Driving Mastery Research · 2025-26
The UK Driving Test Report 2026
Where you take your driving test changes your chances more than almost anything else you can control. Across 259 comparable DVSA test centres, the pass rate runs from 34.3% to 69.7% — a spread of 35.4 percentage points.
Pass rate, 2025-26
- GB pass rate, 2025-26
- 50.0%
- Test centres in the data
- 316
- Longest median wait, weeks, July-2026
- 27.1
- Tests conducted, 2025-26
- 1,998,621
Analysis by Driving Mastery using official Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency data, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. DVSA does not endorse this analysis.
Executive summary
Key findings
-
1
Wolverhampton has the lowest pass rate in Britain.
34.3% of 11,561 tests ended in a pass — 35.4 percentage points below Melton Mowbray, the highest.
-
2
West Midlands is the weakest region.
46.2% across 26 centres, against 53.3% in the South East.
-
3
Waiting times vary far more than pass rates.
27.1 weeks at Bedford against 3.1 at Birmingham (Cocks Moors) in July-2026.
-
4
A longer wait does not mean a harder test.
Across 258 centres the correlation between waiting time and pass rate is r = 0.054 — effectively none.
-
5
Year on year, Workington improved most.
Up 13.6 percentage points on 2024-25 (48.3% to 61.9%), across 252 centres comparable in both years.
A pass rate is not a measure of how hard a test centre is. It reflects who books there and how prepared they are, the mix of automatic and manual tests, and local road conditions, as well as anything about the centre itself.
National
Lowest and highest pass rates
Centres conducting at least 1000 tests in 2025-26. Bars are drawn on one shared scale, so the two lists are directly comparable.
Lowest pass rate
Highest pass rate
Regional
Every region compared
Regions are DVSA's own assignment for each test centre, not our grouping. Each rate pools all tests in the region, so a large centre counts for more than a small one — it is the rate a candidate there actually experienced.
The figure after each rate is the 95% confidence interval margin, in percentage points. Regions with more tests carry narrower intervals.
Waiting times
Longest and shortest waits, July-2026
The median wait is measured over tests actually taken in the month, so it describes what candidates experienced rather than what someone booking today would be quoted. Centres offering fewer than 100 test slots in the month are excluded, because a median over a handful of tests is not a waiting time anyone would recognise.
Longest median wait
Shortest median wait
Best appointment availability
Worst appointment availability
Availability is the share of test slots still bookable inside DVSA's 24-week booking window, measured on the last Monday of July-2026. It is a different question from the wait: a centre can have slots free and still have a long median wait, because the two are measured at different moments.
Do longer waits mean lower pass rates? No. Across 258 centres, r = 0.054. Correlation only. These two figures cover different periods and neither causes the other; a shared cause such as local demand is at least as likely an explanation as any direct relationship. The pass rate covers the financial year to March 2026; the waiting time is July-2026 alone.
Change
Biggest movers since 2024-25
Only the 252 centres that clear the ranking bar in both years appear here. Change is given in percentage points and, separately, as a percentage of the earlier rate — they are different quantities.
Improved most
Declined most
First attempt · automatic · faultless
Three other ways to read the data
Best first-attempt pass rate
First-attempt candidates are a different population from all candidates; a centre can rank differently on the two measures.
Most faultless first passes
Share of FIRST-ATTEMPT PASSES that were recorded with no faults at all, not a share of all tests taken.
Where automatic candidates fare worst against manual
Manual figures are derived by subtracting DVSA's automatic table from its all-tests table; DVSA does not publish a manual-only pass rate.
Nineteen years
The pass rate has risen since 2007–08
Pooled across every test centre DVSA publishes, the practical pass rate has risen from 44.2% in 2007-08 to 50.0% in 2025-26 — the opposite direction to the theory test, which has fallen over the same period.
Each point is one financial year, pooled across published test centres. The rise is not steady: the 2020–21 year covers a pandemic in which testing was suspended for long periods and the candidates who did test were a small, self-selected group, so that year is not comparable with its neighbours. This series also excludes centres where a single examiner conducted the tests, so it runs about half a per cent below DVSA's Great Britain figure — it shows the shape of the trend, not the national rate. Source: DVSA table DRT122A.
Cancellations
DVSA cancelled 101,235 tests
Across 303 centres in 2025-26, and almost six in ten went because an examiner was medically absent. These are cancellations DVSA made — not learners pulling out.
- Medical absence
- 59.2%
- Examiner leave
- 29.0%
- Weather and bad light
- 11.7%
- Lost to industrial action
- 9
Most cancelled, per 100 tests conducted
Fewest cancelled
These are tests cancelled BY DVSA - examiner leave, industrial action, adverse weather, medical absence - not tests cancelled by learners. DVSA does not publish learner cancellations. The figure is counted on the date the test was cancelled, not the date it was due. Only centres conducting at least 2,000 tests are ranked.
Age
Learners aged 17 to 25 pass more often at almost every centre
At 256 of 258 comparable centres the 17–25 pass rate is higher than the all-ages rate at the same centre — including at the hardest centres in Britain. The exceptions are Hendon (London) (51.3% against 51.4%) and Tottenham (48.8% against 48.9%).
Best for 17–25 year olds
Hardest for 17–25 year olds
Covers candidates aged 17 to 25 only, so it is a different population from the all-ages pass rate and the two are not directly comparable. Only centres with at least 500 tests in this age band are ranked.
