Scarborough Driving Test Centre
The Scarborough driving test centre is located in Scarborough, England (YO11 1LP). 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
18.8K passed, 16.7K failed, 35.6K total
How Scarborough compares
Scarborough 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 Scarborough 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 Scarborough have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Scarborough typically wait around 13 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 Scarborough
- 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 YO12 4AY, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
If you've got a test booked at YO11 1LP, that's Scarborough in Scarborough, York and North Yorkshire. Examiners use a small set of fixed routes built around the roads immediately surrounding the centre. 35.6K tests across 2017-18-2024-25. That's a working sample, enough to take the pass rate at face value but not so large that a single quiet quarter passes unnoticed.
Rank: #140 of 323. Pass rate: 51.7%. UK average: 48.7%. That's a upper half centre by the DVSA's own published figures. 51.4% of first-timers pass at Scarborough, 2.4 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 Scarborough
- Scarborough doesn't deviate much from the national curve, so generic preparation advice (mock tests, mirror discipline, junction observation) applies here in the same shape it would anywhere.
- If you can, take at least one lesson with an instructor who specifically works the Scarborough routes. Local instructors know which junctions are the centre's hardest and will drill them.
- Don't pay third-party sites for booking access at Scarborough. Use gov.uk/book-driving-test directly; cancellations show up on the same booking flow.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Scarborough
Ten minutes early is the right target at Scarborough. Parking differs between DVSA centres, so it pays to scout the route on the DVSA centre finder (postcode YO11 1LP) the day before. Demand sits at moderate with a modelled wait of about 13 weeks, which generally leaves more room to choose a date. Bring the provisional photocard licence, the examiner checks for it first, and make sure your car is roadworthy with 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.
The result is given immediately when you get back. Whatever the outcome, the examiner reads through the marked faults and prints your DL25 feedback form; pass and they take the provisional licence to trigger your full one by post. The threshold is the national one, 15 driving faults at most and zero serious or dangerous, which 51.7% of Scarborough's candidates reach right now.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Scarborough?
Is Scarborough an easy or hard test centre?
How does Scarborough compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Scarborough each year?
Which driving test centres are near Scarborough?
When is the best time to book a test at Scarborough?
How do I book a test at Scarborough and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Scarborough?
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.