Workington Driving Test Centre
Workington in Workington, England has a current pass rate of 48.3%, in line with 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
Workington sits in the bottom half of car pass rates nationally (Bottom 35%, rank #210 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Kendal (Oxenholme Road), about 40.3 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 25.9K passed, 22.9K failed, 48.8K total
How Workington compares
Statistically Workington is about as neutral as a venue gets, under a point from the national average and ranked 210 of 323 in its category. Preparation, not postcode, decides the outcome here.
Where Workington ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Year-to-year volatility is the story at Workington: 9.4 points separate 2022-23 (57.7%) from 2024-25 (48.3%), even though the endpoints nearly match.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Workington
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 24 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Workington in May 2026 had waited 12.8 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
Of the DVSA car centres across England, Workington is the one covering Workington, Cumberland. The routes are built around the roads the centre's examiners can reach inside the test's time budget. Workington sees moderate volume: 48.8K practical tests through 2017-18-2024-25. Year-on-year percentages here are meaningful, but watch the trend line rather than fixating on any single period.
If you've been told Workington is "an easy centre" or "a hard one", the data won't fully back that. 48.3% is within a point of the UK car average of 48.7%, which is rank #210 out of 323. 47.9% first-attempt pass at Workington, UK is 49%. The two numbers move together; whatever edge or drag the centre has on overall pass rate doesn't show up at the first-attempt level.
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 Workington
- Centre difficulty is roughly average at Workington. The same fault categories that fail candidates nationally (junctions, mirrors, observation) are what fail candidates here, in similar proportions.
- Ask any instructor working Workington 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 Workington, 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 Workington
Turn up at Workington 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. Demand is high and waits are near 14 to 18 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 Gosforth is fully booked, Workington is the next closest centre, roughly 16 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.
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 48.3% of candidates at Workington meet under current DVSA marking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Workington?
Is Workington an easy or hard test centre?
How does Workington compare to the UK average?
How many driving tests does Workington record?
Which driving test centres are near Workington?
When is the best time to book a test at Workington?
How do I book a test at Workington and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Workington?
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.