The full data
Every test centre
All 316 centres DVSA publishes for 2025-26, including those too small to rank. Search or filter; the table is in the page source, so it can be read without JavaScript.
| Test centre | Region | Tests | Pass rate | 95% CI | First attempt | Automatic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen North | Scotland | 3906 | 48.2% | 46.6–49.7 | 48.5% | 40.7% |
| Aberdeen South (Cove) | Scotland | 4858 | 52.4% | 51.0–53.8 | 51.4% | 42.3% |
| Aberfeldy small | Scotland | 149 | 68.5% | 60.6–75.4 | 73.1% | 65.2% |
| Abergavenny | Wales | 5924 | 64.2% | 63.0–65.4 | 64.7% | 54.8% |
| Aberystwyth (Park Avenue) | Wales | 1529 | 55.1% | 52.6–57.6 | 52.1% | 61.2% |
| Airdrie | Scotland | 4599 | 47.4% | 46.0–48.8 | 47.4% | 44.6% |
| Alness small | Scotland | 783 | 63.1% | 59.7–66.4 | 63.1% | 60.2% |
| Alnwick | North East | 1282 | 55.5% | 52.8–58.2 | 62.5% | 32.6% |
| Arbroath small | Scotland | 605 | 67.4% | 63.6–71.1 | 70.5% | 52.8% |
| Ashfield | East Midlands | 8144 | 57.3% | 56.2–58.4 | 59.2% | 49.6% |
| Ashford (Kent) | South East | 5475 | 46.2% | 44.9–47.5 | 45.9% | 42.1% |
| Atherton (Manchester) | North West | 13035 | 44.3% | 43.5–45.2 | 45.1% | 37.9% |
| Aylesbury | South East | 5255 | 49.3% | 47.9–50.6 | 48.2% | 46.2% |
| Ayr | Scotland | 2189 | 57.5% | 55.4–59.5 | 58.0% | 46.4% |
| Bala small | Wales | 607 | 61.6% | 57.7–65.4 | 64.8% | 45.7% |
| Banbury | South East | 9069 | 41.3% | 40.2–42.3 | 39.6% | 35.8% |
| Banff small | Scotland | 280 | 57.5% | 51.6–63.2 | 54.8% | 52.0% |
| Bangor | Wales | 4032 | 62.2% | 60.7–63.7 | 62.7% | 49.9% |
| Barking (Tanner Street) | London | 5543 | 36.3% | 35.0–37.6 | 30.6% | 33.4% |
| Barnet (London) | London | 12397 | 49.9% | 49.0–50.7 | 48.8% | 48.1% |
| Barnsley | Yorkshire and the Humber | 7737 | 58.5% | 57.4–59.6 | 60.6% | 56.6% |
| Barnstaple | South West | 5562 | 51.4% | 50.1–52.7 | 53.8% | 41.8% |
| Barrow In Furness | North West | 1699 | 69.6% | 67.4–71.8 | 70.0% | 58.1% |
| Barry | Wales | 2244 | 57.0% | 55.0–59.1 | 55.5% | 49.8% |
| Basildon | East of England | 8359 | 49.1% | 48.0–50.2 | 49.0% | 45.2% |
| Basingstoke | South East | 5009 | 56.8% | 55.4–58.1 | 57.7% | 52.1% |
| Bedford | East of England | 8854 | 53.7% | 52.7–54.8 | 54.4% | 46.8% |
| Belvedere (London) | London | 4245 | 40.5% | 39.1–42.0 | 39.1% | 38.3% |
| Benbecula Island small | Scotland | 107 | 72.9% | 63.8–80.4 | 73.2% | — |
| Berwick-On-Tweed small | North East | 666 | 53.9% | 50.1–57.7 | 52.5% | 41.2% |
| Beverley LGV small | Yorkshire and the Humber | 159 | 54.1% | 46.3–61.6 | 64.5% | 45.0% |
| Birmingham (Cocks Moors) small | West Midlands | 486 | 53.5% | 49.1–57.9 | 55.5% | 46.5% |
| Birmingham (Garretts Green) | West Midlands | 22480 | 44.4% | 43.7–45.0 | 42.0% | 41.0% |
| Birmingham (Kings Heath) | West Midlands | 9072 | 46.8% | 45.7–47.8 | 45.6% | 44.7% |
| Birmingham (Kingstanding) | West Midlands | 16133 | 48.5% | 47.8–49.3 | 47.2% | 45.3% |
| Birmingham (Shirley) | West Midlands | 9385 | 56.6% | 55.6–57.6 | 58.3% | 49.8% |
| Birmingham (South Yardley) | West Midlands | 14471 | 42.8% | 42.0–43.6 | 40.5% | 37.8% |
| Bishopbriggs | Scotland | 6186 | 49.8% | 48.5–51.0 | 53.6% | 41.7% |
| Bishops Stortford | East of England | 6409 | 51.3% | 50.1–52.6 | 50.9% | 42.8% |
| Blackburn with Darwen | North West | 12205 | 46.6% | 45.7–47.5 | 45.5% | 45.7% |
| Blackpool | North West | 8948 | 51.8% | 50.7–52.8 | 51.9% | 47.7% |
| Bletchley | South East | 9415 | 51.5% | 50.5–52.5 | 49.6% | 47.9% |
| Blyth | North East | 6973 | 50.9% | 49.8–52.1 | 53.9% | 39.4% |
| Bodmin | South West | 6392 | 47.5% | 46.2–48.7 | 45.2% | 41.1% |
| Bolton (Manchester) | North West | 11570 | 51.8% | 50.9–52.7 | 52.8% | 46.7% |
| Borehamwood (London) | East of England | 7195 | 50.8% | 49.6–51.9 | 49.2% | 48.4% |
| Boston | East Midlands | 4784 | 50.7% | 49.3–52.1 | 52.8% | 39.9% |
| Bradford (Heaton) | Yorkshire and the Humber | 8354 | 56.1% | 55.1–57.2 | 54.3% | 55.0% |
| Bradford (Thornbury) | Yorkshire and the Humber | 10831 | 47.8% | 46.8–48.7 | 47.5% | 42.3% |
