Duns Driving Test Centre
Duns in Duns currently passes 62.2% of tests, 13.5 points above the UK average of 48.7%. The sections below cover the year-by-year trend, who passes most often, how long learners wait, and how it stacks up against neighbouring centres.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Duns sits in the top quarter of car pass rates nationally (Top 12%, rank #38 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Hawick, about 30.0 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 1.3K passed, 796 failed, 2.1K total
How Duns compares
A 13.5-point lead over the national figure puts Duns ranked 38 of 323 in its category. Gaps this large usually come from the roads, not the examiners: fewer complex junctions and lighter traffic on the local routes.
Where Duns ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Year-to-year volatility is the story at Duns: 12.6 points separate 2020-21 (80%) from 2023-24 (67.4%), even though the endpoints nearly match.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Duns
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 13.5 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Duns in May 2026 had waited 20.9 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 Duns
- 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 TD11 3AU, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Of the DVSA car centres across Scotland, Duns is the one covering Duns, Berwickshire and the surrounding TD11 3BY area. The routes are built around the roads the centre's examiners can reach inside the test's time budget. Across 2017-18-2024-25 the centre handled 2.1K tests, a modest sample. The aggregated multi-year figure on this page is the most reliable read; quarterly swings deserve more skepticism here than at a high-volume centre.
If you've been told Duns is "an easy centre" or "a hard one", the data won't fully back that. 62.2% is 13.5 points clear of the UK car average of 48.7%, which is rank #38 out of 323. 63% of first-timers pass at Duns, 14 points above the UK figure of 49%. A prepared first attempt has a real shot here in a way it doesn't at every 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 Duns
- Above-average pass rate at Duns 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.
- 63% of first-timers pass at Duns, so the centre is on the forgiving side. If your instructor is signing you off as test-ready, your own preparation matters far more than the venue.
- Practising the roads around the centre is the preparation that most reliably pays off. Most ADI instructors in Duns will know the road types and junctions learners commonly meet near the centre.
- If you missed the earlier slots at Duns, cancellations appear on the official DVSA booking service throughout the day. Check at off-peak times (early morning, late evening) for the best chance of catching one.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Duns
Arrive at Duns with about ten minutes to spare and know your parking options in advance, they vary site to site across the DVSA network. The DVSA centre finder (postcode TD11 3BY) maps the centre and its surroundings. Waits here run around 4 to 8 weeks at low demand, so you can usually pick a date without a long wait. Don't set off without your provisional photocard licence; the test cannot start without it, and your car needs L plates and a working interior mirror. If Kelso is fully booked, Duns is the next closest centre, roughly 13 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 covers the local mix of road types within roughly a twenty-minute radius of the centre. 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; 62.2% of candidates at Duns currently clear that.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Duns?
Is Duns an easy or hard test centre?
How does Duns compare to the UK average?
How many driving tests does Duns record?
Which driving test centres are near Duns?
When is the best time to book a test at Duns?
How do I book a test at Duns and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Duns?
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.