Driving Test Centres in Devon and Torbay: 4 DVSA Sites Ranked
4 DVSA driving test sites across Devon and Torbay, part of England. Car pass rate 50.6% (2024-25 DVSA data), UK car average 48.7%.
DVSA data last updated June 2026
About Devon and Torbay
Learners in Devon and Torbay have 4 DVSA test sites to choose between. The county pulls candidates from Exeter, Barnstaple and Newton Abbot and surrounding areas, recording 255.6K car tests in the DVSA dataset. The headline figure is a 50.6% volume-weighted car pass rate for 2024-25, compared with 48.7% nationally.
The 50.6% county car figure is 1.9 pp above the 48.7% UK car number (2024-25 DVSA data), which makes Devon and Torbay 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 Devon and Torbay sits between Barnstaple (54.7%) at the top of the league and Exeter (47.9%) at the bottom, a gap of 6.8 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 Devon and Torbay
All test centres in Devon and Torbay
Sorted by pass rate, centres with fewer than 1,000 current-period tests appear at the end.
Devon and Torbay driving test: common questions
What is the average driving test pass rate in Devon and Torbay?+
The car driving test pass rate across Devon and Torbay is 50.6%, 1.9 points above the UK average of 48.7%. It is a volume-weighted figure from the 4 test centres in the county with enough current tests for a reliable rate.
Which Devon and Torbay test centre has the highest pass rate?+
Barnstaple has the highest current car pass rate in Devon and Torbay at 54.7%, ahead of Exeter LGV on 54%. Pass rates reflect the routes and traffic a centre tests on, not just how candidates drive.
Which Devon and Torbay test centre has the lowest pass rate?+
Among the county's busier centres, Exeter currently has the lowest car pass rate at 47.9%. A lower rate usually points to tougher, busier test routes rather than stricter examiners.
How many driving test centres are there in Devon and Torbay?+
Devon and Torbay has 4 DVSA driving test centres, with sites around Exeter, Barnstaple, Newton Abbot. Each centre's full pass-rate history, waiting time and demographic breakdown is linked above.
Is it easier to pass your driving test in Devon and Torbay?+
On average a little, yes: the 50.6% county figure sits just above the national 48.7%. The bigger factor is the spread between centres, currently 47.9% to 54.7%, so which centre you book matters more than the county itself.
Where does the Devon and Torbay 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.