Salisbury Driving Test Centre
Salisbury in Salisbury records a 52.5% pass rate against a UK average of 48.7%, with a median wait of 3.4 weeks. This page covers the multi-year trend, the first-time and gender pass rates, and a like-for-like comparison with other centres.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Salisbury sits in the top half of car pass rates nationally (Top 39%, rank #125 of 323). No nearby car centre currently posts a higher pass rate.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 33.7K passed, 30.3K failed, 64.1K total
How Salisbury compares
The 3.8-point advantage at Salisbury (ranked 125 of 323 in its category) is worth having but not decisive; a well-prepared candidate passes at either kind of centre.
Where Salisbury ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Salisbury ends the series about where it started, yet the spread between 2020-21 (75%) and 2017-18 (52.3%) runs to 22.7 points; read a single year here with caution.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Salisbury
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 24 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Salisbury in May 2026 had waited 3.4 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 Salisbury
- car
- motorcycle module 2 (on-road)
- 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 SP1 1LY, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Salisbury: a DVSA car test centre in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Local routes, local traffic patterns, no national standard for what "harder" or "easier" looks like beyond what the numbers below show. The DVSA has logged 64.1K tests at this centre over 2017-18-2024-25. At that scale, the year-on-year shifts you see in the chart correspond to genuine changes in how the centre is performing, not statistical wobble.
The upper half of the UK by pass rate: Salisbury ranks #125 of 323 car centres at 52.5%, 3.8 points above the national figure of 48.7%. First-attempt pass rate at Salisbury: 53.6%, against 49% nationally. That's a 4.6-point lead. Well-prepared candidates with no prior test attempts pass here at a noticeably higher rate than the UK average.
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 Salisbury
- Pass rate at Salisbury sits close to the UK average. Prepare for an ordinary level of difficulty: examiners apply the standard DVSA marking sheet, and the routes are a representative mix of local conditions.
- 64.1K 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.
- If you can, take at least one lesson with an instructor who specifically works the Salisbury area. Local instructors know which nearby junctions are demanding 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 Salisbury
Arrive at Salisbury 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 Poole is fully booked, Salisbury is the next closest centre, roughly 24 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 52.5% of candidates at Salisbury meet under current DVSA marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Salisbury?
Is Salisbury an easy or hard test centre?
How does Salisbury compare to the UK average?
How many driving tests does Salisbury record?
Which driving test centres are near Salisbury?
When is the best time to book a test at Salisbury?
How do I book a test at Salisbury and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Salisbury?
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.