs.
- One manoeuvre from the four, set on the residential streets off Goodmayes Road, where cars are parked on both sides.
- Up to 15 driving faults and you still pass. One serious or dangerous fault and you do not, however well the rest went.
Getting There and Parking
The centre is 98 Goodmayes Road, Ilford (IG3 9UZ). A mix of town-centre and residential roads around the centre. The nearest station is Goodmayes (Elizabeth line), which matters more than it sounds: arriving flustered after a rushed journey is a poor way to start 40 minutes of assessed driving.
We collect you from home, work or college on test day and drive out together, so you arrive having already warmed up on the roads the examiner is about to take you on. The hour before a test is worth more than most hours of practice, and it is included rather than charged as an extra.
If It Does Not Go Your Way
Roughly half of all candidates do not pass first time, and at Goodmayes the figure is 43.7% overall and 41.5% in automatic cars. If it goes against you, the examiner gives you a fault sheet showing exactly what was marked and where. That sheet is the most useful teaching document you will ever get, and we go through it with you line by line rather than simply booking more hours.
You have to wait 10 working days before you can take another practical test. That gap is normally enough to fix what the sheet actually shows, which is usually one repeated habit rather than a general lack of skill.
Areas We Cover for the Goodmayes Test
We teach learners from across East London who test at Goodmayes:
Services Aimed at the Goodmayes Routes
Everything we teach is aimed at getting you through a test at Goodmayes, whichever route in you take:
Goodmayes Test Centre: FAQs
Where is the Goodmayes driving test centre?
It's 98 Goodmayes Road, Ilford (IG3 9UZ). The nearest station is Goodmayes (Elizabeth line), and a mix of town-centre and residential roads around the centre.
What is the pass rate at Goodmayes?
The Goodmayes pass rate is 43.7% overall and 41.5% in automatic cars. Watch the box junctions and bus lanes; they catch out more Goodmayes candidates than the manoeuvres do.
What roads are on the Goodmayes test routes?
Expect the A12, the A13, Goodmayes Road and Seven Kings Lane, plus the King George Avenue Roundabout, the Seven Kings junction and the busy Ilford and Chadwell Heath town centres. Your instructor drives the full set with you beforehand.
What's the most common fault at Goodmayes?
The mark that costs Goodmayes candidates most often comes from box-junction violations on the A118 High Road and Seven Kings junction, and drifting into timed bus lanes, both marked as serious faults, so that is what we drill hardest, alongside manoeuvre practice on the residential streets off Goodmayes Road, where cars are parked on both sides.
Do you teach the Goodmayes test routes?
Yes. We run lessons on the Goodmayes routes every week and will rehearse them with you until they feel routine. We cover Canary Wharf, Docklands, Poplar, Stratford, West Ham and Newham and more.
Reviewed and updated August 2026 by the Wharf Driving School team.