Car Test Centre, Scotland

Greenock Driving Test Centre

Car, Cat BGreenockPA15 1LSTougher than average

Greenock in Greenock currently passes 42.4% of tests, 6.3 points below 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.

Pass rate (2024-25)
42.4%
vs 48.7% UK avg
Tests in period
2.0K
2024-25
National rank
#291
of 323 centres
1st-time pass
40.9%
below UK avg

DVSA data last updated July 2026

Compare and decide

Greenock sits in the bottom quarter of car pass rates nationally (Bottom 10%, rank #291 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Rothesay, about 13.8 miles away.

RothesayBest nearby
13.8 mi away
61.6%
+19.2 pp

Pass vs fail at a glance

42.4%passed
failed57.6%

All-time 17.2K passed, 20.3K failed, 37.5K total

How Greenock compares

Greenock
42.4%
UK national average
48.7%
Difference
-6.3 pp

Greenock sits 6.3 points under the national average, ranked 291 of 323 in its category. Routes here are likely more demanding than at rural centres; extra time on the local roads pays back directly.

Where Greenock ranks among 323 centres

Bottom 10%
Greenock sits in the bottom quarter of car pass rates
Rank
#291
BestMedianHardest

Pass-rate trend by year

Stability is the story at Greenock: 43.2% in 2017-18, 42.4% now, and every year in between inside a 2.7-point band.

Pass rate by demographic

Male vs female pass rate gap 2.9 pp
Male47.3%
0%UK avg 52.0%100%
Female44.4%
0%UK avg 48.0%100%
Zero faults0.6%
80 candidates have passed without a single recorded fault across all DVSA periods

Waiting time at Greenock

Median wait, booking to test
6 weeks
What the typical learner who tested here had waited
Weeks to 10% availability
24 weeks
The older headline measure
Window appointments free
4.3%
Share of the 24-week window still open

The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 24 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Greenock in May 2026 had waited 6 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

19A Union Street
Greenock
PA16 8DD
Scotland

Source: DVSA find a driving test centre (Open Government Licence v3.0), captured 2026-05-12.

Tests offered at Greenock

  • car

Accessibility & facilities

Wheelchair accessible per DVSA

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 PA16 8DD, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.

About this test centre

Greenock sits in Greenock, Inverclyde, just inside the PA15 1LS postcode. It's a DVSA-run car test centre, and the routes from here work outward into the streets and arterial roads that learners from Greenock tend to know already. Sample size: 37.5K tests over 2017-18-2024-25. Enough that comparisons hold up; small enough that a quiet month or a route being temporarily diverted can show in the data.

42.4% at Greenock, against a UK car average of 48.7%. That puts the centre 6.3 points below the national figure and ranks it #291 of 323 car centres in the DVSA's network. Across 941 first attempts, the pass rate at Greenock is 40.9%, against 49% nationally. Booking your first test here is doable, but it's worth a few lessons around the centre before the date.

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.

Country
Scotland
Test category
Car

What learners should know about Greenock

  • A lower pass rate at Greenock usually means specific local junctions or road types that catch out candidates trained elsewhere. Book local-area familiarisation lessons with an instructor who works this centre, not one who covers a different patch.
  • Ask any instructor working Greenock 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.
  • 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 Greenock

Turn up at Greenock ten minutes before your appointment, and check ahead where you can park, DVSA sites vary on that. You can preview the location on the DVSA centre finder (postcode PA15 1LS). At moderate demand and roughly 8 to 12 weeks' wait, getting a date that works for you is usually straightforward. The examiner will ask to see your provisional photocard licence before anything else, and your car must carry L plates and a working interior mirror. If Dunoon is fully booked, Greenock is the next closest centre, roughly 7 miles away.

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 you a tell-me safety question, then sits in for the drive, with one show-me question while you are driving. 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 seven 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 DVSA marking nationally, the fault recorded most often on car tests is junctions - observation, worth drilling on the local routes before your date.

You will know the result before you leave Greenock. The examiner explains the faults marked on your DL25 feedback form and, if you have passed, takes the provisional licence so a full one can be posted out. The pass standard is fixed nationally, 15 driving faults maximum and zero serious or dangerous faults, and 42.4% of candidates here meet it under current DVSA marking.

Frequently asked questions

What is the pass rate at Greenock?
The current pass rate at Greenock driving test centre is 42.4%, calculated from 2.0K tests in 2024-25. The first-time pass rate, candidates passing on their initial attempt, is 40.9%. Across all DVSA reporting periods on record, the lifetime average is 45.8% (from 37.5K tests).
Is Greenock an easy or hard test centre?
Greenock is ranked #291 of 323 UK car test centres by pass rate, placing it in the bottom quarter of car pass rates nationally. Its pass rate of 42.4% compares to a UK average of 48.7%. Centres with calmer suburban or rural routes tend to sit higher, while busy urban sites with tight junctions and multi-lane roundabouts usually sit lower.
How does Greenock compare to the UK average?
Greenock's pass rate is 6.3 percentage points below the UK national average of 48.7%. Greenock sits 6.3 points under the national average, ranked 291 of 323 in its category. Routes here are likely more demanding than at rural centres; extra time on the local roads pays back directly.
How many driving tests does Greenock record?
Greenock has recorded 37.5K tests in the available DVSA data, of which 17.2K passed and 20.3K failed. The yearly trend chart on this page shows how volume and pass rate have moved across recent reporting periods.
Which driving test centres are near Greenock?
The closest DVSA test centres to Greenock are Dunoon (57.8%), Dumbarton (53.5%), Rothesay (61.6%) and Irvine (49.2%). Of these, Dunoon, Dumbarton, Rothesay, Irvine have higher current pass rates than Greenock's 42.4%. You can compare every nearby centre in the "Other test centres nearby" section above, or see them all on the interactive PassRates map.
When is the best time to book a test at Greenock?
Greenock currently sees moderate demand with an estimated wait of about 8 to 12 weeks. Across the UK, waits tend to ease in November, December, January, when fewer learners are booking, and peak in June, July, August. A flexible test date helps: booking into a quieter month often shortens the wait and opens up more available slots. Always confirm live availability on the DVSA booking service.
How do I book a test at Greenock and what do I need?
Book your practical test through the official DVSA service at gov.uk/book-driving-test, then choose Greenock as your centre. You will need your provisional licence number and your theory test pass certificate number. To pass, you must finish with no more than 15 driving (minor) faults and zero serious or dangerous faults. Our guides cover how to book step by step and how faults are marked.
How long is the wait for a driving test at Greenock?
In the latest DVSA figures (May 2026), the median learner who took their test at Greenock had waited about 6 weeks between booking and test day. DVSA's older measure, the number of weeks until at least 10% of slots are free, was 24 weeks. About 4.3% of appointments in the 24-week booking window were still available. For live availability, check the official DVSA booking service.
Source

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.