| Brecon | Wales | 1490 | 58.7% | 56.2–61.2 | 60.3% | 50.0% |
| Bredbury (Manchester) | North West | 10636 | 56.0% | 55.0–56.9 | 57.9% | 47.6% |
| Brentwood (London) | East of England | 5791 | 48.5% | 47.2–49.8 | 47.1% | 46.1% |
| Bridgend | Wales | 5990 | 53.3% | 52.0–54.6 | 55.1% | 43.0% |
| Bridlington | Yorkshire and the Humber | 3027 | 55.5% | 53.8–57.3 | 55.6% | 44.0% |
| Bristol (Avonmouth) | South West | 9400 | 55.5% | 54.5–56.5 | 55.4% | 51.2% |
| Bristol (Kingswood) | South West | 14863 | 51.9% | 51.1–52.7 | 53.4% | 43.8% |
| Brodick (Isle of Arran) small | Scotland | 55 | 67.3% | 54.1–78.2 | 66.7% | — |
| Bromley (London) | London | 13228 | 52.9% | 52.0–53.7 | 52.9% | 51.0% |
| Buckie small | Scotland | 268 | 51.1% | 45.2–57.0 | 46.3% | — |
| Burgess Hill | South East | 11237 | 45.5% | 44.6–46.4 | 45.6% | 40.4% |
| Burton on Trent | West Midlands | 7273 | 54.7% | 53.6–55.9 | 56.5% | 43.9% |
| Bury (Manchester) | North West | 7024 | 46.3% | 45.2–47.5 | 45.7% | 38.9% |
| Bury St Edmunds | East of England | 8702 | 46.2% | 45.1–47.2 | 46.9% | 40.1% |
| Buxton | East Midlands | 4904 | 58.7% | 57.3–60.1 | 61.4% | 47.6% |
| Callander small | Scotland | 335 | 49.9% | 44.5–55.2 | 49.7% | — |
| Camborne | South West | 6271 | 40.6% | 39.4–41.9 | 37.8% | 30.0% |
| Cambridge (Brookmount Court) | East of England | 13689 | 53.8% | 53.0–54.6 | 53.4% | 47.9% |
| Campbeltown small | Scotland | 109 | 71.6% | 62.5–79.2 | 76.0% | — |
| Canterbury | South East | 4670 | 45.8% | 44.4–47.2 | 46.3% | 43.0% |
| Cardiff (Llanishen) | Wales | 16401 | 46.5% | 45.8–47.3 | 48.4% | 39.2% |
| Cardigan | Wales | 1192 | 41.0% | 38.3–43.8 | 39.5% | — |
| Carlisle | North West | 3518 | 58.7% | 57.1–60.3 | 59.9% | 48.9% |
| Carlisle LGV (Cars) small | North West | 47 | 44.7% | 31.4–58.8 | — | — |
| Carmarthen | Wales | 2746 | 54.2% | 52.3–56.0 | 54.1% | 44.1% |
| Castle Douglas small | Scotland | 549 | 53.4% | 49.2–57.5 | 60.4% | 32.0% |
| Chadderton | North West | 15988 | 46.8% | 46.0–47.5 | 45.6% | 40.7% |
| Cheetham Hill (Manchester) | North West | 10207 | 44.7% | 43.8–45.7 | 44.1% | 41.5% |
| Chelmsford | East of England | 9107 | 55.4% | 54.4–56.4 | 55.0% | 49.2% |
| Cheltenham | South West | 5161 | 43.2% | 41.9–44.6 | 42.9% | 35.6% |
| Chertsey (London) | South East | 9082 | 52.9% | 51.9–53.9 | 52.5% | 47.3% |
| Chester | North West | 9212 | 47.3% | 46.3–48.4 | 47.9% | 40.1% |
| Chesterfield | East Midlands | 6605 | 56.2% | 55.0–57.4 | 56.5% | 48.0% |
| Chichester | South East | 6672 | 61.6% | 60.4–62.7 | 63.3% | 54.7% |
| Chingford (London) | London | 13120 | 39.9% | 39.1–40.7 | 37.5% | 38.3% |
| Chippenham | South West | 9629 | 56.4% | 55.5–57.4 | 56.0% | 50.6% |
| Chorley | North West | 5415 | 52.8% | 51.5–54.1 | 54.0% | 46.2% |
| Clacton-on-Sea | East of England | 4840 | 48.2% | 46.8–49.6 | 48.9% | 43.8% |
| Colchester | East of England | 7756 | 50.6% | 49.5–51.7 | 51.1% | 43.5% |
| Coventry | West Midlands | 13771 | 40.0% | 39.2–40.8 | 38.3% | 35.6% |
| Crawley | South East | 11305 | 42.7% | 41.8–43.6 | 42.7% | 39.0% |
| Crewe | North West | 4994 | 43.8% | 42.4–45.2 | 42.6% | 37.8% |
| Cumnock small | Scotland | 760 | 67.4% | 64.0–70.6 | 69.5% | 56.0% |
| Darlington | North East | 12183 | 47.1% | 46.2–48.0 | 48.9% | 40.5% |
| Derby (Alvaston) | East Midlands | 8086 | 51.8% | 50.7–52.9 | 52.9% | 46.3% |
| Doncaster | Yorkshire and the Humber | 7334 | 53.2% | 52.1–54.4 | 53.3% | 49.1% |
| Dorchester | South West | 4353 | 69.0% | 67.6–70.3 | 71.8% | 59.3% |
| Dudley | West Midlands | 13721 | 45.2% | 44.4–46.0 | 45.1% | 41.5% |
| Dumbarton | Scotland | 1659 | 52.8% | 50.4–55.2 | 51.4% | 46.7% |
| Dumfries | Scotland | 2267 | 53.9% | 51.9–56.0 | 59.2% | 41.0% |
| Dundee | Scotland | 3742 | 57.3% | 55.7–58.9 | 57.9% | 48.3% |
| Dunfermline (Vine) | Scotland | 5529 | 36.4% | 35.1–37.7 | 36.4% | 30.0% |
| Dunoon small | Scotland | 193 | 71.5% | 64.8–77.4 | 72.2% | 60.5% |
| Duns small | Scotland | 171 | 70.2% | 62.9–76.5 | 69.2% | 56.7% |
