Upton Driving Test Centre
Upton in Upton currently passes 50% of tests, 1.3 points above the UK average of 48.7%. The sections below cover the year-by-year trend, who passes most often, how long learners wait, and how it stacks up against neighbouring centres.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Upton sits in the bottom half of car pass rates nationally (Bottom 47%, rank #173 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Grantham (Somerby), about 25.1 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 50.0K passed, 53.5K failed, 103.5K total
How Upton compares
The 1.3-point edge at Upton (ranked 173 of 323 in its category) is real but small; local route familiarity moves your odds more than the venue does.
Where Upton ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Upton has held a narrow 4.3-point range across the whole series (45.7% at the low in 2019-20, 50% at the high in 2024-25); what you see is what you get.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Upton
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 23 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Upton in May 2026 had waited 9.3 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
Source: DVSA find a driving test centre (Open Government Licence v3.0), captured 2026-05-12.
Tests offered at Upton
- car
- 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 CH49 0UF, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Of the DVSA car centres across England, Upton is the one covering Upton, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The routes are built around the roads the centre's examiners can reach inside the test's time budget. By volume, Upton is at the upper end of the DVSA's network. With 103.5K tests across 2017-18-2024-25, the figures on this page are about as statistically settled as DVSA data gets.
If you've been told Upton is "an easy centre" or "a hard one", the data won't fully back that. 50% is 1.3 points above the UK car average of 48.7%, which is rank #173 out of 323. First-attempt pass rate at Upton: 51.3%, against 49% nationally. That's a 2.3-point lead. Well-prepared candidates with no prior test attempts pass here at a noticeably higher rate than the UK average.
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 Upton
- Upton doesn't deviate much from the national curve, so generic preparation advice (mock tests, mirror discipline, junction observation) applies here in the same shape it would anywhere.
- Upton 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.
- Ask any instructor working Upton 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.
- If you missed the earlier slots at Upton, cancellations appear on the official DVSA booking service throughout the day. Check at off-peak times (early morning, late evening) for the best chance of catching one.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Upton
Give yourself ten minutes in hand when you head to Upton, and look up where to park beforehand, facilities differ from one DVSA site to the next. The DVSA centre finder shows the exact location. This is a very high-demand centre, modelled at roughly 18 to 22 weeks to a slot, so book as far ahead as you can and keep an eye on cancellations. You must have your provisional photocard licence on you, plus a car with L plates and a working interior mirror for the examiner. If Peterborough is fully booked, Upton is the next closest centre, roughly 5 miles away.
Plan for a drive of roughly 40 minutes, identical in structure to every other DVSA centre. First comes the 20-metre eyesight check and a tell-me vehicle-safety question, then the examiner joins you for the road section, with one show-me question while you drive. About 20 minutes is independent driving by sat nav or by following signs to a named target, you tackle one of four set manoeuvres, and around one in seven candidates get an emergency stop. 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.
You find out there and then, back at Upton. 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; 50% of candidates here manage it on the current marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Upton?
Is Upton an easy or hard test centre?
How does Upton compare to the UK average?
How many driving tests does Upton record?
Which driving test centres are near Upton?
When is the best time to book a test at Upton?
How do I book a test at Upton and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Upton?
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.