Mallaig Driving Test Centre
The Mallaig driving test centre is located in Mallaig, Scotland (PH41 4QA). 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
301 passed, 127 failed, 428 total
How Mallaig compares
Mallaig 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 Mallaig 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 Mallaig have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is comparatively quick: learners booking at Mallaig typically wait around 4 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 Mallaig
- 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 PH41 4PX, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Where do you actually take your car test if you book Mallaig? You start in Mallaig, Highland (PH41 4QA), and the examiner takes you through whatever mix of urban and outlying roads sits within a roughly twenty-minute drive of the centre. Mallaig is a low-volume centre, 428 tests through 2017-18-2024-25. PassRates aggregates the multi-year total because the per-quarter figures are too noisy to draw conclusions from in isolation.
How does Mallaig compare nationally? 70.3% pass rate, #7 of 323 car centres in the DVSA network, 21.6 points clear of the UK average of 48.7%. The top ten percent of the country, in other words. First-attempt pass rate at Mallaig: 77.1%, against 49% nationally. That's a 28.1-point lead. Well-prepared candidates with no prior test attempts pass here at a noticeably higher rate than the UK average.
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 Mallaig
- Above-average pass rate at Mallaig doesn't mean above-average ease. The fundamentals examiners mark are the same nationally: junctions, mirrors, observation, signal timing. A 65%+ pass rate means more candidates clear those, not that the bar is lower.
- First-time pass rate of 77.1% at Mallaig 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.
- With 428 tests on record at Mallaig, the per-quarter pass rates are noisy. The trend chart on this page is more informative than any specific number from a specific period.
- Practising the test routes is the single thing that most reliably moves a candidate's pass odds. Most ADI instructors in Mallaig will have a working knowledge of which routes Mallaig 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 Mallaig
Aim to be at Mallaig ten minutes early. Because parking and waiting facilities are not the same at every DVSA centre, check the approach on the DVSA centre finder (postcode PH41 4QA) before the day. At low demand and about 4 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 Kyle of Lochalsh is fully booked, Mallaig is the next closest centre, roughly 19 miles away.
Once underway the test takes around 40 minutes and is the same wherever you sit it. The examiner verifies your eyesight at 20 metres, puts one show-me and one tell-me question to you, then accompanies the drive. About 20 minutes is independent driving, sat nav or road signs to a named destination, with one of four set manoeuvres and an emergency stop on roughly one test in three. 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.
Results come immediately on return to the centre. The examiner talks you through any faults marked, prints the DL25 feedback form, and (if you passed) takes your provisional licence so the full one can be issued by post. A pass needs no more than 15 driving faults and zero serious or dangerous faults, the standard 70.3% of candidates at Mallaig meet under current DVSA marking. Candidates on their first attempt clear that bar more often here, 77.1% against the 70.3% overall figure.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Mallaig?
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How does Mallaig 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.