Data and statistics

UK driving test statistics, 2026 edition: 48% pass rate, 1.84M practical tests, 16-week wait. Scotland 55%, England 47%. Latest DVSA 2024-25 data analysed.

Does day of the week move your UK driving test pass rate? An honest look at DVSA data: small differences, why they exist, and why bookings should not change.

Gender pass-rate gap explored by region, age band, and per-centre. Where the 4-point gap widens, where it disappears entirely. 1.9M DVSA tests, interactive chart.

UK driving test pass rates by morning, midday, afternoon and evening slots, the 4-point gap instructors report, and practical advice on choosing a test time.

UK driving test pass rate by age band: 17 year olds pass near 55%, drivers 40+ near 38%. DVSA data, why the gap exists and what it means for older learners.

The UK driving test fail rate is 51.3% in 2024-25 (DVSA DRT122A). Junction observation is the most-recorded fault, accounting for roughly one in five fails. Full breakdown by category and centre.

How UK driving test volumes vary by region in 2026, the 20.5 percent post-COVID volume rise, the 11.5 percentage point pass-rate gap between low-volume and high-volume centres, and which centres have backlogs versus which have capacity.

A data-led look at UK driving test success in 2026: the 48.7 percent national average versus the 65 percent+ top decile of centres, what the highest-performing centres have in common, and what the patterns reveal about successful learners.

The 2026 statistical overview of UK driving tests: 48.7% national pass rate, around 1.84M annual Cat B tests, 11.5 percentage point volume gap between high and low-volume centres, 14.9 week wait gap, 15.6 percentage point age gap between cohorts. A hub guide cross-linking all 9 /research/* pages on passrates.uk.

A 2026 side-by-side comparison of UK driving test pass rates: by city, by region, by centre size, by age. Volume-weighted DVSA 2024-25 figures with cross-links to every /research/* page on passrates.uk.

A 2026 inversion of the pass-rate framing: the 5 toughest UK driving test centres by fail rate (Wolverhampton 66.6%, Featherstone 65.9%, Wednesbury 63.6%, Chingford (London) 63.5%, Gateshead 62.6%) and the route features that explain why.

A 2026 guide to the UK driving test pass percentage: 48.66% national (2024-25), the trend from 45.83% in 2018-19, centre-level variation from 33.4% to 66.7% in the rankable headline set, and what has changed.

A practical guide for first-time UK driving test bookers in 2026: how to read the 60.75% (DVSA 2024-25) first-attempt rate for 17yo against your own age cohort, when to book your first attempt, and the first-attempt-only preparation protocol.

National pass rate 48.7% in 2024-25, a 7-year high. The 34-point centre spread (33.4% to 67%) matters more than the headline. How to use it before you book.

A 2026 guide to UK driving test pass rates by postcode catchment: how the 6-centre default works, the 22.5pp London within-catchment spread (2024-25), the 33.6pp national spread and why postcode searches return the wrong default sort.

A 2026 head-to-head of London driving test pass rates against the UK national average: the 0.5pp headline gap (48.2% vs 48.7%, 2024-25), the 22.5pp within-London spread between Sidcup and Chingford, and why the real story is internal not external.

A 2026 side-by-side comparison of driving test pass rates across 12 UK metros: Bristol leads at 52.8% (2024-25); Newcastle trails at 40.7%. Full ranking with volume-weighted averages and within-city spreads.

A 2026 longitudinal review of UK driving test pass rates: 43.8 percent in 2007-08 to 48.7 percent in 2024-25, with a COVID anomaly in 2020-21. Year-by-year DRT122A data and the structural drivers.

A 2026 head-to-head comparison of UK driving test pass rates in rural and urban areas: the 3.2 percentage point gap, the Pearson r = -0.151 correlation between density tier and pass rate across 260 centres, and a practical framework for deciding whether to travel for an easier test.

A 2026 year-by-year reference for UK driving test pass percentages from 2007-08 to 2024-25: the long-run series, the pandemic-era jump, the post-pandemic normalisation, and what the trend says about test difficulty.

A 2026 comprehensive reference for UK driving test pass rate statistics: the 48.65 percent national pass rate, around 1.84M Cat B tests, 14.9 week average wait, 33.6 percentage point rankable-centre spread, and consolidated findings from the research deep-dives.

Male pass rate 49.5% vs female 47.6% in 2024-25, a gap of 1.9 points. The lowest on record. Full gender trend data from 2007-08 to 2024-25 from DVSA DRT122A.