Taunton Driving Test Centre
The Taunton driving test centre is located in Taunton, England (TA1 1JD). 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
7.4K passed, 2.8K failed, 10.1K total
How Taunton compares
Taunton 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 Taunton 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 Taunton have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is comparatively quick: learners booking at Taunton typically wait around 9 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 Taunton
- 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 TA2 8RX, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Taunton is in Taunton, Somerset (TA1 1JD) and runs DVSA motorcycle module 1 tests for learners across the local area. The routes are the same fixed set every day; your examiner picks one without telling you which. Over 2017-18-2024-25, 10.1K candidates sat tests here. The figures are statistically usable for centre-to-centre comparisons, which is most of what people land on this page wanting to do.
Out of 80 UK motorcycle module 1 test centres, Taunton ranks 28, which lands it in the upper half nationally. The 71.3% pass rate is 22.6 points clear of the UK figure of 48.7%. DVSA doesn't break out first-attempt figures for Taunton in DRT122C, so the split between first-time and retake pass rates isn't published for this 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 Taunton
- Taunton passes higher than the UK average, but the marking sheet is identical to every other DVSA centre. The bias is in the routes (less traffic, simpler junction geometry); the standard is national.
- Ask any instructor working Taunton 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.
- Don't pay third-party sites for booking access at Taunton. Use gov.uk/book-driving-test directly; cancellations show up on the same booking flow.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Taunton
Plan to arrive at Taunton about ten minutes before your slot. Parking varies between DVSA centres, so check the route and the surrounding streets on the DVSA centre finder (postcode TA1 1JD) a day or two ahead. Demand here is moderate with waits around 9 weeks, so there is usually a little more slot choice than at the busiest urban centres. Bring your provisional photocard licence; the examiner will not start without it, and you will need a roadworthy car with L plates and a working interior mirror.
The test runs for around 40 minutes and follows the same DVSA format used at every centre. The examiner checks your eyesight at 20 metres, asks one show-me and one tell-me question, then sits in for the drive. About 20 minutes of it is independent driving, either following a sat nav the examiner sets up or following road signs to a named place. You will do one of four set manoeuvres, and roughly one in three candidates is asked to perform 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.
You find out there and then, back at Taunton. The examiner runs through the faults on the DL25 feedback form and, on a pass, keeps your provisional licence so a full licence follows in the post. Clearing the test means staying under 16 driving faults, that is 15 or fewer, with no serious or dangerous fault; 71.3% of candidates here manage it on the current marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Taunton?
Is Taunton an easy or hard test centre?
How does Taunton compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Taunton each year?
Which driving test centres are near Taunton?
When is the best time to book a test at Taunton?
How do I book a test at Taunton and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Taunton?
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.