Lerwick Driving Test Centre
The Lerwick driving test centre is located in Lerwick, Scotland. 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
4.2K passed, 2.0K failed, 6.2K total
How Lerwick compares
Lerwick performs well above the UK average. Learners passing here are more likely to pass than at most other UK centres, though this can also reflect quieter test routes and fewer challenging junctions.
Where Lerwick 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 Lerwick have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is comparatively quick: learners booking at Lerwick typically wait around 5 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
Accessibility & facilities
Parking, toilets, and disabled-access details vary by centre. Check the official DVSA find a driving test centre tool, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Drivers booked at Lerwick report to a DVSA centre in Lerwick, Shetland Islands. 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. 6.2K tests through 2017-18-2024-25 puts Lerwick in the comfortable middle of the volume distribution. The pass rate moves with real signal, not noise.
By raw pass rate Lerwick sits at 67.4%, with the DVSA's national car average over the same window running at 48.7%. The gap (18.7 points clear of the UK figure) places the centre at rank #16 of 323, inside the top ten percent of the country's car test centres. Across 760 first-attempt tests, Lerwick passes 67.5% of candidates, against 49% nationally. The centre is a relatively forgiving venue for a first booking, by the DVSA's own data.
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 Lerwick
- Lerwick passes higher than the UK average, but the marking sheet is identical to every other DVSA centre. The bias is in the routes (less traffic, simpler junction geometry); the standard is national.
- First-time pass rate of 67.5% at Lerwick 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 test routes is the single thing that most reliably moves a candidate's pass odds. Most ADI instructors in Lerwick will have a working knowledge of which routes Lerwick uses.
- 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 Lerwick
Aim to be at Lerwick 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 5 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.
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 one show-me and one tell-me question, then sits in for the drive. 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 three 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 recent DVSA marking, the fault logged most often at this centre is junctions - observation, worth drilling on the local routes before your date.
You find out there and then, back at Lerwick. The examiner runs through the faults on the DL25 feedback form and, on a pass, keeps your provisional licence so a full licence follows in the post. Clearing the test means staying under 16 driving faults, that is 15 or fewer, with no serious or dangerous fault; 67.4% of candidates here manage it on the current marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Lerwick?
Is Lerwick an easy or hard test centre?
How does Lerwick compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Lerwick each year?
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When is the best time to book a test at Lerwick?
How do I book a test at Lerwick and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Lerwick?
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.