My Garage

Popular searches

Driving test centre

Watford driving test centre

Car practical driving test pass rates at Watford: 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.

Last updated
Records analysed
12,939 car tests at Watford in 2025/26
Methodology
View methodology
  • Pass rate, 2025/26 46.2% Great Britain 50.0%
  • Tests taken 12,939 5,983 passes
  • First-attempt pass rate 44.8% Great Britain 50.5%
  • Rank by pass rate 204 of 260 centres with 1,000+ tests
  • Women’s pass rate 44.0% GB 49.1%
  • Men’s pass rate 47.9% GB 50.8%

What is the pass rate at Watford?

In April 2025 to March 2026, 46.2% of car practical tests at Watford were passes (5,983 of 12,939), against 50.0% across Great Britain: 3.8 points lower. That is 57th lowest of 260 centres with 1,000 or more tests. The year before it was 46.6%.

Pass rate at Watford and in Great Britain

Highest 54.1% in 2020/21, lowest 45.9% in 2007/08. −7.8 points since 2020/21.

Car practical test pass rate at Watford and in Great Britain by financial year
Year WatfordGreat Britain
2007/08 45.9%44.2%
2008/09 46.9%45.3%
2009/10 47.5%45.9%
2010/11 46.8%46.3%
2011/12 49.2%46.9%
2012/13 49.2%47.2%
2013/14 48.9%47.1%
2014/15 50.3%46.9%
2015/16 47.7%47.1%
2016/17 45.9%47.1%
2017/18 49.0%46.3%
2018/19 46.4%45.8%
2019/20 48.8%45.9%
2020/21 54.1%49.8%
2021/22 52.7%48.9%
2022/23 48.9%48.4%
2023/24 48.3%47.9%
2024/25 46.6%48.7%
2025/26 46.2%50.0%

Source:DVSA April 2025 to March 2026 Updated

Pass rates for men and women

In 2025/26, women passed 44.0% of tests at Watford and men 47.9%. Across Great Britain the figures were 49.1% and 50.8%.

Pass rate by gender

Pass rate by gender at Watford and in Great Britain, 2025/26
Candidates WatfordGreat Britain
Women 44.0%49.1%
Men 47.9%50.8%
All 46.2%50.0%

Source:DVSA April 2025 to March 2026 Updated

Passing first time at Watford

6,479 people took their first practical test at Watford in 2025/26 and 44.8% passed, against 50.5% of first attempts across Great Britain. 129 of them passed without a single driving fault.

First-attempt pass rate

First-attempt pass rate at Watford and in Great Britain by financial year
Year WatfordGreat Britain
2007/08 44.6%43.3%
2008/09 46.8%45.3%
2009/10 47.6%45.7%
2010/11 47.0%46.2%
2011/12 49.8%47.5%
2012/13 50.8%47.7%
2013/14 49.8%47.9%
2014/15 51.5%47.6%
2015/16 47.4%47.5%
2016/17 46.5%47.1%
2017/18 50.1%46.7%
2018/19 46.6%46.6%
2019/20 49.3%46.4%
2020/21 54.4%51.1%
2021/22 54.1%49.3%
2022/23 48.9%48.3%
2023/24 49.0%48.1%
2024/25 46.7%48.9%
2025/26 44.8%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

Monthly car test pass rate at Watford
Month Watford
Apr 2025 46.6%
May 2025 47.0%
Jun 2025 47.1%
Jul 2025 46.0%
Aug 2025 43.7%
Sep 2025 45.1%
Oct 2025 46.1%
Nov 2025 46.5%
Dec 2025 47.6%
Jan 2026 47.2%
Feb 2026 43.9%
Mar 2026 47.7%

Source:DVSA April 2025 to March 2026 Updated

Tests each month

Car tests each month at Watford (withheld months show as zero)
Month Tests
Apr 2025 910
May 2025 903
Jun 2025 1,083
Jul 2025 1,127
Aug 2025 985
Sep 2025 1,059
Oct 2025 1,158
Nov 2025 1,108
Dec 2025 947
Jan 2026 1,100
Feb 2026 1,067
Mar 2026 1,492

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:

  1. Junctions - observation
  2. Mirrors - change direction
  3. Junctions - turning right
  4. Response to signs - traffic lights
  5. Control - steering
  6. Move off - safely
  7. Response to signs - road markings
  8. Response to signs - traffic signs
  9. Positioning - normal driving
  10. Maintain progress - speed

Data sources and methodology

Datasets used on this page
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 12,939 car tests at Watford 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.
How we calculate these figures All data sources

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.