Plymouth Driving Test Centre
The Plymouth driving test centre is located in Plymouth, England. 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
48.5K passed, 68.9K failed, 117.4K total
How Plymouth compares
Plymouth has a slightly tougher pass rate than the UK average. Routes here may be more demanding than rural centres.
Where Plymouth 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 Plymouth have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Plymouth typically wait around 16 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 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 driven the local routes specifically.
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 the actual Plymouth test routes before your date. The difficulty is in the routes, not the marking sheet.
- 38.9% first-time pass at Plymouth means roughly six 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, set up a cancellation alert and check often.
- Practising the test routes is the single thing that most reliably moves a candidate's pass odds. Most ADI instructors in Plymouth will have a working knowledge of which routes Plymouth uses.
- 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 16 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.
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 show-me plus one tell-me question, after which the examiner rides along for the drive. 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-three 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 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 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?
How many tests are taken at Plymouth each year?
Which driving test centres are near Plymouth?
When is the best time to book a test at Plymouth?
How do I book a test at Plymouth and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Plymouth?
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.