Ashfield Driving Test Centre
Ashfield in Ashfield records a 51.2% pass rate against a UK average of 48.7%, with a median wait of 10.4 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
Ashfield sits in the top half of car pass rates nationally (Top 46%, rank #148 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Chesterfield, about 11.1 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 61.4K passed, 48.0K failed, 109.4K total
How Ashfield compares
The 2.5-point edge at Ashfield (ranked 148 of 323 in its category) is real but small; local route familiarity moves your odds more than the venue does.
Where Ashfield ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Ashfield has given up 6.8 points since 2017-18 (58% then, 51.2% now); the low water mark was 51% in 2023-24.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Ashfield
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 24 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Ashfield in May 2026 had waited 10.4 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
Accessibility & facilities
Parking, toilets, and disabled-access details vary by centre. Check the official DVSA find a driving test centre tool, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Ashfield is one of the DVSA's car test sites in England, located in Ashfield, East Midlands. The choice of routes reflects the local mix of road types rather than any standard national template. The DVSA has logged 109.4K tests at this centre over 2017-18-2024-25. At that scale, the year-on-year shifts you see in the chart correspond to genuine changes in how the centre is performing, not statistical wobble.
Ashfield runs close to the national curve: 51.2% pass rate, 2.5 points above the UK average of 48.7%. The rank is #148 of 323 car centres. Across 4.9K first-attempt tests, Ashfield passes 52% of candidates, against 49% nationally. The centre is a relatively forgiving venue for a first booking, by the DVSA's own data.
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 Ashfield
- Pass rate at Ashfield sits close to the UK average. Prepare for an ordinary level of difficulty: examiners apply the standard DVSA marking sheet, and the routes are a representative mix of local conditions.
- Ashfield is a high-volume centre. Booking pressure is real, check the DVSA booking service daily for earlier slots rather than relying on the headline available date.
- Practising the roads around the centre is the preparation that most reliably pays off. Most ADI instructors in Ashfield will know the road types and junctions learners commonly meet near the centre.
- If you missed the earlier slots at Ashfield, cancellations appear on the official DVSA booking service throughout the day. Check at off-peak times (early morning, late evening) for the best chance of catching one.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Ashfield
Give yourself ten minutes in hand when you head to Ashfield, and look up where to park beforehand, facilities differ from one DVSA site to the next. The DVSA centre finder shows the exact location. This is a high-demand centre, modelled at roughly 16 to 20 weeks to a slot, so book as far ahead as you can and keep an eye on cancellations. You must have your provisional photocard licence on you, plus a car with L plates and a working interior mirror for the examiner. If Watnall is fully booked, Ashfield is the next closest centre, roughly 8 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 works through whatever mix of urban and outlying roads sits within about a twenty-minute radius, and at a centre this busy that usually means heavier traffic to read. 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 Ashfield. 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; 51.2% of candidates here manage it on the current marking.
Frequently asked questions
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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.