Driving Test By City Comparison 2026: 10 UK Cities Ranked, Edinburgh 51.1% Vs Birmingham 39.4%, Side-by-Side Pass Rates And Wait Times
Two friends from school move at 18 for university. One goes to Edinburgh, one goes to Birmingham. They take driving lessons during their degrees, sit their practical test in their adopted city, and compare notes 2 years later. The Edinburgh learner passed first time at a 51.1 percent average city pass rate. The Birmingham learner failed twice at a 39.4 percent city average, then passed on attempt 3. Same age, same preparation, same UK driving test. The 11.7 percentage point city gap is the entire story; everything else is noise.
- Cities compared
- 10top metros by test volume
- Easiest city average
- 51.1%Edinburgh
- Hardest city average
- 39.4%Birmingham
- City-to-city spread
- 11.7ppEdinburgh vs Birmingham
- UK national 2024-25
- 48.7%all 310 centres
- Cities clearing UK average
- 3 of 10Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol
The full ranking: 10 UK cities by pass rate 2024-25
| Rank | City | 2024-25 average pass rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edinburgh | 51.1% | |
| 2 | Glasgow | 50.4% | |
| 3 | Bristol | 48.9% | |
| 4 | Cardiff | 47.6% | |
| 5 | Liverpool | 46.2% | |
| 6 | Leeds | 45.5% | |
| 7 | Manchester | 44.8% | |
| 8 | Newcastle | 43.2% | |
| 9 | London | 38.0% | |
| 10 | Birmingham | 39.4% |
The headline by category: pass rate, wait time, retake cost
| City | Pass rate | Median wait weeks | Expected retake fees | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh | 51.1% | 8 weeks | £62 base + 0.96 retake = £121 | |
| Glasgow | 50.4% | 10 weeks | £62 base + 0.98 retake = £123 | |
| Bristol | 48.9% | 12 weeks | £62 base + 1.04 retake = £127 | |
| Cardiff | 47.6% | 11 weeks | £62 base + 1.10 retake = £131 | |
| Liverpool | 46.2% | 14 weeks | £62 base + 1.16 retake = £134 | |
| Leeds | 45.5% | 13 weeks | £62 base + 1.20 retake = £136 | |
| Manchester | 44.8% | 15 weeks | £62 base + 1.23 retake = £138 | |
| Newcastle | 43.2% | 12 weeks | £62 base + 1.31 retake = £143 | |
| Birmingham | 39.4% | 18 weeks | £62 base + 1.54 retake = £158 | |
| London | 38.0% | 20 weeks | £62 base + 1.63 retake = £163 |
Why the Scottish cities lead
Edinburgh (51.1 percent) and Glasgow (50.4 percent) sit at the top of the city ranking for three structural reasons. First, both cities have a smaller share of their active test centres in the densest urban core; Currie (Edinburgh) and Bishopbriggs (Glasgow) run quieter suburban routes that lift the city average. Second, Scottish road infrastructure features fewer of the multi-lane roundabouts and box junctions that dominate English city routes; the typical Edinburgh test route has 1 to 2 complex roundabouts against 3 to 5 in a Birmingham route. Third, Scottish learner driver hour averages run slightly higher than England (46 hours versus 44 hours in 2024-25), reflecting a tradition of longer preparation. The gap to the next tier is roughly 2 percentage points and has been stable for 5 years.
Why Birmingham and London trail
Bristol versus Cardiff: the close third and fourth
Bristol (48.9 percent) and Cardiff (47.6 percent) sit just below the UK national average and almost tied. Both have a mix of urban centres (Bristol city centre, Cardiff city centre) and suburban centres (Avonmouth, Llantrisant) that average together. Bristol leads narrowly on lower roundabout density and a flatter terrain; Cardiff trails on more complex multi-lane sections in the city centre. Both cities have a tighter within-city spread than London or Birmingham (9 to 11 percentage points across centres) so the candidate decision is less critical at the centre level. A Bristol learner who books at the city centre (44.2 percent) loses roughly 4 points compared to one who books at Avonmouth (53.1 percent); a London learner faces a 22.5 point gap on the same decision.
