England, Driving test centres

Driving Test Pass Rates in Bristol

Bristol has 5 DVSA driving test centres with a volume-weighted average car pass rate of 52.8% 4.1 pp above the UK national average of 48.7%. The full ranking, gender split, first-time pass rate and centre-by-centre data is below.

Centres
5
in Bristol
Avg car pass rate
52.8%
+4.1 pp vs UK
UK average
48.7%
national benchmark
Total tests
224.5K
lifetime, all centres

About Bristol

Bristol is an English city served by a sizeable concentration of 5 DVSA practical driving test centres. Together, these centres have processed 224.5K tests on record, every result tracked here is sourced from the DVSA's quarterly statistical release and aggregated to give a like-for-like view of how each centre performs.

As a whole, Bristol runs slightly ahead of the UK average. The city-wide car pass rate of 52.8% is 4.1 percentage points above the UK figure of 48.7%, suggesting modestly favourable test conditions overall.

Within the city the spread between the easiest and hardest centre is 30.4 percentage points: Bristol (Kingswood) leads at 82.4% (2024-25), while Bristol (Kingswood) sits at 52%. That gap matters when you book, the same candidate can have a meaningfully different experience depending on which routes they drive on test day. Most learners pick the centre closest to where they take their lessons, but it's worth a few mock runs at your shortlisted centre's actual routes before the real thing.

Bristol vs the UK average

Bristol
volume-weighted average
52.8%
+4.1 pp vs UK
UK 48.7%
0%25%50%75%100%

Bristol above the UK average pass rate by 4.1 percentage points. Pass rates in Bristol sit close to the UK norm, expect a typical level of difficulty.

Easiest & hardest centres in Bristol

All centres compared

Pass rate by gender across Bristol

Male pass rate
59.4%
weighted city average
Female pass rate
54.5%
weighted city average

Across Bristol's test centres, men pass at 59.4% and women at 54.5% a gender gap of 4.9 percentage points in favour of male candidates. Across the UK, the gap is around 5 percentage points on average.

By test category

All test centres in Bristol

About these statistics

Pass rates shown above are aggregated across all available years of DVSA quarterly statistical data for each centre. Rates are volume-weighted across the city, larger centres carry proportionally more weight than smaller ones. Centres with fewer than 1,000 tests in the current period are flagged as low-sample to avoid statistically noisy comparisons. The best-performing centre in Bristol is Bristol (Kingswood) at 82.4% (2024-25), and the toughest is Bristol (Kingswood) at 52% (2024-25). Always factor in your own preparation, instructor recommendations, and route familiarity, pass rates are a useful signal, not a guarantee.

Frequently asked questions

How many driving test centres are in Bristol?
There are 5 DVSA driving test centres in Bristol, England.
What is the average driving test pass rate in Bristol?
Across Bristol's car (category B) test centres, the volume-weighted average pass rate is 52.8%, compared to a UK national average of 48.7%. That puts Bristol above the UK average by 4.1 percentage points.
Which is the easiest driving test centre in Bristol?
Bristol (Kingswood) currently has the highest pass rate in Bristol at 82.4% (2024-25 DVSA data), based on 1.5K tests in the period.
Which is the hardest driving test centre in Bristol?
Bristol (Kingswood) has the lowest pass rate in Bristol at 52% (2024-25 DVSA data), based on 11.5K tests in the period. Its routes may be more demanding than the city average.
Which Bristol centre has the best first-time pass rate?
Bristol (Avonmouth) has the highest first-time pass rate in Bristol at 54.7% (2024-25 DVSA data). First-time pass rate measures the percentage of candidates who pass on their first attempt, a useful indicator of difficulty for new candidates.
How do I book a driving test in Bristol?
All UK driving tests are booked via the official DVSA service at gov.uk/book-driving-test. You'll need your provisional licence number, a theory test pass certificate, and a payment method. Choose any of the centres listed above when selecting your location.
What does a UK driving test cost in Bristol?
The standard DVSA car practical driving test fee in Bristol is £62 on weekdays and £75 on weekends and evenings, the same across all UK test centres. There are no additional location-based fees. Always book through gov.uk to avoid third-party markups.
Is the pass rate higher at smaller centres in Bristol?
Not always. Smaller centres in Bristol can show higher percentages but also fluctuate more year to year because of small sample sizes, centres with fewer than 1,000 tests in the current period are flagged as "Low sample" above. Volume-weighted averages give a fairer picture.

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Data: DVSA quarterly statistical release, released under the Open Government License v3.0. 129.7K passes recorded across 5 Bristol centres.