Trowbridge Driving Test Centre
At Trowbridge, 51.1% of candidates pass, one of the 323 test centres we rank from the DVSA data. Below you will find the full pass-rate history, the demographic split, the official DVSA waiting time and a comparison with the nearest centres.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Trowbridge sits in the top half of car pass rates nationally (Top 46%, rank #149 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Bristol (Avonmouth), about 24.9 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 11.3K passed, 10.6K failed, 21.9K total
How Trowbridge compares
The 2.4-point edge at Trowbridge (ranked 149 of 323 in its category) is real but small; local route familiarity moves your odds more than the venue does.
Where Trowbridge ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Trowbridge has held a narrow 2.3-point range across the whole series (49.8% at the low in 2019-20, 52.1% at the high in 2022-23); what you see is what you get.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Trowbridge
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 24 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Trowbridge in May 2026 had waited 4.9 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
Trowbridge is in Trowbridge, Wiltshire and runs DVSA car tests for learners across the local area. Your examiner picks the route on the day without telling you which, and the DVSA does not publish them. 21.9K tests through 2017-18-2024-25 puts Trowbridge in the comfortable middle of the volume distribution. The pass rate moves with real signal, not noise.
Out of 323 UK car test centres, Trowbridge ranks 149, which lands it in the upper half nationally. The 51.1% pass rate is 2.4 points above the UK figure of 48.7%. First-time pass rate: 51.3%. UK average: 49%. Trowbridge is 2.3 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 Trowbridge
- Centre difficulty is roughly average at Trowbridge. The same fault categories that fail candidates nationally (junctions, mirrors, observation) are what fail candidates here, in similar proportions.
- Ask any instructor working Trowbridge 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 Trowbridge. Use gov.uk/book-driving-test directly; cancellations show up on the same booking flow.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Trowbridge
Ten minutes early is the right target at Trowbridge. Parking differs between DVSA centres, so it pays to scout the route on the DVSA centre finder the day before. Demand sits at moderate with a modelled wait of about 9 to 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. If Chippenham is fully booked, Trowbridge is the next closest centre, roughly 11 miles away.
Once underway the test takes around 40 minutes and is the same wherever you sit it. The examiner verifies your eyesight at 20 metres, puts one tell-me question to you, then accompanies the drive and asks one show-me question while you are driving. About 20 minutes is independent driving, sat nav or road signs to a named destination, with one of the set manoeuvres and an emergency stop on roughly one test in seven. 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.
Results come immediately on return to the centre. The examiner talks you through any faults marked, prints the DL25 feedback form, and (if you passed) takes your provisional licence so the full one can be issued by post. A pass needs no more than 15 driving faults and zero serious or dangerous faults, the standard 51.1% of candidates at Trowbridge meet under current DVSA marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Trowbridge?
Is Trowbridge an easy or hard test centre?
How does Trowbridge compare to the UK average?
How many driving tests does Trowbridge record?
Which driving test centres are near Trowbridge?
When is the best time to book a test at Trowbridge?
How do I book a test at Trowbridge and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Trowbridge?
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.