Driving Test Centres in Bedford: 2 DVSA Sites Ranked
2 DVSA driving test sites across Bedford, part of England. Car pass rate 49.9% (2024-25 DVSA data), UK car average 48.7%.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
About Bedford
Learners in Bedford have 2 DVSA test sites to choose between. The county pulls candidates from Cardington and Bedford and surrounding areas, recording 61.0K car tests in the DVSA dataset. The headline figure is a 49.9% volume-weighted car pass rate for 2024-25, compared with 48.7% nationally.
The 49.9% county car figure is 1.2 pp above the 48.7% UK car number (2024-25 DVSA data), which makes Bedford better than average on the headline measure. Within-county variation matters as much as the average, individual centres can sit well above or well below the county number once you compare them side by side.
The headline spread within Bedford sits between Cardington (73.8%) at the top of the league and Bedford (49.9%) at the bottom, a gap of 23.9 percentage points. Urban-heavy routes with multi-lane roundabouts, bus lanes and dense pedestrian traffic typically drag the bottom-of-county figure down, even within a single county.
Top 5 highest pass rates in Bedford
Top 5 lowest pass rates in Bedford
All test centres in Bedford
Sorted by pass rate, centres with fewer than 1,000 current-period tests appear at the end.
Bedford driving test: common questions
What is the average driving test pass rate in Bedford?+
The car driving test pass rate across Bedford is 49.9%, 1.2 points above the UK average of 48.7%. It is a volume-weighted figure from the 2 test centres in the county with enough current tests for a reliable rate.
Which Bedford test centre has the highest pass rate?+
Cardington has the highest current car pass rate in Bedford at 73.8%, ahead of Bedford on 49.9%. Pass rates reflect the routes and traffic a centre tests on, not just how candidates drive.
Which Bedford test centre has the lowest pass rate?+
Among the county's busier centres, Bedford currently has the lowest car pass rate at 49.9%. A lower rate usually points to tougher, busier test routes rather than stricter examiners.
How many driving test centres are there in Bedford?+
Bedford has 2 DVSA driving test centres, with sites around Cardington, Bedford. Each centre's full pass-rate history, waiting time and demographic breakdown is linked above.
Is it easier to pass your driving test in Bedford?+
On average a little, yes: the 49.9% county figure sits just above the national 48.7%. The bigger factor is the spread between centres, currently 49.9% to 73.8%, so which centre you book matters more than the county itself.
Where does the Bedford pass-rate data come from?+
The figures come from the DVSA's quarterly car practical test statistics, the official UK government release. We only rank centres with at least 1,000 current-period tests, so a small sample never produces a misleading rate.