Durham LGV Driving Test Centre
The Durham LGV driving test centre is located in County Durham, 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
435 passed, 269 failed, 704 total
How Durham LGV compares
Durham LGV performs well above the UK average. Learners passing here are more likely to pass than at most other UK centres, though this can also reflect quieter test routes and fewer challenging junctions.
Where Durham LGV ranks among 152 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 Durham LGV have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Durham LGV typically wait around 10 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 Durham LGV
- HGV/LGV
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 DH7 8XQ, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Durham LGV is in County Durham, North East and runs DVSA hgv/lgv tests for learners across the local area. The routes are the same fixed set every day; your examiner picks one without telling you which. 704 tests across 2024-25-2024-25. That's a small sample, and the single-period rates you'll see in the chart can swing wildly without much underlying change. The multi-year roll-up is the only stable read.
Out of 152 UK hgv/lgv test centres, Durham LGV ranks 70, which lands it in the upper half nationally. The 61.8% pass rate is 13.1 points clear of the UK figure of 48.7%. For Durham LGV the DVSA suppresses first-attempt figures in DRT122C. Smaller centres get rolled up; this is one of them. The overall pass rate above is the only published 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 Durham LGV
- Above-average pass rate at Durham LGV 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.
- With 704 tests on record at Durham LGV, the per-quarter pass rates are noisy. The trend chart on this page is more informative than any specific number from a specific period.
- Ask any instructor working Durham LGV about the centre's "usual fails", they'll have two or three specific junctions or manoeuvres in mind. Practise those until they're automatic before your date.
- Don't pay third-party sites for booking access at Durham LGV. Use gov.uk/book-driving-test directly; cancellations show up on the same booking flow.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Durham LGV
Aim to be at Durham LGV ten minutes early. Because parking and waiting facilities are not the same at every DVSA centre, check the approach on the DVSA centre finder before the day. At moderate demand and about 10 weeks' wait, securing a convenient date here is usually less of a scramble. The examiner needs to see your provisional photocard licence to begin, and the car you bring must be roadworthy, fitted with L plates and a working interior mirror.
The test runs for around 40 minutes and follows the same DVSA format used at every centre. The examiner checks your eyesight at 20 metres, asks one show-me and one tell-me question, then sits in for the drive. About 20 minutes of it is independent driving, either following a sat nav the examiner sets up or following road signs to a named place. You will do one of four set manoeuvres, and roughly one in three candidates is asked to perform an emergency stop. The drive covers the local mix of road types within roughly a twenty-minute radius of the centre. 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 find out there and then, back at Durham LGV. The examiner runs through the faults on the DL25 feedback form and, on a pass, keeps your provisional licence so a full licence follows in the post. Clearing the test means staying under 16 driving faults, that is 15 or fewer, with no serious or dangerous fault; 61.8% of candidates here manage it on the current marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Durham LGV?
Is Durham LGV an easy or hard test centre?
How does Durham LGV compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Durham LGV each year?
Which driving test centres are near Durham LGV?
When is the best time to book a test at Durham LGV?
How do I book a test at Durham LGV and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Durham LGV?
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.