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
7.6K passed, 2.8K failed, 10.5K total
How Plymouth compares
Plymouth 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 Plymouth ranks among 80 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 10 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
Of the DVSA motorcycle module 1 centres across England, Plymouth is the one covering Plymouth. The routes are built around the roads the centre's examiners can reach inside the test's time budget. Across 2017-18-2024-25 the DVSA recorded 10.5K tests at Plymouth. A solid mid-range sample, the data is reliable enough that the rank position below isn't an artefact of small numbers.
If you've been told Plymouth is "an easy centre" or "a hard one", the data won't fully back that. 76.5% is 27.8 points clear of the UK motorcycle module 1 average of 48.7%, which is rank #27 out of 80. First-attempt data for Plymouth 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 Plymouth
- Above-average pass rate at Plymouth 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.
- 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.
- If you missed the earlier slots at Plymouth, the DVSA's official cancellation pool refreshes constantly. Check at off-peak times (early morning, late evening) for better odds.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Plymouth
Turn up at Plymouth ten minutes before your appointment, and check ahead where you can park, DVSA sites vary on that. You can preview the location on the DVSA centre finder. At moderate demand and roughly 10 weeks' wait, getting a date that works for you is usually straightforward. The examiner will ask to see your provisional photocard licence before anything else, and your car must carry 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 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.
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 76.5% 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.