Swindon Driving Test Centre
The Swindon driving test centre is located in Swindon, England (SN1 1JZ). 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
8.5K passed, 3.0K failed, 11.6K total
How Swindon compares
Swindon 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 Swindon 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 Swindon have been gradually shortening as DVSA recovers post-pandemic capacity. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Swindon typically wait around 12 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 Swindon
- car
- motorcycle module 1 (off-road)
- 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 SN5 5BL, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Swindon: a DVSA motorcycle module 1 test centre in Swindon. Local routes, local traffic patterns, no national standard for what "harder" or "easier" looks like beyond what the numbers below show. Sample size: 11.6K tests over 2017-18-2024-25. Enough that comparisons hold up; small enough that a single examiner retiring or a route being temporarily diverted can show in the data.
The upper half of the UK by pass rate: Swindon ranks #22 of 80 motorcycle module 1 centres at 76.3%, 27.6 points clear of the national figure of 48.7%. For Swindon the DVSA suppresses first-attempt figures in DRT122C. Smaller centres get rolled up; this is one of them. The overall pass rate above is the only published figure.
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 Swindon
- Don't read a higher pass rate as a softer test. Swindon'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.
- If you can, take at least one lesson with an instructor who specifically works the Swindon routes. Local instructors know which junctions are the centre's hardest 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 Swindon
Arrive at Swindon 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 (postcode SN1 1JZ) maps the centre and its surroundings. Waits here run around 12 weeks at moderate demand, so you can usually pick a date without a long wait. 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.
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 three tests includes 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 76.3% of Swindon's candidates reach right now.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Swindon?
Is Swindon an easy or hard test centre?
How does Swindon compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Swindon each year?
Which driving test centres are near Swindon?
When is the best time to book a test at Swindon?
How do I book a test at Swindon and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Swindon?
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.