Sidcup, Belvedere and Erith test centres: a 2026 guide for Bexley driving instructors

Three test centres, 18 points apart

DVSA runs three car test centres in the London Borough of Bexley, all within about 6 miles of each other. Between them they took 24,372 car tests in the year to March 2026, and how many passed was very different from one to the next:

The figures are DVSA's, for car tests from April 2025 to March 2026. At all three, manual tests were passed more often than automatic ones:

Where each centre is

Erith and Belvedere are two centres, both in Belvedere

DVSA's Erith driving test centre is not in Erith town. It is on an industrial estate in Lower Belvedere, at Crabtree Manorway North, under 2 miles from the Belvedere centre on Woolwich Road in Upper Belvedere. Both postcodes start DA17. When a learner tells you they are booked "at Belvedere", check the centre's name on the booking before you plan their last lessons.

What the pass rates mean for your learners

A lower pass rate does not make a centre unfair, and DVSA does not say why centres differ. The figure moves with how ready learners are when they take the test, how many are on a second or later attempt, and the roads the examiners use. What the numbers do tell you is that a learner booked at Belvedere needs to be ready for Belvedere's roads, not Sidcup's.

Since 9 June 2026 a test can only be moved to one of the 3 centres nearest to where it was booked, and each booking has 2 changes. Agree the centre with your learner before they book, and teach on its roads at the time of day of the test. Since 12 May 2026 only the learner can book, so they need the centre and your reference number before they start. Our guide to the 2026 driving test booking rules has the detail.

The roads around each centre

DVSA no longer publishes test routes, and examiners choose them on the day, so teach the area rather than a route.

• Sidcup (London) is on Maidstone Road at Foots Cray, close to the Sidcup Bypass, a 50 mph dual carriageway, so learners booked here should be confident joining and leaving a fast road as well as on Sidcup's residential streets.
• Belvedere (London) is on Woolwich Road, a 30 mph road among the residential streets of Upper Belvedere. The streets around it climb the hill above the river, and Picardy Road has a sign for a 10% gradient, so hill starts are worth the practice.
• Erith (London) is on Crabtree Manorway North, on the riverside industrial estate in Lower Belvedere, near Bronze Age Way, a dual carriageway with 50 mph and 30 mph stretches. Expect lorries and vans on the estate roads.

Where your learners live, and their nearest centre

The borough runs from Thamesmead and Abbey Wood on the Greenwich side to Crayford, with Dartford in Kent beyond it. Measured in a straight line from each place to the three centres, this is the nearest:

The nearest centre is not always the right one. A learner in Bexleyheath may be better taught for Sidcup's roads if that is where their test is booked, and their lessons should follow the booking, not the map.

Filling a week of lessons across the borough

• Group lessons by area. Teach Belvedere, Erith and Abbey Wood in one part of the day, and Sidcup, Bexley and Welling in another, so you are not crossing the borough at school run time.
• Leave a gap for the drive. The Sidcup and Belvedere centres are about 4.5 miles apart in a straight line, and longer by road, so set a gap between lessons that covers your longest run.
• Collect learners where they are. Home, college and work all make sense as pickup points, as long as each lesson says which.
• Teach to the booking. Once a learner has a test date, give their last few lessons to the roads around that centre.
• Put your link where local learners look: your car, your messages and the local social media groups they use.

Software that suits teaching in Bexley

Whether you are a driving instructor in Sidcup or teach across the whole borough, the app on your phone does most of the office work. Doovor is driving instructor software built in Belvedere. Learners anywhere in the borough book your free times from your own link and pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay before the lesson, and the money goes to your own account. You set the gap between lessons and the least notice you need, learners save their pickup places, weekly lessons book themselves, and reminders go the day before and two hours before.

Your profile shows learners a blue tick once we have checked your ADI badge, with your car, your prices and your next free times.

Free carries up to 10 learners, and Pro is £12 a month. See how Doovor works for driving instructors, or read how to choose driving instructor software.