Driving Test Pass Rate 2024-2025: 48.7% UK Average, 1.84M Tests, 893k Passed, DVSA DRT122A Data, Best Year Since 2018
The DVSA published the 2024-25 driving test statistics in autumn 2025. The headline number is 48.65 percent, the highest annual UK pass rate since 2017-18. Behind that single figure sit 1.84 million tests across 310 centres, ranging from Peebles at 67 percent to Wolverhampton at 33.4 percent. The 33.6 point spread across centres is the story the headline number hides. Knowing the breakdown rather than the average is the difference between a useful number and a misleading one.
- Overall UK pass rate
- 48.7%2024-25 statistical year
- Total tests conducted
- 1.84M1,835,997 across 310 centres
- Total passed
- 893k893,260 candidates
- Total failed
- 942k942,737 candidates
- Highest centre pass rate
- 67.0%Peebles, Scottish Borders
- Lowest centre pass rate
- 33.4%Wolverhampton, West Midlands
What "pass rate 2024-25" actually means
The DVSA statistical year runs April to March. The 2024-25 dataset covers all category B (car) practical tests conducted at UK test centres between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. The dataset is published as DRT122A in the official statistics release each autumn, alongside DRT122B (theory test) and DRT122C (motorcycle / HGV / specialist categories). All numbers in this guide refer to category B unless otherwise stated. The 48.65 percent figure is the simple ratio of passed tests to total tests across all 310 active centres, weighted by test volume.
A test counts toward the pass rate even if the candidate is on their 6th attempt; the DRT122A figure is per-test not per-candidate. The first-time pass rate is reported separately and runs at roughly 47.2 percent for 2024-25, very close to the overall figure because first-time and retake outcomes converge across a large dataset. The first-time pass rate explained guide covers the methodological distinction.
How 2024-25 compares to recent years
Pass rate by gender
| Group | Tests | Pass rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male candidates | 926k | 52.1% | |
| Female candidates | 910k | 45.2% | |
| All candidates | 1.84M | 48.7% |
Pass rate by category
| Category | Description | 2024-25 pass rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category B | Cars (this guide) | 48.7% | |
| Category A | Motorcycles full A | 74.2% | |
| Category A2 | Motorcycles restricted | 76.8% | |
| Category C | LGV / HGV rigid | 57.4% | |
| Category C+E | HGV articulated | 64.1% | |
| Category D | Bus and coach | 60.3% | |
| Category B+E | Car with trailer | 67.5% |
The centre-by-centre spread
The 48.7 percent overall figure conceals a 33.6 percentage point spread between the highest and lowest active centres. The 2024-25 top 5 centres by pass rate (with a minimum 500 test volume to filter noise) were Peebles (67.0 percent), Malton (66.7 percent), Dorchester (66.7 percent), Montrose (66.7 percent), and Pwllheli (66.0 percent). All five are rural or small-town centres with quiet test routes and low test volumes. The 2024-25 bottom 5 by the same volume filter were Wolverhampton (33.4 percent), Featherstone (34.1 percent), Wednesbury (36.4 percent), Chingford London (36.5 percent), and Gateshead (37.4 percent). All five are urban centres in dense, complex traffic environments. The easiest vs hardest test centres guide covers the structural drivers.
The London-specific picture: Goodmayes recorded 21,961 tests in 2024-25 (the highest UK test volume) at a 43.7 percent pass rate. Birmingham (Garretts Green) was second at 21,871 tests and 42.0 percent. These two centres alone account for 2.4 percent of all UK tests in the year. The Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and Greater London regions concentrate both the high-volume centres and the lower pass rates; the rural and small-town centres of the Scottish Borders, North Yorkshire, Dorset, Wales and the South West concentrate the higher pass rates.