| Durham | North East | 9451 | 53.2% | 52.2–54.2 | 54.8% | 47.8% |
| East Kilbride | Scotland | 1976 | 57.7% | 55.5–59.9 | 58.2% | 46.0% |
| Eastbourne | South East | 6031 | 55.4% | 54.2–56.7 | 56.6% | 50.2% |
| Edinburgh (Currie) | Scotland | 6202 | 41.6% | 40.3–42.8 | 42.8% | 36.0% |
| Edinburgh (Musselburgh) | Scotland | 6850 | 49.4% | 48.3–50.6 | 49.9% | 44.6% |
| Elgin | Scotland | 2934 | 42.3% | 40.5–44.1 | 41.3% | 35.0% |
| Enfield (Brancroft Way) small | London | 362 | 46.1% | 41.1–51.3 | 51.1% | 50.0% |
| Enfield (Innova Business Park) | London | 8412 | 53.9% | 52.9–55.0 | 53.6% | 50.0% |
| Erith (London) | London | 5809 | 51.6% | 50.4–52.9 | 49.8% | 50.4% |
| Exeter | South West | 8679 | 46.8% | 45.7–47.8 | 45.6% | 38.5% |
| Farnborough | South East | 10482 | 59.7% | 58.8–60.6 | 60.1% | 52.2% |
| Featherstone | West Midlands | 13193 | 36.4% | 35.6–37.3 | 35.1% | 35.3% |
| Folkestone | South East | 7818 | 42.4% | 41.3–43.5 | 42.2% | 34.3% |
| Forfar small | Scotland | 667 | 60.3% | 56.5–63.9 | 59.4% | 56.1% |
| Fort William small | Scotland | 374 | 65.5% | 60.6–70.1 | 69.2% | — |
| Fraserburgh small | Scotland | 531 | 64.0% | 59.9–68.0 | 63.6% | — |
| Gairloch small | Scotland | 49 | 73.5% | 59.7–83.8 | 73.1% | — |
| Galashiels | Scotland | 2241 | 47.4% | 45.4–49.5 | 50.7% | 41.2% |
| Gateshead | North East | 9512 | 37.5% | 36.5–38.5 | 37.1% | 32.7% |
| Gillingham | South East | 14886 | 56.4% | 55.6–57.1 | 57.6% | 51.9% |
| Girvan small | Scotland | 250 | 72.0% | 66.1–77.2 | 70.3% | 66.7% |
| Glasgow (Anniesland) | Scotland | 6170 | 44.3% | 43.1–45.6 | 44.3% | 41.2% |
| Glasgow (Baillieston) | Scotland | 10428 | 47.4% | 46.5–48.4 | 48.0% | 40.9% |
| Glasgow (Shieldhall) | Scotland | 7019 | 39.9% | 38.8–41.1 | 39.0% | 37.2% |
| Gloucester | South West | 7420 | 47.8% | 46.6–48.9 | 48.3% | 36.5% |
| Golspie small | Scotland | 93 | 71.0% | 61.1–79.2 | 64.7% | — |
| Goodmayes (London) | London | 21374 | 43.7% | 43.0–44.4 | 40.6% | 41.5% |
| Gosforth | North East | 10531 | 48.4% | 47.5–49.4 | 48.7% | 44.3% |
| Grangemouth | Scotland | 3761 | 50.7% | 49.1–52.3 | 50.4% | 40.0% |
| Grantham (Somerby) | East Midlands | 7318 | 57.9% | 56.8–59.0 | 59.6% | 49.9% |
| Grantown-On-Spey small | Scotland | 137 | 56.9% | 48.6–64.9 | 58.3% | — |
| Greenford (Horsenden Lane) | London | 7222 | 41.4% | 40.3–42.6 | 40.0% | 41.0% |
| Greenham | South East | 3931 | 56.5% | 54.9–58.0 | 55.9% | 51.9% |
| Greenock | Scotland | 3547 | 41.7% | 40.1–43.3 | 40.5% | 35.9% |
| Grimsby Coldwater | Yorkshire and the Humber | 5361 | 42.8% | 41.4–44.1 | 43.1% | 35.9% |
| Guildford | South East | 4542 | 57.1% | 55.6–58.5 | 56.8% | 50.8% |
| Haddington | Scotland | 2195 | 57.5% | 55.5–59.6 | 58.2% | 46.3% |
| Halifax | Yorkshire and the Humber | 5845 | 45.0% | 43.7–46.3 | 42.9% | 41.6% |
| Hamilton | Scotland | 6112 | 42.0% | 40.8–43.2 | 40.7% | 34.5% |
| Hartlepool | North East | 5847 | 51.0% | 49.8–52.3 | 51.9% | 45.3% |
| Hastings (Ore) | South East | 3892 | 52.4% | 50.8–54.0 | 51.7% | 51.6% |
| Hawick small | Scotland | 415 | 64.3% | 59.6–68.8 | 68.5% | 51.0% |
| Heckmondwike | Yorkshire and the Humber | 5471 | 45.8% | 44.5–47.1 | 45.8% | 41.2% |
| Hendon (London) | London | 11086 | 51.4% | 50.4–52.3 | 49.9% | 51.0% |
| Hereford | West Midlands | 4110 | 58.8% | 57.3–60.3 | 60.0% | 47.9% |
| Herne Bay | South East | 10674 | 55.9% | 55.0–56.9 | 56.3% | 52.2% |
| Hexham | North East | 1388 | 53.0% | 50.3–55.6 | 55.0% | 37.2% |
| Heysham | North West | 3692 | 59.2% | 57.6–60.8 | 61.9% | 48.7% |
| High Wycombe | South East | 3534 | 51.5% | 49.9–53.2 | 49.0% | 47.0% |
| Hinckley | East Midlands | 4866 | 46.4% | 45.0–47.8 | 46.2% | 37.5% |
| Hornchurch (London) | London | 8694 | 46.3% | 45.2–47.3 | 45.9% | 43.4% |
| Horsforth | Yorkshire and the Humber | 12466 | 49.7% | 48.8–50.6 | 51.1% | 45.2% |
| Huddersfield | Yorkshire and the Humber | 10563 | 49.2% | 48.3–50.2 | 49.4% | 43.4% |
| Hull | Yorkshire and the Humber | 9706 | 47.9% | 46.9–48.9 | 49.3% | 41.5% |
| Huntly small | Scotland | 245 | 63.7% | 57.5–69.4 | 62.8% | — |
