Peterborough Driving Test Centre
The Peterborough driving test centre is located in Peterborough, England (PE1 1XH). 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
5.3K passed, 3.0K failed, 8.2K total
How Peterborough compares
Peterborough 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 Peterborough ranks among 194 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 Peterborough have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Peterborough typically wait around 12 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 Peterborough
- car
- motorcycle module 1 (off-road)
- motorcycle module 2 (on-road)
- 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 PE1 5XA, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
If you've got a test booked at PE1 1XH, that's Peterborough in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Examiners use a small set of fixed routes built around the roads immediately surrounding the centre. 8.2K tests across 2017-18-2024-25. That's a working sample, enough to take the pass rate at face value but not so large that a single quiet quarter passes unnoticed.
Rank: #169 of 194. Pass rate: 63.5%. UK average: 48.7%. That's a bottom quartile centre by the DVSA's own published figures. First-attempt data for Peterborough is missing from the DVSA's DRT122C release. It's not a low number, it's no number, the centre is small enough that DVSA omits it from that particular table.
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 Peterborough
- Above-average pass rate at Peterborough 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.
- Ask any instructor working Peterborough 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.
- Don't pay third-party sites for booking access at Peterborough. Use gov.uk/book-driving-test directly; cancellations show up on the same booking flow.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Peterborough
Plan to arrive at Peterborough 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 PE1 1XH) a day or two ahead. Demand here is moderate with waits around 12 weeks, so there is usually a little more slot choice than at the busiest urban centres. 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.
The practical lasts about 40 minutes and uses the standard DVSA format nationwide. After an eyesight check at 20 metres and one show-me and one tell-me question, the examiner sits in for the drive. Roughly 20 minutes of that is independent driving, either following a sat nav set by the examiner or following road signs, and you will complete one of four set manoeuvres; about one in three tests includes 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 will know the result before you leave Peterborough. The examiner explains the faults marked on your DL25 feedback form and, if you have passed, takes the provisional licence so a full one can be posted out. The pass standard is fixed nationally, 15 driving faults maximum and zero serious or dangerous faults, and 63.5% of candidates here meet it under current DVSA marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Peterborough?
Is Peterborough an easy or hard test centre?
How does Peterborough compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Peterborough each year?
Which driving test centres are near Peterborough?
When is the best time to book a test at Peterborough?
How do I book a test at Peterborough and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Peterborough?
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.