Car Test Centre, England

Telford Driving Test Centre

Car, Cat BTelfordTF3 4HBTougher than average

Telford in Telford records a 43.9% pass rate against a UK average of 48.7%, with a median wait of 15 weeks. This page covers the multi-year trend, the first-time and gender pass rates, and a like-for-like comparison with other centres.

Pass rate (2024-25)
43.9%
vs 48.7% UK avg
Tests in period
5.7K
2024-25
National rank
#280
of 323 centres
1st-time pass
42.8%
below UK avg

DVSA data last updated July 2026

Compare and decide

Telford sits in the bottom quarter of car pass rates nationally (Bottom 14%, rank #280 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Ludlow, about 24.3 miles away.

LudlowBest nearby
24.3 mi away
59.6%
+15.7 pp

Pass vs fail at a glance

43.9%passed
failed56.1%

All-time 39.1K passed, 46.0K failed, 85.1K total

How Telford compares

Telford
43.9%
UK national average
48.7%
Difference
-4.8 pp

Telford gives up 4.8 points to the national average and is ranked 280 of 323 in its category; treat that as a route-difficulty signal, not a verdict on your chances.

Where Telford ranks among 323 centres

Bottom 14%
Telford sits in the bottom quarter of car pass rates
Rank
#280
BestMedianHardest

Pass-rate trend by year

The series at Telford is remarkably flat, moving only from 44% (2017-18) to 43.9% now, with a total spread of 3.6 points.

Pass rate by demographic

Male vs female pass rate gap 4.6 pp
Male48.3%
0%UK avg 52.0%100%
Female43.7%
0%UK avg 48.0%100%
Zero faults0.5%
162 candidates have passed without a single recorded fault across all DVSA periods

Waiting time at Telford

Median wait, booking to test
15 weeks
What the typical learner who tested here had waited
Weeks to 10% availability
24 weeks
The older headline measure
Window appointments free
5%
Share of the 24-week window still open

The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 24 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Telford in May 2026 had waited 15 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

35 Horton Wood
Telford
TF1 7FR
England

Source: DVSA find a driving test centre (Open Government Licence v3.0), captured 2026-05-12.

Tests offered at Telford

  • car
  • ADI part 3

Accessibility & facilities

Wheelchair accessible per DVSA

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 TF1 7FR, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.

About this test centre

Telford sits in Telford, Telford and Wrekin, just inside the TF3 4HB postcode. It's a DVSA-run car test centre, and the routes from here work outward into the streets and arterial roads that learners from Telford tend to know already. The DVSA has logged 85.1K 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.

43.9% at Telford, against a UK car average of 48.7%. That puts the centre 4.8 points below the national figure and ranks it #280 of 323 car centres in the DVSA's network. 42.8% of first-timers pass at Telford, 6.2 points below the UK figure of 49%. If your booking is your first attempt, factor in a few lessons on the local test-area roads.

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.

Country
England
Test category
Car

What learners should know about Telford

  • Centre difficulty is roughly average at Telford. The same fault categories that fail candidates nationally (junctions, mirrors, observation) are what fail candidates here, in similar proportions.
  • Telford is a high-volume centre. Booking pressure is real, check the DVSA booking service daily for earlier slots rather than relying on the headline available date.
  • Practising the roads around the centre is the preparation that most reliably pays off. Most ADI instructors in Telford will know the road types and junctions learners commonly meet near the centre.
  • 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 Telford

Turn up at Telford ten minutes before your appointment, and check ahead where you can park, DVSA sites vary on that. You can preview the location on the DVSA centre finder (postcode TF3 4HB). Demand is very high and waits are near 19 to 23 weeks, so an early booking plus a cancellation watch is the sensible approach. The examiner will ask to see your provisional photocard licence before anything else, and your car must carry L plates and a working interior mirror. If Shrewsbury is fully booked, Telford is the next closest centre, roughly 13 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 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.

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 43.9% of Telford's candidates reach right now.

Frequently asked questions

What is the pass rate at Telford?
The current pass rate at Telford driving test centre is 43.9%, calculated from 5.7K tests in 2024-25. The first-time pass rate, candidates passing on their initial attempt, is 42.8%. Across all DVSA reporting periods on record, the lifetime average is 45.9% (from 85.1K tests).
Is Telford an easy or hard test centre?
Telford is ranked #280 of 323 UK car test centres by pass rate, placing it in the bottom quarter of car pass rates nationally. Its pass rate of 43.9% compares to a UK average of 48.7%. Centres with calmer suburban or rural routes tend to sit higher, while busy urban sites with tight junctions and multi-lane roundabouts usually sit lower.
How does Telford compare to the UK average?
Telford's pass rate is 4.8 percentage points below the UK national average of 48.7%. Telford gives up 4.8 points to the national average and is ranked 280 of 323 in its category; treat that as a route-difficulty signal, not a verdict on your chances.
How many driving tests does Telford record?
Telford has recorded 85.1K tests in the available DVSA data, of which 39.1K passed and 46.0K failed. The yearly trend chart on this page shows how volume and pass rate have moved across recent reporting periods.
Which driving test centres are near Telford?
The closest DVSA test centres to Telford are Shrewsbury (49.2%), Wolverhampton (33.4%), Stafford (46.1%) and Stoke-on-Trent (Newcastle-Under-Lyme) (40.7%). Of these, Shrewsbury, Stafford have higher current pass rates than Telford's 43.9%. Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent (Newcastle-Under-Lyme) sit lower. You can compare every nearby centre in the "Other test centres nearby" section above, or see them all on the interactive PassRates map.
When is the best time to book a test at Telford?
Telford currently sees very high demand with an estimated wait of about 19 to 23 weeks. Across the UK, waits tend to ease in November, December, January, when fewer learners are booking, and peak in June, July, August. A flexible test date helps: booking into a quieter month often shortens the wait and opens up more available slots. Always confirm live availability on the DVSA booking service.
How do I book a test at Telford and what do I need?
Book your practical test through the official DVSA service at gov.uk/book-driving-test, then choose Telford as your centre. You will need your provisional licence number and your theory test pass certificate number. To pass, you must finish with no more than 15 driving (minor) faults and zero serious or dangerous faults. Our guides cover how to book step by step and how faults are marked.
How long is the wait for a driving test at Telford?
In the latest DVSA figures (May 2026), the median learner who took their test at Telford had waited about 15 weeks between booking and test day. DVSA's older measure, the number of weeks until at least 10% of slots are free, was 24 weeks. About 5% of appointments in the 24-week booking window were still available. For live availability, check the official DVSA booking service.
Source

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.