Driving Exam Routes: Practise the Real Roads Before Your Exam
Your practical driving exam takes place on the roads around your exam centre — and in almost every country, those routes are no longer published. This guide explains what driving exam routes are, why “exam route” and “test route” mean the same thing, and how to practise the real road network around your exam centre in 31 countries.
Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play“Exam route” and “test route” are the same thing
If you have searched for driving exam routes, exam test routes or practical exam routes and found pages talking about “driving test routes”, you are in the right place — they describe the same roads. The wording simply follows the country:
- United Kingdom and Ireland — driving test.
- United States, Canada and Jamaica — road test.
- Germany, Austria, Switzerland — Prüfung, which English speakers there naturally translate as exam.
- Netherlands and Belgium — praktijkexamen, taken at an examencentrum.
- France, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal — examen / esame / exame.
That is why so many learners searching in English say “exam”: they are translating the word used where they live. Whatever you call it, the preparation problem is identical.
Are official exam routes published anywhere?
Almost never. The UK's DVSA withdrew its official route documents in 2010 precisely because learners were memorising a single route instead of learning to drive. Most other authorities — TÜV and DEKRA in Germany, the CBR in the Netherlands, GOCA in Belgium, Statens vegvesen in Norway — have never published route lists at all. Examiners select from several routes around each centre on the day.
So anything advertised as “the official exam routes” is a best-effort reconstruction rather than an official document. The reliable preparation is different, and better: learn the road network around your exam centre, not one line on a map.
How to practise your exam route properly
- Work outwards from the exam centre. Your route must start and finish there within a fixed time, so the roads in question sit within a small, knowable radius.
- Cover every road type nearby — residential streets, the main arterial road, roundabouts, and any motorway or dual-carriageway slip road within reach.
- Drive them at your exam's time of day. The same junction at 08:00 and 14:00 are two different exams.
- Repeat the parts you dislike. The junction you find intimidating is the one worth driving ten times.
- Finish with a manoeuvre so parking and reversing stay sharp alongside the road work.
Taking your driving exam abroad, in English
A large share of people searching for exam routes in English are not driving in their first language or their home country — someone learning in Berlin, Amsterdam, Vienna or Brussels who studied the theory in English and now faces a practical exam conducted in German or Dutch.
If that is you, route familiarity is worth more than it is to a local. On exam day you are processing instructions in a second language while also driving and being assessed. Every junction you already know is attention freed up for the instruction, the mirrors and the observation. Driving the area around your exam centre several times beforehand is the single most effective way to reduce that load.
In Germany, for example, the practical Fahrprüfung is taken with a TÜV or DEKRA examiner on the roads around the testing station, and no official Prüfungsstrecken are published — the same situation as the UK, with the same solution. Our German-language guide covers it in detail: Prüfungsstrecken üben.
What your driving exam is called, country by country
Find your country below for the local term, the authority that runs the exam, and a guide to practising the routes around your exam centre:
| Country | Local name for the exam | Authority | Routes guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | praktische Fahrprüfung | TÜV / DEKRA | Practise routes |
| Netherlands | praktijkexamen | CBR | Practise routes |
| Belgium | praktijkexamen / examen pratique | GOCA | Practise routes |
| Austria | praktische Fahrprüfung | Bezirkshauptmannschaft | Practise routes |
| Switzerland | praktische Führerprüfung | Strassenverkehrsamt | Practise routes |
| France | épreuve pratique du permis | Bureau d’éducation routière | Practise routes |
| Luxembourg | examen pratique | SNCA | Practise routes |
| Italy | esame di guida | Motorizzazione Civile | Practise routes |
| Portugal | exame de condução | IMT | Practise routes |
| Denmark | køreprøve | Færdselsstyrelsen | Practise routes |
| Norway | oppkjøring | Statens vegvesen | Practise routes |
| Sweden | uppkörning | Trafikverket | Practise routes |
| Finland | ajokoe | Ajovarma | Practise routes |
| Ireland | driving test | RSA | Practise routes |
| United States | road test | DMV | Practise routes |
| Canada | road test | provincial licensing | Practise routes |
| Australia | practical driving test | state road authority | Practise routes |
| New Zealand | restricted / full licence test | Waka Kotahi NZTA | Practise routes |
| South Africa | K53 driving test | DLTC | Practise routes |
| Singapore | practical driving test | Traffic Police | Practise routes |
| Hong Kong | driving test | Transport Department | Practise routes |
| Malta | driving test | Transport Malta | Practise routes |
| Jamaica | road test | ITA | Practise routes |
Sitting your exam in the UK? Our main guide is driving test routes, covering 267 DVSA test centres.
Rehearse the exam before the exam
Once the roads are familiar, the remaining question is whether your driving is ready. A mock driving test answers that: a full exam-shaped drive scored against the fault categories examiners use, ending in a pass-or-fail verdict and a list of what to fix. If your exam is only days away, our last-minute plan covers the final 48 hours.
Frequently asked questions
What are driving exam routes?
Driving exam routes are the roads an examiner can take you on during your practical driving exam. They start and finish at the exam centre, so they are drawn from the road network immediately around it — the junctions, roundabouts and speed-limit changes near that centre.
Is a driving exam route the same as a driving test route?
Yes. "Exam route" and "test route" describe the same thing; which term you see depends on where you are. British English says driving test, American and Canadian English say road test, and English speakers in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal often say exam because the local word translates that way.
Are official driving exam routes published?
In most countries, no. The UK stopped publishing official routes in 2010, and authorities such as TÜV, DEKRA and the CBR do not publish route lists either. Examiners choose from several routes around each centre on the day, so the practical approach is to learn the real road network around your exam centre rather than memorise one route.
How do I practise the exam route for my exam centre?
Drive the roads around your exam centre before the day. SteerClear builds scored practice routes on the real road network around exam centres in 31 countries, with turn-by-turn guidance, so the junctions you meet on exam day are ones you have already driven.
Can I practise driving exam routes if I am taking my exam abroad?
Yes, and it matters more than usual. If you are sitting your exam in a country whose language you are still learning, familiar roads free up attention for the driving itself instead of navigation. SteerClear covers 31 countries and gives guidance in the local market context, so you can rehearse the area around your exam centre wherever you are.