Barnet Driving Test Centre Pass Rate 2026: 49.9% Explained

#Barnet pass rate: the 2024-25 figure

The current Barnet pass rate is 49.9% (2024-25), based on 9,720 tests. The first-time pass rate is 49.7%, which is essentially identical to the overall rate and sits marginally above the national first-attempt figure of 48.9%. This convergence between overall and first-time rates suggests that repeat candidates at Barnet are not performing dramatically better than first-timers, which is unusual and may reflect a candidate population that is relatively well-prepared before booking.

#How Barnet compares across north and central London

In north London, Barnet is among the stronger performers. Wood Green, further east in north London, runs at 46.8% in 2024-25. Hendon, closer to the M1 corridor, reaches 49.5%. Barnet itself, at the outermost northern edge of Greater London, achieves 49.9%. The pattern reflects the outer London geography: centres further from the urban core tend to route through less dense road networks with fewer multi-lane junctions per test, which produces higher average pass rates.

#Why the Barnet pass rate is above the London average

Barnet is in the London Borough of Barnet, at the northern boundary of Greater London. The centre routes into a mix of outer suburban roads and some A-road sections, but the key difference from inner London centres is the absence of the most demanding multi-lane urban corridors. The North Circular (A406) is present in some route variants, but Barnet test routes do not regularly feature the kind of sustained four-lane urban driving that dominates routes at Goodmayes or Wood Green. The result is a route mix that is challenging for a learner but less consistently punishing than east or north-east London.

• Outer suburban roads around Barnet town centre: medium-speed A and B roads with moderate traffic, requiring good lane discipline but less multi-lane complexity than inner London.
• High Street junctions in Barnet: the town centre includes busy junction approaches and pedestrian crossings in close succession, demanding attention management and consistent observation.
• A1 Barnet bypass sections: some routes include stretches of the A1, a high-speed dual carriageway with merging traffic and variable speed limits that require confident speed and position management.
• Residential streets in East Barnet and Cockfosters direction: quieter routes that include give-way junctions, parked cars, and school zones during morning test slots.
• Roundabout network around Barnet: the outer London roundabouts here tend to be simpler in lane geometry than Ilford or Wembley-area roundabouts, lowering the rate of approach-lane errors.

#Should you book at Barnet or travel for a higher pass rate?

For north London learners, Barnet is a strong option. At 49.9%, it is above the national average and near the top of the London range for accessible centres. The only London centres that significantly outperform Barnet are in south-east London (Sidcup at 59.0%), which is not a practical alternative for north London learners. Within north London, Barnet and Hendon (49.5%) are effectively equivalent. Unless you are based very close to a dramatically higher-performing centre, booking Barnet is a sound choice that does not require travelling across London for marginal gain.

#Sources and further reading

The figures, fees, and procedures referenced in this article are verifiable on the official gov.uk pages below. PassRates.uk is built on the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s open data, published under the Open Government Licence.

• Driving test (gov.uk)
• Driving test and theory test data, cars (gov.uk)
• Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (gov.uk)
• New drivers (gov.uk)
• Open Government Licence v3.0 (nationalarchives.gov.uk)