Best UK Centres for First-Time Pass 2026: 50 Centres Ranked
These are the 50 UK driving test centres with the highest first-time pass rates on the latest DVSA release, meaning the percentage of candidates who pass on their first attempt is highest here. This is often a more useful metric than overall pass rate, as it excludes retake distortions.
The top 3
Distribution across the top 50
Each bar shows how many of the top 50 centres fall into that 1st-time pass band.
The full top 50
- 1Kendal (Oxenholme Road)Heron Hill, England, pass rate: 64.8%View68.5%1st-time pass
- 2DorchesterDorchester, England, pass rate: 66.7%View66.8%1st-time pass
- 3ChichesterChichester, England, pass rate: 64.2%View64.6%1st-time pass
- 4NewtownNewtown, Wales, pass rate: 63.7%View64.5%1st-time pass
- 5Melton MowbrayMelton Mowbray, England, pass rate: 63.9%View64.2%1st-time pass
- 6IpswichIpswich, England, pass rate: 63.1%View64%1st-time pass
- 7HaddingtonHaddington, Scotland, pass rate: 62.2%View63.5%1st-time pass
- 8Barrow In FurnessBarrow-in-Furness, England, pass rate: 61.9%View63.5%1st-time pass
- 9BangorBangor, Wales, pass rate: 64.1%View63.4%1st-time pass
- 10AbergavennyAbergavenny, Wales, pass rate: 61.1%View63%1st-time pass
- 11MonmouthMonmouth, Wales, pass rate: 61.2%View62.4%1st-time pass
- 12BarryBarry, Wales, pass rate: 61.8%View61.6%1st-time pass
- 13Lee On The SolentLee-on-the-Solent, England, pass rate: 59.6%View60.6%1st-time pass
- 14HerefordHereford, England, pass rate: 59.4%View60.6%1st-time pass
- 15DundeeDundee, Scotland, pass rate: 60.3%View60.2%1st-time pass
- 16LudlowLudlow, England, pass rate: 59.6%View60.2%1st-time pass
- 17KnaresboroughKnaresborough, England, pass rate: 58.5%View60%1st-time pass
- 18Birmingham (Shirley)Birmingham, England, pass rate: 58.1%View59.9%1st-time pass
- 19Sidcup (London)Sidcup, England, pass rate: 59%View59.8%1st-time pass
- 20Grantham (Somerby)Grantham, England, pass rate: 58.1%View59.8%1st-time pass
- 21NorthallertonNorthallerton, England, pass rate: 58.6%View59.3%1st-time pass
- 22YeovilYeovil, England, pass rate: 59.7%View59.1%1st-time pass
- 23SkegnessSkegness, England, pass rate: 57.6%View59.1%1st-time pass
- 24Southport (Liverpool)Southport, England, pass rate: 59.2%View59%1st-time pass
- 25WorthingWorthing, England, pass rate: 58.8%View58.9%1st-time pass
- 26FarnboroughFarnborough, England, pass rate: 58.3%View58.7%1st-time pass
- 27PeterheadPeterhead, Scotland, pass rate: 57.8%View58.7%1st-time pass
- 28Tunbridge WellsRoyal Tunbridge Wells, England, pass rate: 58.9%View58.4%1st-time pass
- 29LetchworthBaldock, England, pass rate: 58.3%View58.2%1st-time pass
- 30Norwich (Peachman Way)Norwich, England, pass rate: 57%View58.1%1st-time pass
- 31AlnwickAlnwick, England, pass rate: 51%View58.1%1st-time pass
- 32MaidstoneMaidstone, England, pass rate: 58%View58%1st-time pass
- 33BuxtonBuxton, England, pass rate: 57%View58%1st-time pass
- 34OswestryOswestry, England, pass rate: 55.6%View57.5%1st-time pass
- 35GillinghamGillingham, England, pass rate: 57.2%View57.4%1st-time pass
- 36BreconBrecon, Wales, pass rate: 58.9%View57.3%1st-time pass
- 37WrexhamOffa, Wales, pass rate: 56.8%View57%1st-time pass
- 38Pembroke DockPembroke Dock, Wales, pass rate: 57.9%View56.8%1st-time pass
- 39Bolton (Manchester)Great Lever, England, pass rate: 56.7%View56.8%1st-time pass
- 40HexhamHexham, England, pass rate: 56.7%View56.8%1st-time pass
- 41Weston-super-MareWeston-super-Mare, England, pass rate: 56.5%View56.7%1st-time pass
- 42HeyshamHeysham, England, pass rate: 55%View56.7%1st-time pass
- 43AyrAyr, Scotland, pass rate: 56.8%View56.3%1st-time pass
- 44ChesterfieldChesterfield, England, pass rate: 54.5%View56.3%1st-time pass
- 45TauntonTaunton, England, pass rate: 56.3%View56.2%1st-time pass
- 46BasingstokeBrighton Hill, England, pass rate: 56.9%View55.9%1st-time pass
- 47Bredbury (Manchester)Castle Hill, England, pass rate: 54.2%View55.9%1st-time pass
- 48InverurieInverurie, Scotland, pass rate: 54.3%View55.7%1st-time pass
- 49RhylRhyl, Wales, pass rate: 55.9%View55.6%1st-time pass
- 50BridlingtonBridlington, England, pass rate: 56.4%View55.5%1st-time pass
About this ranking
How we calculate it
Sample-size rules
What to use this ranking for
What this ranking does NOT tell you
- It does not predict your individual chance of passing, that depends primarily on your preparation, instructor, and the specific route you draw.
- It does not adjust for catchment-area difficulty. Urban centres serve denser, more complex road networks; rural centres often don't.
- It does not factor in route variability, most centres rotate between several routes, with very different difficulty profiles.
- It does not capture examiner-to-examiner variation, which research suggests is real but small.
- It is an aggregate over many years. A centre's recent performance may differ from its lifetime number.
Frequently asked questions
What is the first-time pass rate?
It's the percentage of candidates at a centre who passed on their very first practical test booking, calculated against all first attempts on record. It strips out the distortion caused by retakes and is widely considered a more honest indicator of centre difficulty than the headline pass rate.
Why is Kendal (Oxenholme Road) top of the first-time pass list?
Kendal (Oxenholme Road) has the highest first-time pass rate in the dataset (68.5%). High first-time rates correlate with two things: simpler routes (so well-prepared learners aren't tripped up by hazards they haven't practised) and a strong local instructor community that doesn't push under-prepared candidates to test.
Is first-time pass rate more reliable than overall pass rate?
For comparing centres, generally yes. Overall pass rate can be inflated at centres where many candidates retake, each retake counts as a fresh test, and retake candidates pass at higher rates than first-attempt ones. First-time pass rate avoids that distortion.
What's the UK national first-time pass rate?
The UK national first-time pass rate currently sits around 49%. Centres at the top of this list outperform that by a meaningful margin.
Should I aim to pass first time at a high-FTP centre?
If geography permits and you've done genuine route-specific preparation, yes, that's a reasonable strategy. But a centre's high first-time pass rate is a population statistic; it doesn't override the importance of mock tests, lessons on the actual local routes, and a confident, prepared mindset on the day.
Explore further
Source: DVSA quarterly statistical release, Updated annually