Newcastle and the north-east trend
Newcastle (43.2 percent) sits 5.5 percentage points below the UK average across its 3 active centres (Gosforth, Felling, Sunderland). The north-east as a whole runs below UK average; the structural drivers are a mix of dense Tyneside traffic and a slightly lower lesson hour average (42 hours in 2024-25 across the region). Newcastle candidates have less within-region choice than larger metros; the 3 active centres span a 7-percentage-point range (40.1 percent at Felling to 47.4 percent at Gosforth), so the booking decision is less dramatic than in London or Manchester. Most Newcastle candidates book at the nearest centre by default and the cost-benefit math is reasonable; the bigger lever is preparation hours.
Manchester versus Leeds: the Yorkshire vs Lancashire comparison
Manchester (44.8 percent) and Leeds (45.5 percent) sit within 0.7 percentage points of each other and roughly 3 percentage points below the UK average. Both metros have similar route profiles (dense urban core, suburban ring of quieter centres) and similar candidate volumes. Manchester benefits from one strong suburban centre (Cheetham Hill at 50.1 percent) that lifts the city average; Leeds benefits from Horsforth at 51.8 percent. Both cities have a 12 to 14 percentage point within-city spread that rewards postcode-led centre choice. The manchester vs liverpool driving test guide covers the related Lancashire metro comparison.
- 01Identify your home city and its average pass rate
Look up your city in the ranking. The city average is the starting point, not the answer; it tells you whether you face a structural headwind or tailwind.
- 02Map your within-city catchment with /tools/pass-rate-finder
Enter your postcode to see your 6 nearest centres ranked by pass rate. Within-city spreads of 9 to 22 percentage points are normal; the right centre is rarely the nearest.
- 03Decide whether to travel to a higher-pass-rate city
If your home city sits in the bottom 3 (Birmingham, Newcastle, London) and a top-3 city (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol) is within 90 minutes, the cost-benefit math often favours travelling.
- 04Factor wait time as the disqualifier
Top-rated centres have longer waits. Use /tools/wait-time-finder to compare your home-city options against any travel candidate before booking.
The cost differential, summed across attempts
A learner with average preparation faces different total costs depending on city. Edinburgh: 51.1 percent pass rate, expected 1.96 attempts, total fee cost roughly £121, total instructor cost roughly £1,150 across all attempts including lessons between failures. London: 38.0 percent pass rate, expected 2.63 attempts, total fee cost roughly £163, total instructor cost roughly £1,580 across all attempts. The combined city cost differential is roughly £470 in favour of Edinburgh, plus 10 to 14 weeks of additional learning time for London candidates. The numbers compound at the bottom of the table: a Birmingham or London candidate pays roughly 30 to 40 percent more in total acquisition cost than an Edinburgh or Glasgow candidate.
The trend: are city gaps narrowing or widening?
The 10-city ranking has been broadly stable across the last 5 years of DVSA data. Edinburgh and Glasgow have led in each of the last 5 years; Birmingham and London have trailed in each of the last 5 years. The gaps between adjacent ranks have varied by 0.5 to 1.0 percentage points year to year. The overall city spread (top minus bottom) has run between 11 and 13 percentage points; the 2024-25 spread of 11.7pp sits in the middle of that range. The structural drivers (route profile, traffic density, road infrastructure) do not change quickly; the city ranking looks likely to persist into 2026-27 and beyond. See the research piece on regional pass rate variation for the longitudinal data.
“Birmingham learner and Edinburgh learner take the same DVSA driving test; the Edinburgh learner sits in a city with 11.7 percentage points more headroom. Most of that is structural and most of it is invisible until you compare the two side by side.”
How this connects with the wider city picture
For the broader UK cities overview, see the driving test passing rates UK cities guide. For the head-to-head Manchester versus Liverpool comparison, see the manchester vs liverpool driving test guide. For the London-specific picture, see the easiest test centre London guide and the driving test pass rate London vs UK guide. For the Edinburgh leader picture, see the easiest test centre Edinburgh guide. For the live pass rate finder by postcode, see /tools/pass-rate-finder. For the volume-by-region breakdown, see the driving test volume by region guide.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Which UK city has the highest driving test pass rate in 2024-25?
Edinburgh has the highest UK city average pass rate at 51.1 percent across its 4 main active centres in 2024-25, narrowly ahead of Glasgow at 50.4 percent. Both Scottish cities sit above the UK national average of 48.7 percent. The structural drivers are quieter suburban routes (Currie in Edinburgh, Bishopbriggs in Glasgow), fewer complex multi-lane roundabouts compared to English city routes, and a slightly higher learner preparation hour average. Bristol at 48.9 percent rounds out the top 3 and is the highest English city in the ranking.
Which UK city has the lowest driving test pass rate in 2024-25?
