Data sources and methodology
Where our test-centre data comes from, how it is processed and what its limitations are.
Sources used
Test-centre figures come from official Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency tables published through GOV.UK driving-test data: cars (opens on GOV.UK in a new tab). DRT122F supplies the monthly median actual wait, appointment-availability measure and share of completed tests taken within 7 weeks of booking. DRT122A supplies overall annual car pass rates, DRT122C supplies annual first-attempt car pass rates and DRT122E supplies annual automatic-car pass rates.
The three nearest alternatives and approximate driving distances come from DVSA's official nearest-centre list (opens on GOV.UK in a new tab), last updated 28 May 2026. DVSA says the distances were calculated using Google Maps while avoiding motorways and can change as the list is improved.
The monthly test and availability figures cover August 2026; pass rates cover April 2025 to March 2026. Every record includes a source URL, data period and publication date.
Postcode proximity calculations
The postcode finder uses Postcodes.io (opens on Postcodes.io in a new tab) to obtain the approximate centre point of a full Great Britain postcode. Drive Test Finder UK then calculates straight-line distances in the visitor's browser against the published test-centre coordinates. These are approximate geographic distances, not road distances and not DVSA's official three permitted alternatives for changing an existing booking.
Great Britain postcode data is available under the source licences listed on the Postcodes.io licence page (opens on Postcodes.io in a new tab).
Update frequency
DVSA updates the completed-test median, seven-week share and appointment-availability data monthly. Test-centre pass-rate data is updated annually. The owner checks the publication each month and refreshes the site when a new usable table is released.
How calculations work
Regional and national summaries include only records with valid numeric values for the metric being calculated. Missing or non-numeric values are ignored rather than converted to zero. No missing pass rate, test count or pass count is estimated. The data-validation script stops a build when required fields, formats or unique identifiers are invalid.
Annual pass-rate breakdowns
The DRT122C first-attempt figure covers first attempts in both manual and automatic cars. The DRT122E automatic-car figure covers automatic-car tests across all attempts. These are different cohorts: the automatic-car figure is not an automatic first-attempt rate, and the two percentages should not be subtracted or treated as a like-for-like comparison.
Published rates are shown with their supporting test and pass counts where those counts are available. A rate based on fewer than 100 tests is labelled as a low sample. If DVSA publishes a rate but withholds or omits the supporting count, the site labels that limitation. If DVSA does not publish a centre-level rate, the site shows “Not published”. No value has been estimated. These safeguards help visitors interpret small or incomplete samples without discarding official figures.
How to read the monthly figures
- How long learners actually waited is the median time between booking and taking a test for people who completed a test during the month. Half waited less and half waited longer.
- Tests taken within 7 weeks of booking is the percentage of completed tests whose eventual test date was within 7 weeks of the original booking date. DVSA includes rescheduled tests. The published table does not give a monthly test count alongside this percentage, so a 0% or 100% result may reflect a small number of tests. It is not the chance of finding an appointment within 7 weeks now.
- Current appointment availability is the number of weeks until at least 10% of weekly appointments remained available in the published monthly snapshot.
- These measures can differ substantially. None is a live appointment search or a guarantee.
- People can obtain earlier tests through cancellations, rescheduled appointments or additional capacity.
- Pass rates describe past results and do not measure how easy a centre is.
- Some newly opened, renamed or small centres have no matching annual pass-rate figure in the current source and display “Not published”.
- Addresses, postcodes and coordinates come from the live GOV.UK Places Manager dataset used by the official centre finder. GOV.UK remains the definitive source for temporary locations and special instructions.
- The nearest-centre list applies to changes to car driving-test bookings under the rules introduced on 9 June 2026. Read the official 2026 booking-rule guidance (opens on GOV.UK in a new tab) before changing a booking.
Corrections
To request a correction, use the contact page and include the page URL, the value in question and an official source. Do not include licence numbers, booking references or other sensitive information.