Kettering Driving Test Centre
The Kettering driving test centre is located in Kettering, England (NN15 6NL). 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
55.3K passed, 59.9K failed, 115.2K total
How Kettering compares
Kettering sits close to the UK average pass rate.
Where Kettering ranks among 323 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 Kettering have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Kettering typically wait around 17 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 Kettering
- car
- motorcycle module 1 (off-road)
- motorcycle module 2 (on-road)
- 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 NN15 6NL, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Drivers booked at Kettering report to a DVSA centre in Kettering, North Northamptonshire, postcode NN15 6NL. The car routes used here are drawn from the streets the centre's examiners drive every week, so the test reflects local conditions rather than a generic syllabus. Kettering runs at high cadence: 115.2K tests across 2017-18-2024-25 put it among the busier DVSA centres in the country. The headline numbers carry weight because the sample carries weight.
By raw pass rate Kettering sits at 46%, with the DVSA's national car average over the same window running at 48.7%. The gap (2.7 points below the UK figure) places the centre at rank #257 of 323, inside the bottom quarter of the country's car test centres. First-attempt figure: 46.2%. UK first-attempt average: 49%. Kettering runs 2.8 points behind, candidates who succeed here on the first try are usually the ones who've driven the local routes specifically.
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 Kettering
- Kettering doesn't deviate much from the national curve, so generic preparation advice (mock tests, mirror discipline, junction observation) applies here in the same shape it would anywhere.
- Kettering is a high-volume centre. Booking pressure is real, check the DVSA cancellation feed daily for earlier slots rather than relying on the headline available date.
- Ask any instructor working Kettering 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 DVSA's own cancellation feed is free.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Kettering
Ten minutes early is the right target at Kettering. Parking differs between DVSA centres, so it pays to scout the route on the DVSA centre finder (postcode NN15 6NL) the day before. This centre sees high demand, modelled at roughly 17 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.
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 show-me plus one tell-me question, after which the examiner rides along for the drive. 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-three 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 recent DVSA marking, the fault logged most often at this centre 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 46% of Kettering's candidates reach right now.
Frequently asked questions
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Is Kettering an easy or hard test centre?
How does Kettering 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.