Gateshead Driving Test Centre
The Gateshead driving test centre is located in Gateshead, 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
15.3K passed, 6.2K failed, 21.6K total
How Gateshead compares
Gateshead 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 Gateshead ranks among 80 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 Gateshead have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Gateshead 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 Gateshead
- car
- motorcycle module 1 (off-road)
- motorcycle module 2 (on-road)
- ADI part 2
- 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 NE11 9HU, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Gateshead: a DVSA motorcycle module 1 test centre in Gateshead, North East. Local routes, local traffic patterns, no national standard for what "harder" or "easier" looks like beyond what the numbers below show. Across 2017-18-2024-25 the DVSA recorded 21.6K tests at Gateshead. A solid mid-range sample, the data is reliable enough that the rank position below isn't an artefact of small numbers.
The upper half of the UK by pass rate: Gateshead ranks #37 of 80 motorcycle module 1 centres at 70.9%, 22.2 points clear of the national figure of 48.7%. First-attempt data for Gateshead is missing from the DVSA's DRT122C release. It's not a low number, it's no number, the centre is small enough that DVSA omits it from that particular table.
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 Gateshead
- Don't read a higher pass rate as a softer test. Gateshead's rate reflects route geography more than examiner discretion, DVSA marking is centrally trained. Prepare for the same fault categories you'd prepare for anywhere.
- Practising the test routes is the single thing that most reliably moves a candidate's pass odds. Most ADI instructors in Gateshead will have a working knowledge of which routes Gateshead uses.
- The only legitimate booking route is gov.uk. Anything calling itself a "test booking concierge" is reselling the same slots at a markup, the slots aren't theirs to control.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Gateshead
Arrive at Gateshead 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 maps the centre and its surroundings. Waits here run around 10 weeks at moderate 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.
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 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 Gateshead. 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; 70.9% of candidates here manage it on the current marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Gateshead?
Is Gateshead an easy or hard test centre?
How does Gateshead compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Gateshead each year?
Which driving test centres are near Gateshead?
When is the best time to book a test at Gateshead?
How do I book a test at Gateshead and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Gateshead?
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.