Guide
How to read driving test pass rates
In April 2025 to March 2026, 50.0% of car tests in Great Britain were passes. Centres ranged from 34.3% at Wolverhampton to 70.0% at Montrose (among centres with 500 or more tests). Here's what sits behind those gaps.
Figures quoted are from DVSA data to September 2026.
Why centres differ
A centre's pass rate reflects who tests there as much as how hard the roads are. Busy urban centres see more candidates on second, third or later attempts and more people who booked early to get a slot rather than because they were ready. Rural centres often have quieter roads and candidates who've had more lessons per test. Examiners all mark to the same national standard (see Driving test: cars for what the test involves).
So a centre with a high pass rate isn't necessarily "easy", and choosing one far from where you learned can cost you the advantage of knowing the local roads.
First attempts and zero faults
DVSA also publishes the pass rate for candidates on their first attempt (DRT122C). Nationally 50.5% of first attempts passed. At 172 of 312 centres the first-attempt rate was higher than the overall rate, which fits the idea that repeat candidates pull the overall figure down. The same table counts first tests passed with no faults at all: 2.9% of first attempts nationally.
Men, women, ages and gearboxes
Men passed 50.8% of tests and women 49.1% in 2025–26. Pass rates are usually highest at 17 and drift down with age through the early twenties (17-year-olds: 63.6%, counting the centres DVSA lists). Tests in automatic cars had a lower pass rate (44.6%), 5.4 points below the overall rate; candidates who switch to automatics after struggling with a manual are part of the reason.
Small numbers
40 centres ran fewer than 500 tests in the year. At that size a few results either way move the rate by several points, so we flag small samples on each centre page and leave very small centres out of rankings.
Pass rates lag waiting times
Centre pass rates are published once a year, a few months after the financial year ends; the latest cover April 2025 to March 2026. Waiting times are monthly. DVSA also leaves out centres where only one examiner conducted tests, though their tests are in the national total.
Sources
DVSA tables DRT122A (by gender and month), DRT122C (first attempts and zero faults), DRT122D (ages 17 to 25) and DRT122E (automatic cars), on Driving test and theory test data: cars.