Driving test centre
Thurso driving test centre
Car practical driving test pass rates at Thurso: each year since 2007/08, by month, for men and women, and at the first attempt, compared with Great Britain as a whole. From DVSA’s published statistics.
- Pass rate, 2025/26 63.0% Great Britain 50.0%
- Tests taken 162 102 passes
- First-attempt pass rate 64.4% Great Britain 50.5%
- Women’s pass rate 57.0% GB 49.1%
- Men’s pass rate 69.7% GB 50.8%
Few tests. Thurso ran 162 car tests in 2025/26. DVSA warns that pass rates from small numbers of tests are not a sound basis for comparison, so treat differences of a few points with caution.
What is the pass rate at Thurso?
In April 2025 to March 2026, 63.0% of car practical tests at Thurso were passes (102 of 162), against 50.0% across Great Britain: 12.9 points higher. The year before it was 58.1%.
Pass rate at Thurso and in Great Britain
Highest 71.6% in 2016/17, lowest 51.1% in 2007/08.
| Year | Thurso | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| 2007/08 | 51.1% | 44.2% |
| 2008/09 | 55.4% | 45.3% |
| 2009/10 | 57.6% | 45.9% |
| 2010/11 | – | 46.3% |
| 2011/12 | 53.1% | 46.9% |
| 2012/13 | – | 47.2% |
| 2013/14 | 58.7% | 47.1% |
| 2014/15 | 58.0% | 46.9% |
| 2015/16 | 65.6% | 47.1% |
| 2016/17 | 71.6% | 47.1% |
| 2017/18 | 64.5% | 46.3% |
| 2018/19 | 61.6% | 45.8% |
| 2019/20 | 65.8% | 45.9% |
| 2020/21 | – | 49.8% |
| 2021/22 | 57.6% | 48.9% |
| 2022/23 | 51.7% | 48.4% |
| 2023/24 | 62.6% | 47.9% |
| 2024/25 | 58.1% | 48.7% |
| 2025/26 | 63.0% | 50.0% |
Source:DVSA April 2025 to March 2026 Updated
Pass rates for men and women
In 2025/26, women passed 57.0% of tests at Thurso and men 69.7%. Across Great Britain the figures were 49.1% and 50.8%.
Pass rate by gender
| Candidates | Thurso | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| Women | 57.0% | 49.1% |
| Men | 69.7% | 50.8% |
| All | 63.0% | 50.0% |
Source:DVSA April 2025 to March 2026 Updated
Passing first time at Thurso
101 people took their first practical test at Thurso in 2025/26 and 64.4% passed, against 50.5% of first attempts across Great Britain. 13 of them passed without a single driving fault.
First-attempt pass rate
| Year | Thurso | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| 2007/08 | 58.0% | 43.3% |
| 2008/09 | 56.7% | 45.3% |
| 2009/10 | 53.6% | 45.7% |
| 2010/11 | – | 46.2% |
| 2011/12 | 47.4% | 47.5% |
| 2012/13 | 56.7% | 47.7% |
| 2013/14 | 57.3% | 47.9% |
| 2014/15 | 56.1% | 47.6% |
| 2015/16 | 61.7% | 47.5% |
| 2016/17 | 71.7% | 47.1% |
| 2017/18 | 66.4% | 46.7% |
| 2018/19 | 62.2% | 46.6% |
| 2019/20 | 64.9% | 46.4% |
| 2020/21 | 66.7% | 51.1% |
| 2021/22 | 48.7% | 49.3% |
| 2022/23 | 45.4% | 48.3% |
| 2023/24 | 58.3% | 48.1% |
| 2024/25 | 54.8% | 48.9% |
| 2025/26 | 64.4% | 50.5% |
Source:DVSA April 2025 to March 2026 Updated
Month by month
Monthly pass rates move more than yearly ones because each month has fewer tests. DVSA withholds some monthly counts to protect candidates’ privacy; the rate is still shown.
Monthly pass rate
| Month | Thurso |
|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | 50.0% |
| Apr 2025 | 33.3% |
| May 2025 | 57.9% |
| Jun 2025 | 64.3% |
| Aug 2025 | 76.9% |
| Sep 2025 | 84.6% |
| Oct 2025 | 57.1% |
| Nov 2025 | 61.5% |
| Dec 2025 | 60.0% |
| Jan 2026 | 57.1% |
| Feb 2026 | 50.0% |
| Mar 2026 | 63.6% |
Source:DVSA April 2025 to March 2026 Updated
Tests each month
| Month | Tests |
|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | 0 |
| Apr 2025 | 0 |
| May 2025 | 0 |
| Jun 2025 | 0 |
| Aug 2025 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 26 |
| Oct 2025 | 0 |
| Nov 2025 | 0 |
| Dec 2025 | 0 |
| Jan 2026 | 0 |
| Feb 2026 | 0 |
| Mar 2026 | 0 |
Source:DVSA April 2025 to March 2026 Updated
The most common reasons for failing
DVSA publishes the most common faults for Great Britain as a whole, not for each centre. In April 2025 to March 2026 they were:
- Junctions - observation
- Mirrors - change direction
- Junctions - turning right
- Response to signs - traffic lights
- Control - steering
- Move off - safely
- Response to signs - road markings
- Response to signs - traffic signs
- Positioning - normal driving
- Maintain progress - speed
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driving tests | Driving test and theory test data (DRT tables) Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency | April 2025 to March 2026 | 162 car tests at Thurso in 2025/26 | 15 September 2026 |
- Car practical tests (categories B and B1) in financial years, April to March. Great Britain only: DVSA does not test in Northern Ireland.
- DVSA leaves out of centre figures any centre where only one examiner tested, but counts those tests nationally, and withholds small counts (“..”) where they could identify people.
- Centres are matched across years by name. Pass rates reflect the candidates who test at a centre as well as the centre itself.
- DVSA’s tables give centre names only, with no address, so we do not place centres in council areas.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.