| Inveraray small | Scotland | 124 | 69.4% | 60.8–76.8 | 75.4% | — |
| Inverness (Longman Drive) | Scotland | 3252 | 45.8% | 44.1–47.6 | 45.2% | 39.7% |
| Inverurie small | Scotland | 749 | 61.9% | 58.4–65.4 | 63.8% | 44.0% |
| Ipswich | East of England | 11466 | 62.3% | 61.4–63.2 | 63.0% | 56.4% |
| Irvine | Scotland | 4941 | 55.7% | 54.3–57.1 | 56.6% | 54.5% |
| Isle of Mull small | Scotland | 42 | 73.8% | 58.9–84.7 | 72.7% | — |
| Isle of Skye (Portree) small | Scotland | 128 | 57.0% | 48.4–65.3 | 57.6% | — |
| Isles of Scilly small | South West | 8 | 75.0% | 40.9–92.9 | — | — |
| Isleworth (Fleming Way) | London | 12687 | 50.4% | 49.5–51.2 | 49.7% | 47.8% |
| Kelso small | Scotland | 434 | 59.2% | 54.5–63.7 | 59.3% | 45.5% |
| Kendal (Oxenholme Road) | North West | 2231 | 65.1% | 63.1–67.1 | 67.1% | 53.2% |
| Kettering | East Midlands | 11876 | 49.1% | 48.2–50.0 | 50.1% | 41.0% |
| Kings Lynn | East of England | 6694 | 51.9% | 50.7–53.1 | 52.9% | 40.7% |
| Kingussie small | Scotland | 93 | 59.1% | 49.0–68.6 | 61.4% | — |
| Kirkcaldy | Scotland | 4313 | 50.9% | 49.4–52.4 | 49.7% | 44.1% |
| Knaresborough | Yorkshire and the Humber | 8301 | 58.5% | 57.5–59.6 | 60.8% | 53.3% |
| Kyle of Lochalsh small | Scotland | 136 | 57.4% | 49.0–65.4 | 56.5% | — |
| Lanark | Scotland | 1914 | 58.1% | 55.9–60.3 | 58.5% | 47.1% |
| Launceston | South West | 3991 | 46.3% | 44.8–47.9 | 47.0% | 34.8% |
| Lee On The Solent | South East | 8502 | 63.2% | 62.2–64.2 | 65.5% | 53.1% |
| Leeds (Colton Mill) | Yorkshire and the Humber | 6432 | 51.8% | 50.6–53.0 | 53.4% | 47.0% |
| Leeds (Fearnville) | Yorkshire and the Humber | 4676 | 51.8% | 50.4–53.2 | 52.8% | 47.6% |
| Leicester (Cannock Street) | East Midlands | 14198 | 40.2% | 39.4–41.0 | 38.5% | 35.3% |
| Leicester (Wigston) | East Midlands | 18868 | 51.2% | 50.5–51.9 | 50.2% | 46.1% |
| Leighton Buzzard (Stanbridge Road) | East of England | 7667 | 49.9% | 48.8–51.0 | 48.8% | 46.2% |
| Lerwick small | Scotland | 379 | 67.8% | 62.9–72.3 | 70.3% | 62.7% |
| Letchworth | East of England | 5243 | 57.5% | 56.2–58.8 | 59.3% | 51.3% |
| Lichfield | West Midlands | 5944 | 53.0% | 51.8–54.3 | 53.3% | 46.0% |
| Lincoln | East Midlands | 6192 | 52.1% | 50.8–53.3 | 52.5% | 44.5% |
| Livingston | Scotland | 2997 | 55.7% | 53.9–57.5 | 56.3% | 47.6% |
| Llanelli | Wales | 4380 | 51.0% | 49.5–52.5 | 52.4% | 43.2% |
| Llantrisant | Wales | 9909 | 54.0% | 53.0–55.0 | 55.5% | 45.0% |
| Lochgilphead small | Scotland | 140 | 56.4% | 48.2–64.4 | 55.4% | — |
| Loughborough | East Midlands | 5502 | 42.3% | 41.0–43.7 | 42.6% | 33.2% |
| Loughton (London) | East of England | 7376 | 47.0% | 45.8–48.1 | 48.0% | 45.3% |
| Louth small | East Midlands | 740 | 53.9% | 50.3–57.5 | 56.0% | 41.1% |
| Lowestoft(Mobbs Way) | East of England | 7603 | 43.3% | 42.2–44.4 | 44.1% | 35.2% |
| Ludlow | West Midlands | 5051 | 58.7% | 57.4–60.1 | 61.6% | 45.1% |
| Luton | East of England | 7759 | 39.2% | 38.1–40.3 | 35.8% | 36.5% |
| Macclesfield | North West | 4509 | 51.9% | 50.5–53.4 | 52.2% | 44.7% |
| Maidstone | South East | 8053 | 60.2% | 59.2–61.3 | 61.6% | 53.6% |
| Mallaig small | Scotland | 53 | 64.2% | 50.7–75.7 | — | — |
| Malton small | Yorkshire and the Humber | 876 | 64.3% | 61.0–67.4 | 65.2% | 58.8% |
| Melton Mowbray | East Midlands | 1984 | 69.7% | 67.6–71.6 | 71.2% | 62.6% |
| Merthyr Tydfil | Wales | 4446 | 51.2% | 49.7–52.6 | 50.3% | 42.7% |
| Middlesbrough | North East | 8854 | 47.7% | 46.6–48.7 | 47.1% | 43.6% |
| Mill Hill (London) | London | 9797 | 51.4% | 50.4–52.4 | 50.3% | 51.2% |
| Mitcham (London) | London | 15046 | 47.0% | 46.2–47.8 | 46.3% | 45.4% |
| Monmouth | Wales | 1283 | 51.0% | 48.2–53.7 | 52.8% | 40.3% |
| Montrose small | Scotland | 621 | 70.0% | 66.3–73.5 | 71.4% | 62.7% |
| Morden (London) | London | 15770 | 51.0% | 50.2–51.7 | 50.4% | 49.8% |
| Nelson | North West | 5955 | 51.7% | 50.5–53.0 | 52.1% | 49.4% |
| Newport (Gwent) | Wales | 8227 | 48.9% | 47.8–50.0 | 50.1% | 41.6% |
