Plymouth Driving Test Centre
At Plymouth, 40.8% of candidates pass, one of the 323 test centres we rank from the DVSA data. Below you will find the full pass-rate history, the demographic split, the official DVSA waiting time and a comparison with the nearest centres.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Plymouth sits in the bottom quarter of car pass rates nationally (Bottom 7%, rank #301 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Barnstaple, about 49.2 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 48.5K passed, 68.9K failed, 117.4K total
How Plymouth compares
At 7.9 points below the UK figure (ranked 301 of 323 in its category), Plymouth is on the harder side without being extreme; familiarity with the local junctions closes much of the gap.
Where Plymouth ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
The series at Plymouth is remarkably flat, moving only from 40.5% (2017-18) to 40.8% now, with a total spread of 6.9 points.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Plymouth
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 19.8 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Plymouth in May 2026 had waited 6.4 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 Plymouth
- 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 PL5 2EY, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Plymouth: a DVSA car test centre in Plymouth. Local routes, local traffic patterns, no national standard for what "harder" or "easier" looks like beyond what the numbers below show. If you're cross-checking this pass rate against other sources, the sample size matters. 117.4K tests over 2017-18-2024-25 is large enough that any rounding you see between sites is just rounding, not disagreement on the underlying data.
The bottom quarter of the UK by pass rate: Plymouth ranks #301 of 323 car centres at 40.8%, 7.9 points below the national figure of 48.7%. First-attempt figure: 38.9%. UK first-attempt average: 49%. Plymouth runs 10.1 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 Plymouth
- Plymouth runs a tougher-than-average pass rate. If you've trained somewhere quieter, take at least 2-3 lessons on Plymouth test-area roads before your date. The difficulty is in the road mix, not the marking sheet.
- 38.9% first-time pass at Plymouth means roughly 6 in ten first-timers fail and rebook. Plan for that possibility: keep your insurance going, don't return the L-plates after the test.
- 117.4K tests through this centre over the published window. At that throughput, competition for short-notice slots is constant, so make a habit of checking the official booking page often.
- Practising the roads around the centre is the preparation that most reliably pays off. Most ADI instructors in Plymouth will know the road types and junctions learners commonly meet near the centre.
- 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 Plymouth
Arrive at Plymouth with about ten minutes to spare and know your parking options in advance, they vary site to site across the DVSA network. The DVSA centre finder maps the centre and its surroundings. With high demand and waits near 15 to 19 weeks, take any earlier slot the booking service offers rather than holding out. Don't set off without your provisional photocard licence; the test cannot start without it, and your car needs L plates and a working interior mirror. If Norris Green (Liverpool) is fully booked, Plymouth is the next closest centre, roughly 10 miles away.
Expect about 40 minutes once you set off, to the same national DVSA script. It opens with an eyesight check at 20 metres and one tell-me question, after which the examiner rides along for the drive and asks one show-me question on the move. Around 20 minutes of that is independent driving, guided either by a sat nav the examiner provides or by road signs to a named destination, with one of four set manoeuvres and a one-in-seven chance of an emergency stop. 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 40.8% of candidates at Plymouth meet under current DVSA marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Plymouth?
Is Plymouth an easy or hard test centre?
How does Plymouth 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.