Driving Test Centres in East Midlands: 10 DVSA Sites Ranked
10 DVSA driving test sites across East Midlands, part of England. Car pass rate 50% (2024-25 DVSA data), UK car average 48.7%.
DVSA data last updated June 2026
About East Midlands
Learners in East Midlands have 10 DVSA test sites to choose between. The county pulls candidates from City of Nottingham, Watnall and Buxton and surrounding areas, recording 627.5K car tests in the DVSA dataset. The headline figure is a 50% volume-weighted car pass rate for 2024-25, compared with 48.7% nationally.
The 50% county car figure is 1.3 pp above the 48.7% UK car number (2024-25 DVSA data), which makes East Midlands 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 East Midlands sits between Nottingham (Colwick) (84.2%) at the top of the league and Nottingham (Chilwell) (43.9%) at the bottom, a gap of 40.3 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 East Midlands
Top 5 lowest pass rates in East Midlands
All test centres in East Midlands
Sorted by pass rate, centres with fewer than 1,000 current-period tests appear at the end.
East Midlands driving test: common questions
What is the average driving test pass rate in East Midlands?+
The car driving test pass rate across East Midlands is 50%, 1.3 points above the UK average of 48.7%. It is a volume-weighted figure from the 10 test centres in the county with enough current tests for a reliable rate.
Which East Midlands test centre has the highest pass rate?+
Nottingham (Colwick) has the highest current car pass rate in East Midlands at 84.2%, ahead of Buxton on 57%. Pass rates reflect the routes and traffic a centre tests on, not just how candidates drive.
Which East Midlands test centre has the lowest pass rate?+
Among the county's busier centres, Nottingham (Chilwell) currently has the lowest car pass rate at 43.9%. A lower rate usually points to tougher, busier test routes rather than stricter examiners.
How many driving test centres are there in East Midlands?+
East Midlands has 10 DVSA driving test centres, with sites around City of Nottingham, Watnall, Buxton. Each centre's full pass-rate history, waiting time and demographic breakdown is linked above.
Is it easier to pass your driving test in East Midlands?+
On average a little, yes: the 50% county figure sits just above the national 48.7%. The bigger factor is the spread between centres, currently 43.9% to 84.2%, so which centre you book matters more than the county itself.
Where does the East Midlands 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.