| Newport (Isle of Wight) | South East | 3616 | 54.1% | 52.5–55.8 | 56.4% | 44.9% |
| Newton Abbot | South West | 6591 | 53.8% | 52.6–55.0 | 54.5% | 46.9% |
| Newton Stewart small | Scotland | 225 | 65.8% | 59.4–71.7 | 64.0% | — |
| Newtown | Wales | 2256 | 58.0% | 56.0–60.0 | 59.5% | 47.4% |
| Norris Green (Liverpool) | North West | 13472 | 37.8% | 37.0–38.7 | 36.0% | 34.9% |
| Northallerton | Yorkshire and the Humber | 3244 | 60.4% | 58.7–62.0 | 62.7% | 51.0% |
| Northampton | East Midlands | 13539 | 52.1% | 51.2–52.9 | 51.8% | 45.9% |
| Northwich | North West | 3529 | 57.6% | 55.9–59.2 | 57.3% | 48.7% |
| Norwich (Peachman Way) | East of England | 12541 | 61.7% | 60.9–62.6 | 63.1% | 55.4% |
| Nottingham (Chilwell) | East Midlands | 9415 | 49.9% | 48.9–50.9 | 49.2% | 43.4% |
| Nottingham (Colwick) | East Midlands | 15150 | 46.4% | 45.6–47.2 | 47.6% | 42.4% |
| Nuneaton | West Midlands | 6764 | 53.2% | 52.0–54.4 | 54.6% | 45.5% |
| Oban small | Scotland | 322 | 66.1% | 60.8–71.1 | 66.3% | — |
| Orkney small | Scotland | 320 | 55.9% | 50.5–61.3 | 51.3% | 40.0% |
| Oswestry | West Midlands | 1851 | 52.4% | 50.1–54.6 | 54.3% | 39.0% |
| Oxford (Cowley) | South East | 5419 | 50.6% | 49.3–51.9 | 49.0% | 46.6% |
| Paisley | Scotland | 7912 | 48.6% | 47.5–49.7 | 47.1% | 44.0% |
| Peebles small | Scotland | 685 | 58.8% | 55.1–62.5 | 63.1% | 38.5% |
| Pembroke Dock | Wales | 1769 | 50.1% | 47.8–52.5 | 50.5% | 43.2% |
| Penzance small | South West | 507 | 46.5% | 42.2–50.9 | 43.4% | 37.7% |
| Perth (Arran Road) | Scotland | 2642 | 48.8% | 46.9–50.7 | 47.2% | 38.5% |
| Peterborough | East of England | 10551 | 52.8% | 51.8–53.7 | 53.2% | 47.6% |
| Peterhead | Scotland | 2628 | 53.2% | 51.3–55.1 | 53.3% | 41.1% |
| Pinner (London) | London | 14367 | 49.7% | 48.9–50.5 | 48.5% | 47.6% |
| Pitlochry small | Scotland | 146 | 73.3% | 65.6–79.8 | 73.8% | — |
| Plymouth | South West | 11167 | 40.7% | 39.8–41.6 | 38.8% | 34.5% |
| Pontefract | Yorkshire and the Humber | 5544 | 46.9% | 45.6–48.2 | 47.0% | 39.5% |
| Poole | South West | 10375 | 53.4% | 52.4–54.3 | 53.0% | 45.1% |
| Portsmouth | South East | 13518 | 52.8% | 52.0–53.7 | 52.9% | 46.1% |
| Preston | North West | 9194 | 56.3% | 55.3–57.3 | 56.9% | 49.0% |
| Pwllheli small | Wales | 737 | 68.1% | 64.7–71.4 | 66.7% | 58.8% |
| Reading | South East | 9237 | 55.4% | 54.4–56.4 | 55.4% | 52.7% |
| Redditch | West Midlands | 4483 | 51.4% | 49.9–52.9 | 51.5% | 50.8% |
| Redhill Aerodrome | South East | 5408 | 53.9% | 52.6–55.2 | 53.5% | 49.7% |
| Rhyl | Wales | 4011 | 56.9% | 55.4–58.5 | 56.7% | 50.5% |
| Rochdale (Manchester) | North West | 11563 | 48.3% | 47.4–49.2 | 48.6% | 42.8% |
| Rotherham | Yorkshire and the Humber | 9134 | 53.1% | 52.1–54.2 | 54.7% | 48.8% |
| Rothesay small | Scotland | 125 | 52.0% | 43.3–60.6 | 52.7% | 51.5% |
| Rugby | West Midlands | 6664 | 51.4% | 50.2–52.6 | 55.0% | 43.7% |
| Sale (Manchester) | North West | 10921 | 51.4% | 50.5–52.3 | 53.0% | 45.1% |
| Salisbury | South West | 6630 | 48.5% | 47.3–49.7 | 48.3% | 37.0% |
| Scarborough | Yorkshire and the Humber | 3595 | 45.1% | 43.4–46.7 | 45.2% | 36.4% |
| Scunthorpe | Yorkshire and the Humber | 6103 | 45.4% | 44.2–46.7 | 44.0% | 37.1% |
| Sevenoaks | South East | 6740 | 59.0% | 57.8–60.2 | 60.9% | 54.2% |
| Sheffield (Handsworth) | Yorkshire and the Humber | 9788 | 44.1% | 43.1–45.1 | 44.7% | 39.8% |
| Sheffield (Middlewood Road) | Yorkshire and the Humber | 10442 | 48.7% | 47.7–49.7 | 50.3% | 43.2% |
| Shrewsbury | West Midlands | 5064 | 51.0% | 49.6–52.4 | 53.2% | 41.3% |
| Sidcup (London) | London | 14318 | 58.7% | 57.9–59.5 | 59.5% | 56.7% |
| Skegness | East Midlands | 2078 | 55.9% | 53.8–58.0 | 55.4% | 41.3% |
| Skipton | Yorkshire and the Humber | 3197 | 57.3% | 55.5–59.0 | 55.5% | 55.1% |
| Slough (London) | South East | 10509 | 50.8% | 49.9–51.8 | 48.4% | 46.3% |
| Southall (London) | London | 8543 | 44.8% | 43.7–45.9 | 41.8% | 41.7% |
| Southend-on-Sea | East of England | 7526 | 47.0% | 45.9–48.1 | 47.0% | 41.0% |
| Southport (Liverpool) | North West | 7949 | 56.5% | 55.4–57.6 | 57.2% | 51.6% |
