DRIVING LESSONS IN DARTFORD

A Dartford lesson costs £38.00 an hour whichever gearbox you choose, across DA1, DA2 and DA4. The opening two-hour lesson is £76. Prepaying 40 hours costs £1,436, which works out at £35.90 an hour and £84 less than pay as you go. Each booking carries a £1.99 admin fee.

Dartford practical tests take place at Erith Driving Test Centre, Crabtree Manorway North, Belvedere, DA17 6LJ. In 2025/26 DVSA counted 5,809 tests there with 51.6% passing. Manual candidates scored 53.0%, automatic 50.4% and first attempts 52.1%, against 51.2% across Great Britain.

Dartford learners usually use Sidcup Theory Test Centre at Planwell House, LEFA Business Park, Edgington Way, DA14 5BH. It is 5.8 miles west by the A2 and A223, or 12 minutes by Southeastern train. The GOV.UK fee is £23.00 and our theory app costs nothing.

DVSA guidance puts the typical learner at 45 hours of lessons and 22 hours of private practice. In Dartford that time usually runs from Stone and Wilmington streets to the Home Gardens ring road, then Bob Dunn Way and the A2, before Erith mock tests.

Both cost £38 an hour in Dartford, or £35.90 within a 40 hour plan. Erith's 2025/26 figures show 53.0% for manual and 50.4% for automatic. An automatic avoids stalling at The Brent roundabout or on West Hill, but a manual pass lets you drive either type of car.

Your Dartford instructor picks you up from home, school or work in DA1, DA2 or DA4 and checks your provisional licence. You then read a number plate at 20 metres. Most first drives stay on quiet roads in Stone or Joydens Wood, practising moving off and pulling up.

Yes. Every Dartford learner is matched with an independent DVSA-licensed instructor: a green badge ADI or a pink badge trainee, each holding an enhanced DBS check. Cars have dual controls and lessons work through the 27 skills on the DVSA marking sheet.

Dartford pickups cover DA1, DA2 and DA4: Temple Hill, Joyce Green, The Brent, Stone, Wilmington, Joydens Wood, Hawley, Darenth, South Darenth, Sutton at Hone, Eynsford, Farningham and Greenhithe. The sector table lists all 5 areas and their roads; enter your postcode to confirm.

Yes. A Dartford learner with a DA17 6LJ date can book 6 to 12 hours a week as an intensive, ending with practice on Bob Dunn Way and University Way near the Erith centre. Full course lengths and prices sit on our intensive booking page.

A weekday car practical at Erith (DA17 6LJ) costs £62.00 on GOV.UK, rising to £75.00 for evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Dartford candidates sit the test in their instructor's dual-control car, and booking through us adds £1.99 admin.