Birmingham (Garretts Green) Driving Test Centre
The Birmingham (Garretts Green) driving test centre is located in Birmingham, 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
72.0K passed, 107.2K failed, 179.2K total
How Birmingham (Garretts Green) compares
Birmingham (Garretts Green) has a slightly tougher pass rate than the UK average. Routes here may be more demanding than rural centres.
Where Birmingham (Garretts Green) ranks among 323 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 Birmingham (Garretts Green) have been lengthening as demand outpaces examiner capacity. Booking requires patience: learners booking at Birmingham (Garretts Green) typically wait around 22 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 Birmingham (Garretts Green)
- 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 B44 9UL, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Birmingham (Garretts Green) is in Birmingham, West Midlands and runs DVSA car tests for learners across the local area. The routes are the same fixed set every day; your examiner picks one without telling you which. Volume is not the issue at Birmingham (Garretts Green). 179.2K tests sit on the record across 2017-18-2024-25, so the trend line below reflects real movement, not sample noise.
Out of 323 UK car test centres, Birmingham (Garretts Green) ranks 295, which lands it in the bottom quarter nationally. The 42% pass rate is 6.7 points below the UK figure of 48.7%. Birmingham (Garretts Green) is one of the tougher venues for a first attempt. The DVSA reports 39.9% first-time pass against a UK average of 49%, 9.1 points down on the national figure.
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 Birmingham (Garretts Green)
- A lower pass rate at Birmingham (Garretts Green) usually means specific local junctions or routes that catch out candidates trained elsewhere. Book route-familiarisation lessons with an instructor who works this centre, not one who covers a different patch.
- First-time pass rate at Birmingham (Garretts Green) is 39.9%, low enough that a meaningful share of candidates retake. If this is your first booking, take a mock on the actual test routes before the date.
- Volume at Birmingham (Garretts Green) is among the highest in the network. Don't take the first available date on faith, refreshing the DVSA booking page across a few days regularly turns up cancellations.
- If you can, take at least one lesson with an instructor who specifically works the Birmingham (Garretts Green) routes. Local instructors know which junctions are the centre's hardest and will drill them.
- Don't pay third-party sites for booking access at Birmingham (Garretts Green). Use gov.uk/book-driving-test directly; cancellations show up on the same booking flow.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Birmingham (Garretts Green)
Plan to arrive at Birmingham (Garretts Green) about ten minutes before your slot. Parking varies between DVSA centres, so check the route and the surrounding streets on the DVSA centre finder a day or two ahead. With demand running very high here and waits near 22 weeks, it is worth holding any earlier cancellation slot you are offered. Bring your provisional photocard licence; the examiner will not start without it, and you will need a roadworthy car with L plates and a working interior mirror.
The practical lasts about 40 minutes and uses the standard DVSA format nationwide. After an eyesight check at 20 metres and one show-me and one tell-me question, the examiner sits in for the drive. Roughly 20 minutes of that is independent driving, either following a sat nav set by the examiner or following road signs, and you will complete one of four set manoeuvres; about one in three tests includes 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 recent DVSA marking, the fault logged most often at this centre is junctions - observation, worth drilling on the local routes before your date.
You will know the result before you leave Birmingham (Garretts Green). The examiner explains the faults marked on your DL25 feedback form and, if you have passed, takes the provisional licence so a full one can be posted out. The pass standard is fixed nationally, 15 driving faults maximum and zero serious or dangerous faults, and 42% of candidates here meet it under current DVSA marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Birmingham (Garretts Green)?
Is Birmingham (Garretts Green) an easy or hard test centre?
How does Birmingham (Garretts Green) compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Birmingham (Garretts Green) each year?
Which driving test centres are near Birmingham (Garretts Green)?
When is the best time to book a test at Birmingham (Garretts Green)?
How do I book a test at Birmingham (Garretts Green) and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Birmingham (Garretts Green)?
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.