Hexham Driving Test Centre
Hexham in Hexham records a 56.7% pass rate against a UK average of 48.7%, with a median wait of 16.9 weeks. This page covers the multi-year trend, the first-time and gender pass rates, and a like-for-like comparison with other centres.
DVSA data last updated September 2026
Hexham sits in the top half of car pass rates nationally (Top 28%, rank #90 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Kelso, about 45.2 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 11.4K passed, 9.9K failed, 21.2K total
How Hexham compares
Hexham runs 8 points ahead of the national average, ranked 90 of 323 in its category. Margins in this range usually track route difficulty: fewer multi-lane roundabouts and less dense traffic.
Where Hexham ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Hexham has given up 3.9 points since 2017-18 (60.6% then, 56.7% now); the low water mark was 56% in 2022-23.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Hexham
Official DVSA data, August 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 Hexham
- 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 NE46 3EW, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Hexham is the DVSA car test centre in Hexham, North East. Examiners drive a mix of the roads immediately surrounding the centre; the DVSA does not publish its test routes. Over 2017-18-2024-25, 21.2K 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.
Rank: #90 of 323. Pass rate: 56.7%. UK average: 48.7%. That's a upper half centre by the DVSA's own published figures. The DVSA's first-attempt figure for Hexham sits at 56.8%, 7.8 points clear of the 49% UK average. The gap is wide enough to matter when you're deciding which local centre to book.
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 Hexham
- Don't read a higher pass rate as a softer test. Hexham'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.
- First-time pass rate of 56.8% at Hexham is on the forgiving side. A well-prepared first booking has a reasonable shot; don't over-correct by booking a "practice" test you don't actually need.
- Practising the roads around the centre is the preparation that most reliably pays off. Most ADI instructors in Hexham will know the road types and junctions learners commonly meet near the centre.
- Don't pay third-party sites for booking access at Hexham. Use gov.uk/book-driving-test directly; cancellations show up on the same booking flow.
Whether you pass at Hexham is not decided by the centre. It is decided by the 15 things an examiner can mark you on, and mirrors, change direction is one of the ones that ends attempts early.
A fair amount of what goes wrong is settled before the engine starts: the documents, the car, the 2 vehicle safety questions and whichever habit you have not drilled, mirrors, change direction being a common one. Working through it as a list beats remembering it in the car park.
Verbalise MSM out loud on every lane change for two full lessons. Slow down the sequence so each step is deliberate, then speed it back up while keeping the order. Free to use, no sign up. Everything for the day itself is on the practical test hub.
Other test centres nearby
You cannot book a practical test at Hexham until you hold a theory pass, and it has to still be valid on the day you sit it. Nationally 44.8% of candidates pass the theory.
Pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and the 2022 hierarchy of road users. All 14 DVSA topics are free to practise, with no sign up. See the theory pass rate by centre or the full practice hub.
On the day at Hexham
Aim to be at Hexham 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 low demand and about 6 to 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. If Durham is fully booked, Hexham is the next closest centre, roughly 25 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; 56.7% of candidates at Hexham currently clear that.
Frequently asked questions
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How does Hexham 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.
DVSA data period: 2024-25.