Stornoway Driving Test Centre
Stornoway in Steòrnabhagh, Scotland has a current pass rate of 57.7%, 9 points above the UK average of 48.7%. This page breaks down the multi-year trend, the first-time and gender pass rates, the waiting time and how it compares with the rest of the UK, all from the DVSA quarterly data.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Stornoway sits in the top quarter of car pass rates nationally (Top 24%, rank #77 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Gairloch, about 41.9 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 3.0K passed, 2.4K failed, 5.4K total
How Stornoway compares
The 9-point advantage at Stornoway (ranked 77 of 323 in its category) is worth having but not decisive; a well-prepared candidate passes at either kind of centre.
Where Stornoway ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
The headline barely moved (54% in 2017-18, 56.1% now) but the ride was not smooth: Stornoway has swung 11.6 points between its best year (65.6%, 2020-21) and its worst (54%, 2017-18).
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Stornoway
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 24 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Stornoway in May 2026 had waited 8.6 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
Accessibility & facilities
Parking, toilets, and disabled-access details vary by centre. Check the official DVSA find a driving test centre tool, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Stornoway: a DVSA car test centre in Steòrnabhagh, Na h-Eileanan Siar. Local routes, local traffic patterns, no national standard for what "harder" or "easier" looks like beyond what the numbers below show. Sample size: 5.4K tests over 2017-18-2024-25. Enough that comparisons hold up; small enough that a quiet month or a route being temporarily diverted can show in the data.
The top quarter of the UK by pass rate: Stornoway ranks #77 of 323 car centres at 57.7%, 9 points clear of the national figure of 48.7%. First-time pass rate: 56.8%. UK average: 49%. Stornoway is 7.8 points to the good on first attempts, a meaningful gap, not a rounding artefact.
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 Stornoway
- Don't read a higher pass rate as a softer test. Stornoway's rate reflects route geography more than examiner discretion, DVSA marking is centrally trained. Prepare for the same fault categories you'd prepare for anywhere.
- 56.8% of first-timers pass at Stornoway, so the centre is on the forgiving side. If your instructor is signing you off as test-ready, your own preparation matters far more than the venue.
- Ask any instructor working Stornoway about the centre's "usual fails", they'll have two or three specific junctions or manoeuvres in mind. Practise those until they're automatic before your date.
- 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 Stornoway
Give yourself ten minutes in hand when you head to Stornoway, and look up where to park beforehand, facilities differ from one DVSA site to the next. The DVSA centre finder shows the exact location. Modelled waits here sit around 4 to 8 weeks at low demand, which tends to mean less competition for a date that suits you. You must have your provisional photocard licence on you, plus a car with L plates and a working interior mirror for the examiner. If Gairloch is fully booked, Stornoway is the next closest centre, roughly 42 miles away.
The practical lasts about 40 minutes and uses the standard DVSA format nationwide. After an eyesight check at 20 metres and one show-me and one tell-me question, the examiner sits in for the drive. Roughly 20 minutes of that is independent driving, either following a sat nav set by the examiner or following road signs, and you will complete one of four set manoeuvres; about one in seven tests includes an emergency stop, a frequency the DVSA reduced in late 2025. The drive covers the local mix of road types within roughly a twenty-minute radius of the centre. Across DVSA marking nationally, the fault recorded most often on car tests 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 57.7% of Stornoway's candidates reach right now.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Stornoway?
Is Stornoway an easy or hard test centre?
How does Stornoway compare to the UK average?
How many driving tests does Stornoway record?
Which driving test centres are near Stornoway?
When is the best time to book a test at Stornoway?
How do I book a test at Stornoway and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Stornoway?
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.