Why the 2024-25 figure is the highest since 2017-18
Three structural drivers explain the modest 0.7 point lift from 2023-24 to 2024-25. First, the DVSA backlog reduction programme (the post-COVID examiner hiring push) reached steady-state in early 2024, removing the rushed-preparation effect that depressed 2022-23 pass rates. Second, the May 2026 booking rule change was preceded by a multi-month run-up of cancellation-bot suppression by the DVSA, which removed some of the under-prepared candidates who had been rushing into tests via bot-acquired slots. Third, lesson hour averages crept up from 41 hours (2022-23) to 44 hours (2024-25) according to passrates.uk ADI survey data, the strongest single correlate of pass outcome. See the driving test statistics UK 2026 guide for the methodological detail.
What candidates can take from the 2024-25 figure
The 48.7 percent overall figure is a useful benchmark but a bad personal forecast. The candidate-specific pass probability depends on the centre booked (15 to 22 percentage point swing), the preparation hours invested (5 to 10 point swing), the lesson type mix (private vs ADI, 3 to 6 point swing), and the day-of conditions (1 to 3 point swing). A candidate at Peebles with 45 hours of preparation has a roughly 70 percent realistic pass probability; the same candidate at Wolverhampton has a roughly 33 percent pass probability. The 33-point spread is preparation-resilient at the high end and preparation-amplifying at the low end. The pass driving test first time tips guide covers the controllables.
- 01Look up your test centre pass rate
Check the DVSA published figure or /tools/pass-rate-finder for the 2024-25 rate at your booked centre. This is your statistical baseline.
- 02Adjust for preparation hours
Under 30 hours: subtract 8 points. 30 to 45 hours: use the baseline. 45 to 60 hours: add 3 points. 60+ hours: add 5 points. Most candidates land at baseline plus or minus 5.
- 03Adjust for first-time vs retake
First-time attempts run roughly 1.5 points below baseline. Retake-2 attempts run roughly 2 points below baseline. Retake-3+ converge back to baseline (selection effect).
- 04Adjust for day-of conditions
Heavy rain or fog: subtract 1 to 3 points. Rush-hour slot (8 to 9am or 4 to 5pm): subtract 1 to 2 points. Off-peak slot (10am to 12pm or 1 to 3pm): add 1 to 2 points.
The data sources and how to verify them
The DVSA publishes the underlying DRT122A statistics annually each autumn at gov.uk/government/statistics/driving-test-statistics. The 2024-25 release covers April 2024 to March 2025 and is available as CSV downloads under Open Government Licence v3.0, which permits reuse with attribution. The PassRates.uk dataset at /data is rebuilt from each annual release and includes the underlying month-by-month and centre-by-centre breakdowns. The /research/test-volume-trends page tracks the year-over-year test volume trajectory. Any third-party site quoting different headline numbers is either using a non-official dataset or has not yet updated to the 2024-25 release.
“The DVSA publishes 1.84 million test outcomes a year and the press picks out one number. The 48.7 percent figure is correct and almost useless to any individual candidate. The number that matters is the pass rate at the candidate centre, and that ranges from 33 to 67 percent.”
How this connects with the wider statistics picture
For the volume trajectory and what it implies for wait times, see /research/test-volume-trends. For the full national rankings, see the easiest vs hardest test centres guide. For the methodological framework around first-time vs overall figures, see the first-time pass rate explained guide. For the gender breakdown, see the male vs female pass rates guide. For the centre-level data and the live pass-rate finder, see /tools/pass-rate-finder. For the 2026 outlook informed by the 2024-25 baseline, see the UK driving test statistics 2026 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
What is the UK driving test pass rate for 2024-2025?
The official UK driving test pass rate for 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025) is 48.65 percent across all category B (car) practical tests. The figure comes from DVSA DRT122A statistics published under Open Government Licence v3.0. Out of 1,835,997 tests conducted at 310 active UK centres in the year, 893,260 candidates passed and 942,737 failed. The 48.65 percent rate is the highest annual UK pass rate since 2017-18 (47.4 percent) and reflects partial post-pandemic recovery of preparation quality plus modest lesson hour increases (41 hours average in 2022-23 to 44 hours in 2024-25).
How does the 2024-25 pass rate compare to previous years?
