Blackburn with Darwen Driving Test Centre
The Blackburn with Darwen driving test centre is located in Blackburn with Darwen, 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
46.5K passed, 57.6K failed, 104.2K total
How Blackburn with Darwen compares
Blackburn with Darwen sits very close to the UK average, within 1 percentage point.
Where Blackburn with Darwen 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 Blackburn with Darwen have been lengthening as demand outpaces examiner capacity. Booking requires patience: learners booking at Blackburn with Darwen typically wait around 21 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 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 use a small set of fixed routes built around the roads immediately surrounding the centre. 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 driven the local routes specifically.
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 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 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 21 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.
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 pair of vehicle-safety questions, one show-me, one tell-me, then the examiner joins you for the road section. 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 a third of 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 recent DVSA marking, the fault logged most often at this centre 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?
How many tests are taken at Blackburn with Darwen each year?
Which driving test centres are near Blackburn with Darwen?
When is the best time to book a test at Blackburn with Darwen?
How do I book a test at Blackburn with Darwen and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Blackburn with Darwen?
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.