Easiest places to pass your driving test first time in the UK – where does yours rank?

Dorchester, Dorset, is the EASIEST place to pass your driving test first time in the UK 

• Dorchester has an average pass rate of 67.3% for first attempt tests, the highest in the UK 
• Yeovil is the second easiest place to pass your driving test first time, with a 66.5% pass rate 
• Abergavenny, Wales comes in third 

New analysis has found that Dorchester, Dorset, is the easiest place to pass your driving test first time, in the UK. 

The study by learner insurance experts Ingenie examined the pass rate percentage of major driving test centres in the UK – those that have conducted at least 1,000 tests since April 2020 – to determine the one with the highest pass rate for first attempt tests. 

Dorchester, Dorset came out on top with the highest percentage of first attempt pass rates out of all test centres in the UK. This test centre has an average pass rate of 67.3%, when analysing the passes of all tests from April 2020 to June 2021 – of 1,062 first tests taken, 715 were passed.  

Placing second is Yeovil in Somerset, which comes in just below Dorchester with a pass rate of 66.5%. Dorchester’s test centre has assessed 1,080 prospective drivers for their first attempt test since April 2020, deeming 718 of them ready to drive. 

Abergavenny, Wales is the third easiest test centre for someone to pass their driving test first time in the UK with a pass rate of 65.1%. 

Durham test centre has completed 1,233 first attempt tests and handed out 786 licenses – a pass rate of 63.7%.  

Warrington ranks as the fifth easiest test centre to pass your driving test first time. Between April 2020 and June 2021, 1,039 first attempt tests were taken with 659 passed – a 63.4% pass rate. 

Ipswich comes in sixth in the rankings with a 63.3% pass rate. 

Bristol (Kingswood) is the seventh easiest UK test centre to pass your driving test first time. In this area, 1,746 tests were conducted, and 1,105 driving licenses were handed out.

In eighth place is Edinburgh (Currie) with a pass rate for first attempt tests of 62.2%, while Poole places just below that with a 62% pass rate. 

Ashfield comes in tenth place with a pass rate of 61.1% pass rate for learner drivers taking their first test. 

Birmingham (Sutton Coldfield) is the hardest place to pass your driving test first time in the UK with a pass rate of a mere 36.5%. Out of 1,015 tests taken, 370 were passed. 

In total between April 2020 and June 2021, there were 248,293 first attempt tests taken with 126,742 passed – a 51% pass rate. 

Commenting on the figures, a spokesperson for Ingenie said: “The disparity shown in driving test pass rates for first attempts is fascinating. There are several factors that go into a driving test, however, this analysis highlights that there are huge differences between test centres. Someone is nearly twice as likely to pass their driving test on their first attempt in Dorchester as they are in Birmingham.” 

Test centre and average percent pass rate for the top 10 in the UK
Dorchester	67.3
Yeovil	66.5
Abergavenny (Wales)	65.1
Durham	63.7
Warrington	63.4
Ipswich	63.3
Bristol (Kingswood)	62.7
Edinburgh (Currie)	62.2
Poole	62.0
Ashfield	61.1

The research was carried out by Ingenie, which is a black box car insurance brand which fits a black box in a user’s car to assess their driving style, ensuring that those who drive well can earn big discounts at renewal. 

Further information can be found at https://www.ingenie.com/