Blackburn with Darwen Driving Test Centre
Blackburn with Darwen posts a 47.8% pass rate, with Bolton (Manchester) the nearest alternative about 9 miles away. Read on for its full DVSA history, first-time pass rate, waiting time and demographic breakdown.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Blackburn with Darwen sits in the bottom half of car pass rates nationally (Bottom 31%, rank #225 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Bolton (Manchester), about 9.4 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 46.5K passed, 57.6K failed, 104.2K total
How Blackburn with Darwen compares
Statistically Blackburn with Darwen is about as neutral as a venue gets, under a point from the national average and ranked 225 of 323 in its category. Preparation, not postcode, decides the outcome here.
Where Blackburn with Darwen ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Blackburn with Darwen has climbed 5.5 points across the series, 42.3% in 2017-18 to 47.8% now; the weakest year on record was 42.3% in 2017-18.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Blackburn with Darwen
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 21.8 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Blackburn with Darwen in May 2026 had waited 7.6 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 Blackburn with Darwen
- car
- motorcycle module 1 (off-road)
- motorcycle module 2 (on-road)
- ADI part 3
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 BB3 0DB, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Blackburn with Darwen is the DVSA car test centre in Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire. Examiners drive a mix of the roads immediately surrounding the centre; the DVSA does not publish its test routes. 104.2K tests over 2017-18-2024-25. That's enough volume that the headline pass rate here moves slowly, a single bad quarter shifts it by a fraction of a percentage point rather than visibly.
Rank: #225 of 323. Pass rate: 47.8%. UK average: 48.7%. That's a lower half centre by the DVSA's own published figures. First-attempt figure: 46.1%. UK first-attempt average: 49%. Blackburn with Darwen runs 2.9 points behind, candidates who succeed here on the first try are usually the ones who've practised the local road mix.
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 Blackburn with Darwen
- Pass rate at Blackburn with Darwen 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.
- Volume at Blackburn with Darwen 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 Blackburn with Darwen area. Local instructors know which nearby junctions are demanding and will drill them.
- Don't pay third-party sites for booking access at Blackburn with Darwen. Use gov.uk/book-driving-test directly; cancellations show up on the same booking flow.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Blackburn with Darwen
Plan to arrive at Blackburn with Darwen 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 18 to 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. If Bolton (Manchester) is fully booked, Blackburn with Darwen is the next closest centre, roughly 9 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.
There is no wait for the verdict, the examiner delivers it at the centre. They go over each fault recorded, hand you the DL25 feedback form, and on a pass retain your provisional licence so the full version arrives by post. To pass you need no more than 15 driving faults and not a single serious or dangerous one; 47.8% of candidates at Blackburn with Darwen currently clear that.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Blackburn with Darwen?
Is Blackburn with Darwen an easy or hard test centre?
How does Blackburn with Darwen 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.