London has the lowest average pass rate at 38.0 percent across the 36 active centres inside and around the M25, with Birmingham trailing closely at 39.4 percent across 9 active centres. The structural drivers are very high traffic density, complex roundabouts and box junctions per mile, and dense pedestrian and cyclist presence on typical test routes. The 11.7 percentage point gap between London at 38.0 percent and Edinburgh at 51.1 percent is the largest pairwise gap between UK metros. Both London and Birmingham candidates face roughly 30 to 40 percent higher total cost of acquiring a licence compared to top-ranked cities.
How does Manchester compare to Liverpool for driving test pass rates?
Manchester (44.8 percent average across its 8 active centres) sits 1.4 percentage points below Liverpool (46.2 percent across 6 active centres) in 2024-25. The gap is structural rather than driven by candidate preparation: Manchester has more dense city-centre centres (Manchester West Didsbury at 41.8 percent) that pull down the average, while Liverpool has a more even spread of suburban centres (Speke at 48.4 percent, Norris Green at 46.1 percent). Both cities sit below the UK national average of 48.7 percent. See the manchester vs liverpool driving test guide for the centre-by-centre breakdown.
Should I move cities for an easier driving test in 2026?
Not solely for the test. The city pass rate gap is 11.7 percentage points across the top and bottom UK metros, which equates to roughly £40 in expected retake fees and 4 to 6 weeks of additional learning time. That is not a number that justifies relocating, but it can justify booking a test in a different city if you have ties (university, family) that put you within 90 minutes of a higher-rated centre. The should I travel for easier test guide covers the travel trade-off framework. Most candidates achieve more by choosing the right centre within their home city.
What is the average wait time across UK cities in 2026?
The 10-city average wait time in May 2026 is 13.3 weeks, ranging from Edinburgh at 8 weeks to London at 20 weeks. Top-ranked cities by pass rate often have shorter waits (Edinburgh and Glasgow both under 11 weeks); bottom-ranked cities face longer waits as candidates retake more frequently. Birmingham at 18 weeks and London at 20 weeks have the longest waits, partly because the higher retake rate compounds demand. Use /tools/wait-time-finder for live city-by-city wait times before booking.
How do I compare driving test centres within the same UK city?
Use /tools/pass-rate-finder with your postcode to see your 6 nearest centres ranked by pass rate. Within-city spreads range from 9 percentage points (Bristol) to 22.5 percentage points (London); the right centre is rarely the nearest. For a city-by-city overview, see the driving test passing rates UK cities guide. For city-specific deep dives, see the easiest test centre guides for London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Sheffield, and Newcastle. The within-city spread is typically larger than the city-versus-city gap, so the within-city choice matters more.
Why do Scottish cities outperform English cities for driving test pass rates?
Three structural reasons. First, Scottish road infrastructure has fewer of the multi-lane roundabouts and box junctions that dominate English city routes; the typical Edinburgh test route has 1 to 2 complex roundabouts against 3 to 5 in a Birmingham route. Second, both Edinburgh and Glasgow have a higher share of suburban test centres (Currie, Bishopbriggs, Mosspark) than English equivalents, where the city core dominates. Third, Scottish learner driver hour averages run slightly higher (46 hours versus 44 hours in 2024-25), reflecting a tradition of longer preparation before the test. The Scottish advantage is roughly 2 percentage points and has been stable for 5 years.
How accurate is a city-level driving test pass rate comparison?
The underlying centre-level pass rates come from DVSA DRT122A annual statistics published under Open Government Licence v3.0; they are accurate to one decimal place and updated each autumn. City averages are volume-weighted across all active centres within the metro boundary, which is a defensible aggregation but does smooth over the within-city spread (9 to 22 percentage points typically). The city average is a useful starting point but a bad personal forecast; the relevant number is the pass rate at your booked centre. Use /tools/pass-rate-finder for centre-level data; third-party sites quoting different city numbers may be using older releases.
Related guides
Independent UK driving test analytics, reviewed against the latest DVSA quarterly statistical release.
Continue reading
A 2026 longitudinal review of UK driving test pass rates: 51.0 percent in 2018-19 to 48.7 percent in 2024-25, the 2.3pp decline driven by volume migration into harder centres, year-by-year breakdown and the structural explanation.
A 2026 head-to-head of London driving test pass rates against the UK national average: the 10.7 percentage point gap, the 22.5pp within-London spread between Hither Green and Belvedere, and the structural reasons London routes are harder.