Grimsby Coldwater Driving Test Centre
Grimsby Coldwater posts a 42.7% pass rate, with Louth the nearest alternative about 15 miles away. Read on for its full DVSA history, first-time pass rate, waiting time and demographic breakdown.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Grimsby Coldwater sits in the bottom quarter of car pass rates nationally (Bottom 11%, rank #290 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Bridlington, about 34.8 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 19.4K passed, 26.3K failed, 45.7K total
How Grimsby Coldwater compares
Grimsby Coldwater gives up 6 points to the national average and is ranked 290 of 323 in its category; treat that as a route-difficulty signal, not a verdict on your chances.
Where Grimsby Coldwater ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
The series at Grimsby Coldwater is remarkably flat, moving only from 45.4% (2017-18) to 42.7% now, with a total spread of 6.5 points.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Grimsby Coldwater
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 24 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Grimsby Coldwater in May 2026 had waited 7.9 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 Grimsby Coldwater
- car
- motorcycle module 2 (on-road)
- lorry and bus
- 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 DN31 2TB, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Where do you actually take your car test if you book Grimsby Coldwater? You start in Great Coates, Greater Lincolnshire (DN31 2TB), and the examiner takes you through whatever mix of urban and outlying roads sits within a roughly twenty-minute drive of the centre. Over 2017-18-2024-25, 45.7K candidates sat tests here. The figures are statistically usable for centre-to-centre comparisons, which is most of what people land on this page wanting to do.
How does Grimsby Coldwater compare nationally? 42.7% pass rate, #290 of 323 car centres in the DVSA network, 6 points below the UK average of 48.7%. The bottom quarter of the country, in other words. Across 2.4K first attempts, the pass rate at Grimsby Coldwater is 41.6%, 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.
What learners should know about Grimsby Coldwater
- A lower pass rate at Grimsby Coldwater 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 Grimsby Coldwater 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.
- 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 Grimsby Coldwater
Ten minutes early is the right target at Grimsby Coldwater. Parking differs between DVSA centres, so it pays to scout the route on the DVSA centre finder (postcode DN31 2TB) the day before. This centre sees high demand, modelled at roughly 14 to 18 weeks to a slot; booking well ahead and watching for cancellations both help. Bring the provisional photocard licence, the examiner checks for it first, and make sure your car is roadworthy with L plates and a working interior mirror. If Louth is fully booked, Grimsby Coldwater is the next closest centre, roughly 15 miles away.
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 tell-me vehicle-safety question, then the examiner joins you for the road section, with one show-me question while you drive. 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 one in seven candidates get 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.
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; 42.7% of candidates at Grimsby Coldwater currently clear that.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Grimsby Coldwater?
Is Grimsby Coldwater an easy or hard test centre?
How does Grimsby Coldwater compare to the UK average?
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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.