Blackpool Driving Test Centre
At Blackpool, 49.6% of candidates pass, one of the 323 test centres we rank from the DVSA data. Below you will find the full pass-rate history, the demographic split, the official DVSA waiting time and a comparison with the nearest centres.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Blackpool sits in the bottom half of car pass rates nationally (Bottom 43%, rank #184 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Barrow In Furness, about 22.6 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 55.1K passed, 63.0K failed, 118.1K total
How Blackpool compares
With a gap of under one point to the national average, Blackpool (ranked 184 of 323 in its category) neither helps nor hurts; treat any difference you have heard about as noise.
Where Blackpool ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
The direction of travel here is upward: Blackpool has added 4 points since 2017-18, from 45.6% to 49.6%, with its strongest year at 49.6% in 2024-25.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Blackpool
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 18.5 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Blackpool in May 2026 had waited 10 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 Blackpool
- 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 FY4 2DP, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Drivers booked at Blackpool report to a DVSA centre in Blackpool, Lancashire, postcode FY1 1DL. The car 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. 118.1K 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.
By raw pass rate Blackpool sits at 49.6%, with the DVSA's national car average over the same window running at 48.7%. The gap (within a point of the UK figure) places the centre at rank #184 of 323, inside the lower half of the country's car test centres. 3.0K first-attempt tests, 47.4% pass rate, against a UK average of 49%. Blackpool doesn't favour or punish first-timers relative to the national pattern.
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 Blackpool
- Blackpool doesn't deviate much from the national curve, so generic preparation advice (mock tests, mirror discipline, junction observation) applies here in the same shape it would anywhere.
- Volume at Blackpool 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.
- Practising the roads around the centre is the preparation that most reliably pays off. Most ADI instructors in Blackpool will know the road types and junctions learners commonly meet near the centre.
- Book through the official DVSA service (gov.uk/book-driving-test). Third-party "fast-track" sites charge a premium for the same booking; the official DVSA booking service is free.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Blackpool
Plan to arrive at Blackpool about ten minutes before your slot. Parking varies between DVSA centres, so check the route and the surrounding streets on the DVSA centre finder (postcode FY1 1DL) 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 Southport (Liverpool) is fully booked, Blackpool is the next closest centre, roughly 12 miles away.
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 tell-me question to you, then accompanies the drive and asks one show-me question while you are driving. About 20 minutes is independent driving, sat nav or road signs to a named destination, with one of the set manoeuvres and an emergency stop on roughly one test in seven. 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.
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 49.6% of candidates at Blackpool meet under current DVSA marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Blackpool?
Is Blackpool an easy or hard test centre?
How does Blackpool compare to the UK average?
How many driving tests does Blackpool record?
Which driving test centres are near Blackpool?
When is the best time to book a test at Blackpool?
How do I book a test at Blackpool and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Blackpool?
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.