Where is the easiest and hardest place to pass your driving test?
Melton Mowbray passed 69.66% of car tests in 2025/26 and Wolverhampton 34.26%, a 35.4-point gap. Pass rates for every busy test centre in Great Britain.
Driving tests
35.4 points
gap between Britain's easiest and hardest test centres
- 50.04% of car driving tests passed in Great Britain, 2025/26
- 69.66% pass rate at Melton Mowbray, the easiest busy centre
- 34.26% pass rate at Wolverhampton, the hardest
- 35.4 points gap between the easiest and hardest centres
Your chance of passing a driving test varies a lot depending on where you take it. We compared the pass rate at every driving test centre in Great Britain that ran at least 1,000 car tests, to show where learners pass most often, where they struggle, and how much that has changed.
All figures are DVSA’s car practical test results for April 2025 to March 2026, the latest full year. You can look up any centre on our driving test pass rates by test centre page.
What is the driving test pass rate in Great Britain?
Half of all car driving tests were passed in 2025/26: 50.04%, or 1,000,043 passes from 1,998,621 tests. That is the highest pass rate in our records, which go back to 2007/08.
A record year for passes
The previous high was 49.8% in 2020/21, a year when far fewer tests took place. The rate rose 1.34 points on 2024/25, when it was 48.7%.
The number of tests went up too, by 8.6%, from 1,839,815 to 1,998,621. So the record rate came in a busy year, not a quiet one.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019/20 | 1,599,566 | 45.92% | 49.59% | 42.59% |
| 2023/24 | 1,945,225 | 47.89% | 49.06% | 46.48% |
| 2024/25 | 1,839,815 | 48.70% | 49.50% | 47.60% |
| 2025/26 | 1,998,621 | 50.04% | 50.80% | 49.09% |
Men and women are now close
Men passed 50.8% of their tests and women 49.09%, a gap of 1.71 points. In 2007/08 the gap was 6.03 points, with men at 47.29% and women at 41.26%.
Which test centres have the highest pass rates?
Melton Mowbray had the highest pass rate of any busy centre in 2025/26, at 69.66% from 1,984 tests. Barrow-in-Furness was only 0.03 points behind at 69.63%.
The five easiest centres to pass at
Dorchester came third at 68.96%, and it ran more than twice as many tests as Melton Mowbray. Kendal (Oxenholme Road) and Tunbridge Wells completed the top five.
Only 17 of the 260 ranked centres passed 60% or more of their tests. Most of the top of the table is smaller towns and rural areas, going by the centre names.
| Rank | Centre | Tests | Pass rate 2025/26 | Pass rate 2024/25 | First-attempt pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melton Mowbray | 1,984 | 69.66% | 63.9% | 71.19% |
| 2 | Barrow-in-Furness | 1,699 | 69.63% | 61.9% | 70.04% |
| 3 | Dorchester | 4,353 | 68.96% | 66.7% | 71.84% |
| 4 | Kendal (Oxenholme Road) | 2,231 | 65.13% | 64.8% | 67.05% |
| 5 | Tunbridge Wells | 5,726 | 64.53% | 58.9% | 65.43% |
Why we only rank centres with 1,000 tests
Small centres post extreme rates on very few tests. The Isles of Scilly passed 75% of just 8 tests, so we don’t call it the easiest place to pass.
Rates at the smaller ranked centres can still swing. Melton Mowbray’s tests fell from 2,486 to 1,984 while its pass rate rose from 63.9% to 69.66%.
Related: How we calculate pass rates
Which test centres have the lowest pass rates?
Wolverhampton had the lowest pass rate in Great Britain in 2025/26, at 34.26% from 11,561 tests. Wednesbury was next at 34.98%, then Barking (Tanner Street) at 36.28%.
The five hardest centres to pass at
Ten ranked centres passed fewer than 40% of tests. Going by their names, most of the bottom of the table is in big urban areas, such as the West Midlands, London, Glasgow and Liverpool.
| Rank | Centre | Tests | Pass rate 2025/26 | Pass rate 2024/25 | First-attempt pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 256 | Featherstone | 13,193 | 36.44% | 34.1% | 35.13% |
| 257 | Dunfermline (Vine) | 5,529 | 36.39% | 43.3% | 36.42% |
| 258 | Barking (Tanner Street) | 5,543 | 36.28% | 37.9% | 30.57% |
| 259 | Wednesbury | 7,508 | 34.98% | 36.4% | 31.47% |
| 260 | Wolverhampton | 11,561 | 34.26% | 33.4% | 33.42% |
London’s centres vary widely
The 25 centres with “(London)” in their name range from 58.7% at Sidcup to 39.89% at Chingford. So not every London centre is below the national average.
The two busiest centres in Britain are both below average. Birmingham (Garretts Green) ran 22,480 tests at a 44.4% pass rate, and Goodmayes 21,374 at 43.69%.
How big is the gap between the easiest and hardest centres?