| Speke (Liverpool) | North West | 8159 | 40.5% | 39.5–41.6 | 41.5% | 37.2% |
| St Albans | East of England | 7336 | 50.7% | 49.6–51.9 | 49.4% | 47.7% |
| St Helens (Liverpool) | North West | 14174 | 40.9% | 40.1–41.8 | 42.1% | 34.1% |
| Stafford | West Midlands | 5365 | 45.8% | 44.5–47.2 | 45.8% | 33.8% |
| Steeton | Yorkshire and the Humber | 4784 | 52.8% | 51.3–54.2 | 52.6% | 47.9% |
| Stevenage | East of England | 4622 | 55.3% | 53.9–56.8 | 55.8% | 48.5% |
| Stirling | Scotland | 2747 | 43.0% | 41.2–44.9 | 44.3% | 33.7% |
| Stoke-On-Trent (Cobridge) | West Midlands | 8413 | 40.6% | 39.5–41.6 | 38.7% | 35.2% |
| Stoke-on-Trent (Newcastle-Under-Lyme) | West Midlands | 6646 | 41.6% | 40.5–42.8 | 40.0% | 35.5% |
| Stornoway small | Scotland | 344 | 66.6% | 61.4–71.3 | 67.6% | — |
| Stranraer small | Scotland | 215 | 71.2% | 64.8–76.8 | 70.1% | — |
| Sunderland | North East | 10436 | 51.1% | 50.2–52.1 | 51.3% | 42.7% |
| Swansea | Wales | 12375 | 48.2% | 47.4–49.1 | 51.2% | 38.4% |
| Swindon | South West | 12857 | 51.1% | 50.2–51.9 | 50.8% | 45.4% |
| Taunton | South West | 8259 | 59.5% | 58.4–60.6 | 59.2% | 52.9% |
| Telford | West Midlands | 4963 | 48.9% | 47.6–50.3 | 48.1% | 43.9% |
| Thurso small | Scotland | 162 | 63.0% | 55.3–70.0 | 64.4% | — |
| Tilbury | East of England | 5083 | 50.4% | 49.0–51.7 | 50.3% | 46.0% |
| Tolworth (London) | London | 10164 | 53.6% | 52.6–54.6 | 53.7% | 49.9% |
| Tottenham | London | 9844 | 48.9% | 47.9–49.9 | 48.1% | 48.0% |
| Trowbridge | South West | 3074 | 55.2% | 53.5–57.0 | 56.4% | 51.5% |
| Tunbridge Wells | South East | 5726 | 64.5% | 63.3–65.8 | 65.4% | 61.0% |
| Ullapool small | Scotland | 49 | 61.2% | 47.2–73.6 | 58.1% | — |
| Upton | North West | 10772 | 52.6% | 51.7–53.6 | 54.9% | 47.5% |
| Uxbridge (London) | London | 6051 | 52.3% | 51.0–53.5 | 50.7% | 50.3% |
| Wakefield | Yorkshire and the Humber | 11653 | 45.4% | 44.5–46.3 | 46.6% | 40.1% |
| Wallasey small | North West | 968 | 54.3% | 51.2–57.5 | 54.4% | 40.1% |
| Walton LGV | Yorkshire and the Humber | 1894 | 59.8% | 57.5–62.0 | 63.7% | 46.7% |
| Wanstead (London) | London | 8258 | 44.4% | 43.4–45.5 | 42.2% | 42.1% |
| Warrington | North West | 7550 | 55.5% | 54.4–56.7 | 55.5% | 48.6% |
| Warwick (Wedgenock House) | West Midlands | 15070 | 48.5% | 47.7–49.3 | 47.3% | 43.8% |
| Watford | East of England | 12939 | 46.2% | 45.4–47.1 | 44.8% | 41.1% |
| Wednesbury | West Midlands | 7508 | 35.0% | 33.9–36.1 | 31.5% | 30.2% |
| Wellingborough | East Midlands | 1450 | 60.0% | 57.5–62.5 | 59.4% | 57.6% |
| West Didsbury (Manchester) | North West | 17806 | 47.7% | 47.0–48.4 | 48.1% | 43.1% |
| West Wickham (London) | London | 12249 | 51.6% | 50.7–52.5 | 52.3% | 50.8% |
| Weston-super-Mare | South West | 4443 | 61.0% | 59.6–62.4 | 61.3% | 54.8% |
| Whitby small | Yorkshire and the Humber | 557 | 56.7% | 52.6–60.8 | 56.0% | 48.6% |
| Wick small | Scotland | 239 | 59.4% | 53.1–65.4 | 61.8% | — |
| Widnes | North West | 6846 | 42.7% | 41.5–43.9 | 41.3% | 37.6% |
| Winchester | South East | 4602 | 52.2% | 50.8–53.7 | 50.0% | 45.3% |
| Wolverhampton | West Midlands | 11561 | 34.3% | 33.4–35.1 | 33.4% | 27.2% |
| Wood Green (London) | London | 11379 | 46.8% | 45.9–47.7 | 47.0% | 45.8% |
| Worcester | West Midlands | 11590 | 51.9% | 51.0–52.8 | 52.3% | 44.4% |
| Workington | North West | 2998 | 61.9% | 60.2–63.7 | 63.3% | 51.0% |
| Worksop | East Midlands | 5975 | 55.2% | 53.9–56.4 | 56.2% | 47.9% |
| Worthing | South East | 8495 | 59.8% | 58.7–60.8 | 60.2% | 54.4% |
| Wrexham | Wales | 4819 | 51.9% | 50.5–53.3 | 54.2% | 38.3% |
| Yeading (London) | London | 6735 | 52.8% | 51.6–54.0 | 50.9% | 51.9% |
| Yeovil | South West | 7493 | 63.4% | 62.3–64.5 | 64.1% | 57.2% |
| York | Yorkshire and the Humber | 9416 | 54.4% | 53.4–55.4 | 54.7% | 49.9% |
Take the data
All 316 centres with every figure on this page, cleaned and ready to work from. Free to use with credit to Driving Mastery and DVSA. The attribution and licence travel inside the file.
