Mon - Sat 8am - 6pm 0330 223 2127
Practical test centre in Nottingham (Chilwell)
Nottingham (Chilwell) test centre sits in Beeston, on the southwest edge of the city, in a suburb built around steady commuter traffic rather than city-centre chaos. Learners from Long Eaton, West Bridgford, Hucknall and Kimberley regularly test here, and the routes examiners use reflect the area: residential streets, roundabouts feeding onto the A52 and A6005, and enough dual-carriageway driving to test a learner’s confidence at speed. A short, structured course is the fastest way to get comfortable with those roads before test day, rather than relying on scattered weekly lessons.
- 4.9★ Rating (159 Reviews)
- 2,300+ Students Trained
- DVSA-Approved ADI Instructors
- Test Date Support, Not Just Lessons
Test Centre Address
DVSA Nottingham (Chilwell) Test Centre, Eldon Road, Beeston, Nottingham NG9 6DZ. Toilets are provided on site, along with parking, so there’s no last-minute scramble for a space before your appointment. Disabled access is fully accommodated throughout the building. The centre runs car, motorcycle and instructor examinations, so ADI candidates test alongside learner drivers here.
Since 12 May 2026, only the candidate can book or manage their own DVSA practical test, so keep your licence number, theory pass certificate and booking reference somewhere you won’t lose them. The theory test currently costs £23 and must be passed before a practical test can be booked; the practical itself costs £62 for a standard weekday appointment. An intensive course such as LPOD Academy’s Silver 20, or the full course range, is built to compress that preparation into a fixed number of days rather than months of once-a-week lessons, which suits learners aiming for a Chilwell test date on a deadline.
The test itself runs to a set structure wherever you sit it: an eyesight check, two ‘show me, tell me’ vehicle safety questions, roughly twenty minutes of independent driving using traffic signs or a sat-nav, one reversing manoeuvre, and an emergency stop on around one test in three. A pass needs no serious or dangerous faults and no more than fifteen driving faults, so the intensive course’s job is to iron out the small habits that add up to that fifteen.
An intensive course built around this centre spends real time on the A6005 and the roundabouts feeding it, plus the residential streets nearer Eldon Road, rather than treating Chilwell as just another test venue. Mock tests toward the end of the course follow the same shape as the real thing, eyesight check and manoeuvre included, so the actual appointment feels like a rehearsed routine rather than a first attempt. Concentrating lessons into consecutive days, instead of one evening a week, also means less is forgotten between sessions, which matters when a learner is trying to lock in habits fast enough for a Chilwell test date.
Getting to Nottingham (Chilwell) Test Centre
Drivers coming from further afield should leave the M1 at Junction 25 and pick up the A52 towards Nottingham, following it until the signs for the A6005 appear; that road runs straight into Chilwell. The A6005 itself is a fair preview of the test area, mixing traffic lights, roundabouts and a stretch of dual carriageway that examiners use to check a learner’s positioning and speed judgement.
By rail, Nottingham station connects to most major cities, and the NET Toton Lane tram continues from there directly into Chilwell; the Indigo and Y5 bus services also run regularly from the city centre if the tram doesn’t suit your timing. Attenborough Nature Reserve and Chilwell Retail Park both sit close to the test centre and make useful landmarks when you’re getting your bearings on a practice run.
Toton Lane also has a Park & Ride site, worth using if you’re driving in and want to avoid circling for parking near the centre itself. Whatever route you take, it’s worth driving it once before test day, ideally with an instructor, so the roundabouts and junctions around Chilwell feel familiar rather than new; see our guide to how intensive courses work for how that practice gets built into a course.
Bring your provisional licence photocard on the day, since you can’t test without it, and arrive with ten minutes or so to spare rather than sprinting in at the last minute. If you wear glasses or contact lenses for driving, wear them for the eyesight check too, or the test won’t go ahead.
Page reviewed and updated 17 July 2026.
View All Practical Test Centre Pages Here
Why Book With LPOD Academy?
Can LPOD book my practical test at this centre for me?
No. Since 12 May 2026, only you can book, change or manage your DVSA practical test. LPOD provides test date support instead: centre and timing guidance as standard, plus an optional Test Alerts + Booking Strategy add-on (£50) if you’d like us actively watching for earlier dates and helping you plan around them.
Which course should I choose before my test?
It depends on your experience. Complete beginners usually start with a Gold or Platinum course, while learners who have already had lessons or sat a test before often suit a Silver or Bronze course. Try our course recommendation tool for a personal suggestion.
Are LPOD instructors qualified?
Yes. Every LPOD instructor is a DVSA-approved ADI, paid full market rates, so you get a properly qualified instructor rather than the cheapest bidder.