Barnstaple Driving Test Centre
The Barnstaple driving test centre is located in Barnstaple, England. Below are the official pass-rate statistics, multi-year trend, demographic breakdown, and how this centre compares against the UK average and its neighbours, all drawn from the DVSA quarterly statistical release.
Pass vs fail at a glance
743 passed, 149 failed, 892 total
How Barnstaple compares
Barnstaple performs well above the UK average. Learners passing here are more likely to pass than at most other UK centres, though this can also reflect quieter test routes and fewer challenging junctions.
Where Barnstaple ranks among 194 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Most common faults at this centre
The fault categories most frequently recorded against learners on test. Knowing them lets you target practice on the things examiners are most likely to penalise.
- 1Junctions - observation10
- 2Mirrors - change direction9
- 3Move off - safely8
- 4Junctions - turning right7
- 5Response to signs - traffic lights6
Per-centre fault breakdowns are derived from the DVSA national fault distribution applied to centre-level test outcomes.
Pass rate by demographic
Estimated wait time and demand
Wait times at Barnstaple have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is comparatively quick: learners booking at Barnstaple typically wait around 8 weeks from booking to test day.
Wait time is estimated from regional demand patterns reported in the National Audit Office investigation into car driving test waiting times (Dec 2024) and the DVSA Despatch blog updates, combined with this centre's test volume. Real availability fluctuates with examiner staffing and cancellations, always check the official DVSA booking service for live slots.
Centre details
Address
Source: DVSA find a driving test centre (Open Government Licence v3.0), captured 2026-05-12.
Tests offered at Barnstaple
- Motorcycle Module 2
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 EX31 1AB, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Drivers booked at Barnstaple report to a DVSA centre in Barnstaple, Devon and Torbay. The motorcycle module 2 routes used here are drawn from the streets the centre's examiners drive every week, so the test reflects local conditions rather than a generic syllabus. Only 892 tests sit on the record at Barnstaple for 2012-13-2023-24. That puts the centre in the tail of the volume distribution; treat any single-period rate as indicative, not definitive.
By raw pass rate Barnstaple sits at 83.3%, with the DVSA's national motorcycle module 2 average over the same window running at 48.7%. The gap (34.6 points clear of the UK figure) places the centre at rank #8 of 194, inside the top ten percent of the country's motorcycle module 2 test centres. DVSA doesn't break out first-attempt figures for Barnstaple in DRT122C, so the split between first-time and retake pass rates isn't published for this centre.
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 Barnstaple
- Above-average pass rate at Barnstaple doesn't mean above-average ease. The fundamentals examiners mark are the same nationally: junctions, mirrors, observation, signal timing. A 65%+ pass rate means more candidates clear those, not that the bar is lower.
- With 892 tests on record at Barnstaple, the per-quarter pass rates are noisy. The trend chart on this page is more informative than any specific number from a specific period.
- Ask any instructor working Barnstaple 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.
- Book through the official DVSA service (gov.uk/book-driving-test). Third-party "fast-track" sites charge a premium for the same booking; the DVSA's own cancellation feed is free.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Barnstaple
Ten minutes early is the right target at Barnstaple. Parking differs between DVSA centres, so it pays to scout the route on the DVSA centre finder the day before. Demand sits at low with a modelled wait of about 8 weeks, which generally leaves more room to choose a date. Bring the provisional photocard licence, the examiner checks for it first, and make sure your car is roadworthy with L plates and a working interior mirror.
Once underway the test takes around 40 minutes and is the same wherever you sit it. The examiner verifies your eyesight at 20 metres, puts one show-me and one tell-me question to you, then accompanies the drive. About 20 minutes is independent driving, sat nav or road signs to a named destination, with one of four set manoeuvres and an emergency stop on roughly one test in three. The drive covers the local mix of road types within roughly a twenty-minute radius of the centre. Across recent DVSA marking, the fault logged most often at this centre is junctions - observation, worth drilling on the local routes before your date.
Results come immediately on return to the centre. The examiner talks you through any faults marked, prints the DL25 feedback form, and (if you passed) takes your provisional licence so the full one can be issued by post. A pass needs no more than 15 driving faults and zero serious or dangerous faults, the standard 83.3% of candidates at Barnstaple meet under current DVSA marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Barnstaple?
Is Barnstaple an easy or hard test centre?
How does Barnstaple compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Barnstaple each year?
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When is the best time to book a test at Barnstaple?
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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: 2023-24.