Paisley Driving Test Centre
Paisley posts a 46.6% pass rate, with Glasgow (Shieldhall) the nearest alternative about 3 miles away. Read on for its full DVSA history, first-time pass rate, waiting time and demographic breakdown.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Paisley sits in the bottom quarter of car pass rates nationally (Bottom 24%, rank #246 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Dumbarton, about 8.8 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 45.3K passed, 57.2K failed, 102.6K total
How Paisley compares
Paisley is 2.1 points behind the national figure and ranked 246 of 323 in its category, a difference most candidates will not feel on the day.
Where Paisley ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Year-to-year volatility is the story at Paisley: 9.3 points separate 2021-22 (54.7%) from 2019-20 (45.4%), even though the endpoints nearly match.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Paisley
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 24 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Paisley in May 2026 had waited 11.7 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 Paisley
- car
- ADI3/SC
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 PA1 2FB, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
If you've got a test booked at PA1 1DG, that's Paisley in Paisley, Renfrewshire. Examiners drive a mix of the roads immediately surrounding the centre; the DVSA does not publish its test routes. Paisley runs at high volume: 102.6K 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.
Rank: #246 of 323. Pass rate: 46.6%. UK average: 48.7%. That's a bottom quartile centre by the DVSA's own published figures. First-attempt figure: 45.9%. UK first-attempt average: 49%. Paisley runs 3.1 points behind, candidates who succeed here on the first try are usually the ones who've practised the local road mix.
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 Paisley
- Centre difficulty is roughly average at Paisley. The same fault categories that fail candidates nationally (junctions, mirrors, observation) are what fail candidates here, in similar proportions.
- Paisley 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.
- If you can, take at least one lesson with an instructor who specifically works the Paisley area. Local instructors know which nearby junctions are demanding and will drill them.
- Don't pay third-party sites for booking access at Paisley. Use gov.uk/book-driving-test directly; cancellations show up on the same booking flow.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Paisley
Plan to arrive at Paisley about ten minutes before your slot. Parking varies between DVSA centres, so check the route and the surrounding streets on the DVSA centre finder (postcode PA1 1DG) a day or two ahead. With demand running high here and waits near 12 to 16 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 Glasgow (Shieldhall) is fully booked, Paisley is the next closest centre, roughly 3 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 tell-me question to you, then accompanies the drive and asks one show-me question while you are driving. About 20 minutes is independent driving, sat nav or road signs to a named destination, with one of the set manoeuvres and an emergency stop on roughly one test in seven. 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.
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 46.6% of candidates at Paisley meet under current DVSA marking.
Frequently asked questions
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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.