The 2024-25 figure of 48.7 percent is the highest since 2020-21 (49.8 percent, pandemic-era anomaly with lower test volumes and a self-selecting cohort). The pre-pandemic baseline was 46.0 percent in 2018-19 and 45.9 percent in 2019-20. Post-pandemic the figures ran 48.4 (2021-22), 47.3 (2022-23), 48.0 (2023-24), and 48.7 (2024-25). The long-run UK average sits at roughly 47 percent. The 2024-25 figure is therefore above-trend by about 1.5 points, reflecting the volume-stabilisation effect after the post-COVID backlog reduction programme reached steady-state.
What was the highest UK driving test centre pass rate in 2024-2025?
Peebles in the Scottish Borders recorded the highest UK driving test pass rate in 2024-25 at 67.0 percent (528 tests, 354 passes). Close behind were Malton (North Yorkshire) and Dorchester (Dorset) both at 66.7 percent, Montrose (Angus) at 66.7 percent, and Pwllheli (Gwynedd) at 66.0 percent. All five are rural or small-town centres with quiet test routes, low test volumes, and self-selecting candidate pools. The structural advantage of rural centres (less traffic, simpler junctions, more predictable conditions) accounts for the bulk of the 30+ percentage point gap to the worst-performing urban centres.
What was the lowest UK driving test centre pass rate in 2024-2025?
Wolverhampton recorded the lowest UK driving test pass rate in 2024-25 at 33.4 percent (11,719 tests, 3,914 passes). Featherstone (West Midlands) was second-lowest at 34.1 percent, then Wednesbury at 36.4 percent, Chingford London at 36.5 percent, and Gateshead at 37.4 percent. All five are urban centres with complex traffic environments, multiple roundabouts, dual carriageway sections, and high pedestrian density. The 33.6 percentage point national spread (67.0 vs 33.4) means the choice of test centre is the single largest controllable factor in a UK candidate pass probability.
How does the 2024-25 pass rate break down by category?
Category B (cars) was 48.7 percent. Category A (full motorcycle) was 74.2 percent. Category A2 (restricted motorcycle) was 76.8 percent. Category C (LGV / HGV rigid) was 57.4 percent. Category C+E (HGV articulated) was 64.1 percent. Category D (bus and coach) was 60.3 percent. Category B+E (car with trailer) was 67.5 percent. Motorcycle and vocational categories run materially higher than category B because the candidate pool is older, more experienced, and self-selecting (paying for vocational training). Category B is the public benchmark because it covers 90+ percent of UK practical test volume.
What is the difference between overall pass rate and first-time pass rate for 2024-25?
The overall pass rate (48.65 percent) counts every test in the dataset, including 2nd, 3rd, 4th and later attempts by repeat candidates. The first-time pass rate (47.2 percent for 2024-25) counts only candidate first attempts. The two figures are close (1.5 points apart) because first-attempt and retake outcomes converge across a large dataset; first-time candidates are slightly more nervous, retake candidates have slightly more experience but slightly lower selection (they failed once already). The DVSA reports both figures separately. See the first-time pass rate explained guide for the methodological detail.
Where can I find the official DVSA driving test pass rate data for 2024-25?
The DVSA publishes the underlying DRT122A statistics annually at gov.uk/government/statistics/driving-test-statistics. The 2024-25 release covers April 2024 to March 2025 and is available as CSV downloads under Open Government Licence v3.0, which permits reuse with attribution. The release date is typically October or November of the following year (the 2024-25 release was published autumn 2025). The PassRates.uk dataset at /data is rebuilt from each annual release and includes month-by-month and centre-by-centre breakdowns. Third-party sites quoting different headline numbers may be using older data.
What does the 48.7% pass rate mean for an individual candidate?
It is a useful benchmark but a bad personal forecast. Candidate-specific pass probability depends on the centre booked (15 to 22 percentage point swing within a typical region), preparation hours invested (5 to 10 point swing), lesson type mix (3 to 6 point swing), and day-of conditions (1 to 3 point swing). A candidate at Peebles with 45 hours of preparation has a roughly 70 percent realistic pass probability; the same candidate at Wolverhampton has a roughly 33 percent probability. Use the overall 48.7 percent figure as national context, then adjust based on your booked centre and preparation. See /tools/pass-rate-finder for centre-level data.
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