A dash means DVSA did not publish that figure for the centre — most often because the number was small enough to risk identifying an individual. It never means zero.
Methodology
How these figures were produced
Every number on this page is derived from the DVSA files listed below by a published script, and can be reproduced from them.
-
1
Annual totals come from DVSA's own totals, not from adding up months.
DVSA withholds a month's figure where it could identify an individual, but still counts those tests in the centre's annual total. Summing the visible months instead would have understated 47 centres and reported one, Lochgilphead, as conducting no tests at all.
-
2
Pass rates are recomputed from the counts and checked against DVSA's own percentages.
All 316 centres agree to within a rounding place.
-
3
Rankings need volume: at least 1000 tests in the year.
259 of 316 centres qualify. DVSA's own guidance warns against comparing a centre with under 100 tests to one with over 1,000; the threshold is ours, and it is stated so it can be argued with.
-
4
Closed centres are excluded from every ranking.
DVSA marks them with a Z; ranking a centre that no longer exists would be misleading.
-
5
Regions are DVSA's, not ours.
Each centre's country and region is read from DVSA's own availability table, so no centre has been assigned to a region by guesswork.
-
6
Nothing is interpolated, and nothing missing is treated as zero.
Withheld, redacted and unavailable values stay absent all the way to the page.
Why there is no single "best test centre" score
Combining pass rate, waiting time and availability into one ranking was considered and rejected. The three have no common scale and no defensible weighting — and, decisively, they cover different periods: pass rates run to March 2026, waiting times to July-2026. A single number would be a presentation choice dressed as a measurement, and the first statistician to ask how it was weighted would be right to. Each metric is published separately instead.
Limitations
What this data cannot tell you
- A pass rate is not a difficulty score. It reflects who books at a centre and how ready they are, the share of automatic tests, and local roads — not just the test itself. A centre serving mostly city driving will look harder than one serving quiet A-roads whether or not its examiners are.
- Correlation is not causation anywhere on this page. Where two figures move together we say so and stop.
- Test-centre pass rates are published once a year. These cover the financial year to March 2026 and will not be refreshed until DVSA's next annual release, due June 2027. Waiting times are monthly and current to July-2026.
- Some centres are missing entirely. DVSA omits centres where a single examiner conducted the tests. Those tests are in the national totals but not in any centre row, which is why our centre totals fall about half a per cent short of the Great Britain figure.
- Gender figures do not always sum to the total. DVSA records candidates whose gender was not captured in totals only, so the parts can be smaller than the whole.
- Recent months are provisional. DVSA revises them until the full year publishes.
Data sources
Every file this report was built from
Each is published by DVSA on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The checksum is of the exact file we read, so anyone can download it and confirm they are looking at the same data.
DRT121G — Car driving test waiting times and availability by country and region, January 2019 to date: Great Britain
monthly · DVSA last updated 12 August 2026 · data to July 2026 · 183620 bytes
sha256 2e4c16679dc0a1d7f40df9d55c8adfcd237402018ab2f380eb1d7c4244a092aa
DRT122A — Car driving test pass rates by gender and month: test centres
annual · DVSA last updated 25 June 2026 · data to March 2026 · 9006569 bytes
sha256 722769f70572192bd8b77fdf9e9ec9c18a2e719b02232084452dd9bc64a839aa
DRT122B — Car driving test cancellation reasons: test centres
annual · DVSA last updated 25 June 2026 · data to March 2026 · 1650099 bytes
sha256 42bb504034965e484d72c36bc49557dc2b388f1ec4cada8821bd69f180ee7519
DRT122C — Car driving test pass rates by first driving attempt and gender, including zero faults: test centres
annual · DVSA last updated 25 June 2026 · data to March 2026 · 937020 bytes
sha256 b77defa804cc4eb8ad845cfece88c6a7d993d97f6284e9242365c9db0f71b054
DRT122D — Car driving test pass rates by age (17 to 25 year olds) and year: test centres
annual · DVSA last updated 25 June 2026 · data to March 2026 · 6102975 bytes
sha256 e2ccf620e3092e6116d6f8b0e6ba6f55b5c9c97b3f734a508b50d62a9ee8e1eb
DRT122E — Automatic car driving test pass rates by gender: test centres
annual · DVSA last updated 25 June 2026 · data to March 2026 · 587511 bytes
sha256 f2cb93e2913a7b295e0990861611d4b8d7c0fc6716eebf4250a1cca938bd87d8
DRT122F — Car driving test waiting times and availability by driving test centre, January 2019 to date: Great Britain
monthly · DVSA last updated 12 August 2026 · data to July 2026 · 2279064 bytes
sha256 3248d2eaf758fda7803da58243c57d0b7954cd1d88493027e1e84c82e975bf63
Source page: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/driving-test-and-theory-test-data-cars. Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0. Built 2026-08-30T15:40:40Z.
About
About Driving Mastery
Driving Mastery is a UK learner-driver platform built by a qualified approved driving instructor (ADI). We publish this analysis because the underlying data is public, useful, and almost nobody turns it into something a learner or a reporter can read.
Using these figures? They are free to quote with credit to Driving Mastery and to DVSA as the source. If a number here looks wrong, we would rather hear about it than not — the script that produced every figure is in the open, and so are the checksums above.
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Analysis by Driving Mastery using official Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency data, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. DVSA does not endorse this analysis.