Ipswich Driving Test Centre
At Ipswich, 63.1% of candidates pass, one of the 323 test centres we rank from the DVSA data. Below you will find the full pass-rate history, the demographic split, the official DVSA waiting time and a comparison with the nearest centres.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Ipswich sits in the top 10% of UK car pass rates nationally (Top 10%, rank #32 of 323). No nearby car centre currently posts a higher pass rate.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 73.8K passed, 56.3K failed, 130.1K total
How Ipswich compares
Ipswich clears the UK average by 14.4 points and sits ranked 32 of 323 in its category. That margin says more about its route mix than about marking, the DVSA standard is identical everywhere.
Where Ipswich ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Ipswich has climbed 3.7 points across the series, 59.4% in 2017-18 to 63.1% now; the weakest year on record was 57.2% in 2019-20.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Ipswich
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 24 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Ipswich in May 2026 had waited 9.2 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 Ipswich
- car
- motorcycle module 1 (off-road)
- 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 IP3 9SW, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Where do you actually take your car test if you book Ipswich? You start in Ipswich, Suffolk, and the examiner takes you through whatever mix of urban and outlying roads sits within a roughly twenty-minute drive of the centre. Volume is not the issue at Ipswich. 130.1K tests sit on the record across 2017-18-2024-25, so the trend line below reflects real movement, not sample noise.
How does Ipswich compare nationally? 63.1% pass rate, #32 of 323 car centres in the DVSA network, 14.4 points clear of the UK average of 48.7%. The top ten percent of the country, in other words. The DVSA's first-attempt figure for Ipswich sits at 64%, 15 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 Ipswich
- Don't read a higher pass rate as a softer test. Ipswich'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 64% at Ipswich 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.
- Ipswich is a high-volume centre. Booking pressure is real, check the DVSA booking service daily for earlier slots rather than relying on the headline available date.
- Practising the roads around the centre is the preparation that most reliably pays off. Most ADI instructors in Ipswich will know the road types and junctions learners commonly meet near the centre.
- 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 Ipswich
Plan to arrive at Ipswich about ten minutes before your slot. Parking varies between DVSA centres, so check the route and the surrounding streets on the DVSA centre finder a day or two ahead. With demand running very high here and waits near 18 to 22 weeks, it is worth holding any earlier cancellation slot you are offered. Bring your provisional photocard licence; the examiner will not start without it, and you will need a roadworthy car with L plates and a working interior mirror. If Clacton-on-Sea is fully booked, Ipswich is the next closest centre, roughly 19 miles away.
Expect about 40 minutes once you set off, to the same national DVSA script. It opens with an eyesight check at 20 metres and one tell-me question, after which the examiner rides along for the drive and asks one show-me question on the move. Around 20 minutes of that is independent driving, guided either by a sat nav the examiner provides or by road signs to a named destination, with one of four set manoeuvres and a one-in-seven chance of an emergency stop. The drive works through whatever mix of urban and outlying roads sits within about a twenty-minute radius, and at a centre this busy that usually means heavier traffic to read. Across DVSA marking nationally, the fault recorded most often on car tests is junctions - observation, worth drilling on the local routes before your date.
The result is given immediately when you get back. Whatever the outcome, the examiner reads through the marked faults and prints your DL25 feedback form; pass and they take the provisional licence to trigger your full one by post. The threshold is the national one, 15 driving faults at most and zero serious or dangerous, which 63.1% of Ipswich's candidates reach right now.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Ipswich?
Is Ipswich an easy or hard test centre?
How does Ipswich compare to the UK average?
How many driving tests does Ipswich record?
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When is the best time to book a test at Ipswich?
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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.