Whitby Driving Test Centre
Whitby in Whitby, England has a current pass rate of 59.2%, 10.5 points above the UK average of 48.7%. This page breaks down the multi-year trend, the first-time and gender pass rates, the waiting time and how it compares with the rest of the UK, all from the DVSA quarterly data.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Whitby sits in the top quarter of car pass rates nationally (Top 18%, rank #58 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Malton, about 25.2 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 5.0K passed, 3.2K failed, 8.2K total
How Whitby compares
Whitby clears the UK average by 10.5 points and sits ranked 58 of 323 in its category. That margin says more about its route mix than about marking, the DVSA standard is identical everywhere.
Where Whitby ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Since 2017-18 the rate at Whitby has risen from 61.7% to 65.1%, a 3.4-point gain, peaking at 65.1% in 2024-25.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Whitby
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 16.8 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Whitby in May 2026 had waited 20.5 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 Whitby
- car
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 YO22 4ET, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Drivers booked at Whitby report to a DVSA centre in Whitby, York and North Yorkshire. The car routes used here are drawn from the streets the centre's examiners drive every week, so the test reflects local conditions rather than a generic syllabus. 8.2K tests across 2017-18-2024-25. That's a working sample, enough to take the pass rate at face value but not so large that a single quiet quarter passes unnoticed.
By raw pass rate Whitby sits at 59.2%, with the DVSA's national car average over the same window running at 48.7%. The gap (10.5 points clear of the UK figure) places the centre at rank #58 of 323, inside the top quarter of the country's car test centres. The DVSA's first-attempt figure for Whitby sits at 57.6%, 8.6 points clear of the 49% UK average. The gap is wide enough to matter when you're deciding which local centre to book.
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 Whitby
- Whitby passes higher than the UK average, but the marking sheet is identical to every other DVSA centre. The bias is in the local road mix (less traffic, simpler junction geometry); the standard is national.
- First-time pass rate of 57.6% at Whitby is on the forgiving side. A well-prepared first booking has a reasonable shot; don't over-correct by booking a "practice" test you don't actually need.
- Ask any instructor working Whitby 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.
- Book through the official DVSA service (gov.uk/book-driving-test). Third-party "fast-track" sites charge a premium for the same booking; the official DVSA booking service is free.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Whitby
Aim to be at Whitby ten minutes early. Because parking and waiting facilities are not the same at every DVSA centre, check the approach on the DVSA centre finder before the day. At moderate demand and about 10 to 14 weeks' wait, securing a convenient date here is usually less of a scramble. The examiner needs to see your provisional photocard licence to begin, and the car you bring must be roadworthy, fitted with L plates and a working interior mirror. If Scarborough is fully booked, Whitby is the next closest centre, roughly 17 miles away.
Expect about 40 minutes once you set off, to the same national DVSA script. It opens with an eyesight check at 20 metres and one tell-me question, after which the examiner rides along for the drive and asks one show-me question on the move. Around 20 minutes of that is independent driving, guided either by a sat nav the examiner provides or by road signs to a named destination, with one of four set manoeuvres and a one-in-seven chance of an emergency stop. 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.
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 59.2% of Whitby's candidates reach right now.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Whitby?
Is Whitby an easy or hard test centre?
How does Whitby compare to the UK average?
How many driving tests does Whitby record?
Which driving test centres are near Whitby?
When is the best time to book a test at Whitby?
How do I book a test at Whitby and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Whitby?
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.