Peterhead Driving Test Centre
The Peterhead driving test centre is located in Peterhead, Scotland (AB42 1ZP). 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
11.4K passed, 7.7K failed, 19.1K total
How Peterhead compares
Peterhead performs notably better than the UK average. This often correlates with rural or suburban routes that have fewer multi-lane roundabouts and complex urban scenarios.
Where Peterhead 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 Peterhead have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is comparatively quick: learners booking at Peterhead typically wait around 9 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 Peterhead
- 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 AB42 3AW, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Peterhead sits in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, just inside the AB42 1ZP postcode. It's a DVSA-run car test centre, and the routes from here work outward into the streets and arterial roads that learners from Peterhead tend to know already. Peterhead sees moderate volume: 19.1K practical tests through 2017-18-2024-25. Year-on-year percentages here are meaningful, but watch the trend line rather than fixating on any single period.
57.8% at Peterhead, against a UK car average of 48.7%. That puts the centre 9.1 points clear of the national figure and ranks it #75 of 323 car centres in the DVSA's network. 58.7% of first-timers pass at Peterhead, 9.7 points above the UK figure of 49%. A prepared first attempt has a real shot here in a way it doesn't at every centre.
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 Peterhead
- Above-average pass rate at Peterhead 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.
- 58.7% of first-timers pass at Peterhead. If your instructor is signing you off as test-ready, that figure is a fair guide, the centre isn't the variable, your preparation is.
- If you can, take at least one lesson with an instructor who specifically works the Peterhead routes. Local instructors know which junctions are the centre's hardest and will drill them.
- The only legitimate booking route is gov.uk. Anything calling itself a "test booking concierge" is reselling the same slots at a markup, the slots aren't theirs to control.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Peterhead
Give yourself ten minutes in hand when you head to Peterhead, and look up where to park beforehand, facilities differ from one DVSA site to the next. The DVSA centre finder (postcode AB42 1ZP) shows the exact location. Modelled waits here sit around 9 weeks at moderate demand, which tends to mean less competition for a date that suits you. You must have your provisional photocard licence on you, plus a car with L plates and a working interior mirror for the examiner.
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 will know the result before you leave Peterhead. 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 57.8% of candidates here meet it under current DVSA marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Peterhead?
Is Peterhead an easy or hard test centre?
How does Peterhead compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Peterhead each year?
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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.