The gap is 35.4 percentage points: 69.66% at Melton Mowbray against 34.26% at Wolverhampton. A learner at Melton Mowbray passed about twice as often, 2.03 times, as one at Wolverhampton.
First attempts show the same divide
Nationally, 50.52% of first attempts were passed, 497,361 from 984,415, up from 48.92% the year before. 28,581 of those first-time passes had no faults at all.
At Melton Mowbray, 71.19% of first attempts passed, against 33.42% at Wolverhampton. The lowest first-attempt rate among the bottom five was Barking (Tanner Street), at 30.57%.
What the gap can’t tell you
A pass rate reflects who takes the test at a centre as well as the roads. Age, how much practice people have had and how many attempts they’re on all differ from place to place.
DVSA’s tables don’t record any of that. So the data can’t tell us why rates differ, only that they do.
Are pass rates getting better or worse at your local centre?
Most centres improved. 169 of the 257 centres with 1,000+ tests in both years had a higher pass rate in 2025/26 than in 2024/25.
The biggest rises and falls
Workington rose the most, from 48.3% to 61.94%, a jump of 13.64 points. Monmouth fell the most, from 61.2% to 50.97%, down 10.23 points.
Wolverhampton edged up from 33.4% to 34.26%, but stayed bottom. Barrow-in-Furness climbed 7.73 points and now ranks second.
A note on the figures
DVSA’s 2024/25 rates are rounded to one decimal place, so small changes are approximate. DVSA can revise its tables.
Why do most people fail their driving test?
Not making effective observations at junctions is the top reason for failing, according to DVSA. It was also the most common fault in DVSA’s 2025/26 figures.
DVSA’s top 10 reasons for failing
DVSA publishes a guide to the top 10 reasons for failing the driving test, covering April 2024 to March 2025. These are the reasons in its order.
| Rank | Reason for failing (DVSA, 2024/25) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Not making effective observations at junctions |
| 2 | Not using mirrors correctly when changing direction |
| 3 | Not moving off safely |
| 4 | Incorrect positioning when turning right at junctions |
| 5 | Not responding appropriately to traffic lights |
| 6 | Not having proper control of the steering |
| 7 | Not responding correctly to road markings |
| 8 | Not responding correctly to traffic signs |
| 9 | Poor positioning on the road during normal driving |
| 10 | Not driving at a safe and reasonable speed |
The 2025/26 fault table
In DVSA’s driving test data tables for 2025/26, the three most common faults were junction observation, mirrors when changing direction, and turning right at junctions. The fault names differ slightly between years, so the two lists don’t match word for word.
Should you book your test where the pass rate is higher?
Probably not. The data can’t show that a centre is easier, and a high pass rate may say more about the local candidates than the test itself.
Why your local centre usually makes sense
Pass rates reflect local roads and the people who test there. Once you pass, you’ll probably drive mostly on the roads near home, so learning and testing on them is the practical choice.
Travelling to a centre you don’t know means testing on junctions and routes you haven’t practised on.
What the numbers do suggest
Practise the faults DVSA lists, especially junctions, mirrors and moving off. DVSA explains what the car driving test involves, so you know what to expect on the day.
Check your own centre’s record to set expectations, not to pick a test. If your centre’s rate is low, that’s a reason for more practice, not necessarily a longer journey.
FAQs
What is the driving test pass rate in Great Britain?
50.04% of car practical tests were passed between April 2025 and March 2026, or 1,000,043 passes from 1,998,621 tests. DVSA's figures don't cover Northern Ireland.
Which driving test centre has the highest pass rate?
Among centres that ran at least 1,000 tests, Melton Mowbray had the highest pass rate in 2025/26 at 69.66%. Barrow-in-Furness was just behind at 69.63%.
Which driving test centre has the lowest pass rate?
Wolverhampton, where 34.26% of 11,561 car tests were passed in 2025/26. Wednesbury was next lowest at 34.98%.
What is the first-time pass rate?
50.52% of first attempts were passed in 2025/26, up from 48.92% the year before. 28,581 first-time passes had no faults at all.
Is it getting easier to pass the driving test?
The pass rate rose from 48.7% in 2024/25 to 50.04% in 2025/26, the highest in our records back to 2007/08. The data shows the rise but can't tell us why it happened.
Do men or women pass the driving test more often?
Men, by a small margin. In 2025/26, 50.8% of tests taken by men were passed against 49.09% for women, a gap that was 6.03 points in 2007/08.
What is the most common reason for failing the driving test?
Not making effective observations at junctions. It tops DVSA's guide to the top 10 reasons for failing (April 2024 to March 2025) and was also the most common fault in DVSA's 2025/26 table.
Should I book my test at a centre with a high pass rate?
Not for that reason alone. Pass rates reflect who tests at a centre and its local roads, and you'll probably drive on your local roads once you pass, so the centre you know is usually the practical choice.
About the author
The UK Motoring editorial team analyses official motoring data and checks every figure against its source before it is published.
