Alness Driving Test Centre
Alness in Unit 22 records a 62.2% pass rate against a UK average of 48.7%, with a median wait of 17.6 weeks. This page covers the multi-year trend, the first-time and gender pass rates, and a like-for-like comparison with other centres.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Alness sits in the top quarter of car pass rates nationally (Top 12%, rank #39 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Golspie, about 22.3 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 8.4K passed, 6.0K failed, 14.4K total
How Alness compares
A 13.5-point lead over the national figure puts Alness ranked 39 of 323 in its category. Gaps this large usually come from the roads, not the examiners: fewer complex junctions and lighter traffic on the local routes.
Where Alness ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Since 2017-18 the rate at Alness has risen from 59.6% to 63%, a 3.4-point gain, peaking at 63% in 2024-25.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Alness
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 24 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Alness in May 2026 had waited 17.6 weeks from booking to test day.
Official DVSA data, May 2026. The median is the time between booking and taking the test; for live availability use the DVSA booking service.
Centre details
Address
Source: DVSA find a driving test centre (Open Government Licence v3.0), captured 2026-05-12.
Tests offered at Alness
- car
Accessibility & facilities
Parking and toilet details aren't included in DVSA's published feed. For the current on-site facilities, check the DVSA find a driving test centre tool with postcode IV17 0PJ, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Alness: a DVSA car test centre in Unit 22, Highland. Local routes, local traffic patterns, no national standard for what "harder" or "easier" looks like beyond what the numbers below show. Across 2017-18-2024-25 the DVSA recorded 14.4K tests at Alness. A solid mid-range sample, the data is reliable enough that the rank position below isn't an artefact of small numbers.
The top quarter of the UK by pass rate: Alness ranks #39 of 323 car centres at 62.2%, 13.5 points clear of the national figure of 48.7%. First-attempt pass rate at Alness: 63.1%, against 49% nationally. That's a 14.1-point lead. Well-prepared candidates with no prior test attempts pass here at a noticeably higher rate than the UK average.
All figures shown are aggregated from the DVSA quarterly statistical release covering the most recent reporting periods available. Pass-rate calculations exclude tests cancelled by the candidate or examiner. Sample sizes and methodology are described in the source attribution at the foot of this page.
What learners should know about Alness
- Don't read a higher pass rate as a softer test. Alness's rate reflects route geography more than examiner discretion, DVSA marking is centrally trained. Prepare for the same fault categories you'd prepare for anywhere.
- 63.1% of first-timers pass at Alness, so the centre is on the forgiving side. If your instructor is signing you off as test-ready, your own preparation matters far more than the venue.
- Ask any instructor working Alness about the centre's "usual fails", they'll have two or three specific junctions or manoeuvres in mind. Practise those until they're automatic before your date.
- The only legitimate booking route is gov.uk. Anything calling itself a "test booking concierge" is reselling the same slots at a markup, the slots aren't theirs to control.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Alness
Turn up at Alness ten minutes before your appointment, and check ahead where you can park, DVSA sites vary on that. You can preview the location on the DVSA centre finder (postcode IV17 0PJ). At low demand and roughly 6 to 10 weeks' wait, getting a date that works for you is usually straightforward. The examiner will ask to see your provisional photocard licence before anything else, and your car must carry L plates and a working interior mirror. If Inverness (Seafield Road) is fully booked, Alness is the next closest centre, roughly 14 miles away.
Plan for a drive of roughly 40 minutes, identical in structure to every other DVSA centre. First comes the 20-metre eyesight check and a tell-me vehicle-safety question, then the examiner joins you for the road section, with one show-me question while you drive. About 20 minutes is independent driving by sat nav or by following signs to a named target, you tackle one of four set manoeuvres, and around one in seven candidates get an emergency stop. The drive covers the local mix of road types within roughly a twenty-minute radius of the centre. Across DVSA marking nationally, the fault recorded most often on car tests is junctions - observation, worth drilling on the local routes before your date.
You find out there and then, back at Alness. The examiner runs through the faults on the DL25 feedback form and, on a pass, keeps your provisional licence so a full licence follows in the post. Clearing the test means staying under 16 driving faults, that is 15 or fewer, with no serious or dangerous fault; 62.2% of candidates here manage it on the current marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Alness?
Is Alness an easy or hard test centre?
How does Alness compare to the UK average?
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Data: DVSA quarterly statistical release, released under the Open Government Licence v3.0. PassRates.uk aggregates DVSA centre-level totals across reporting periods.
Edited by Vikas. DVSA data period: 2024-25.