Lancashire · North West
Chorley driving test centre
52.8% of car practical tests taken at Chorley passed in 2025-26, from 5,415 tests. Pass rates, local road types and how we prepare you for this centre.
Chorley pass rates
Pass rate 2025-26
52.8%
2,860 passes
National average
50%
+2.8 points here
Tests conducted
5,415
about 451 a month
Best published year
57.8%
2022-23
5,415 car practical tests were taken at Chorley in 2025-26. 52.8% passed, 2.8 percentage points above the national average of 50%. That is down from 56.9% in 2019-20.
Over the published years the rate has moved between 48.3% in 2024-25 and 57.8% in 2022-23, so a single year's figure is a weak guide on its own. That works out at roughly 451 tests a month, which is what waiting times at Chorley depend on more than the pass rate does.
- Chorley
- National average
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate | National | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 5,415 | 2,860 | 52.8% | 50% | 52.5% | 53.2% |
| 2024-25 | 5,257 | 2,538 | 48.3% | 48.7% | 47.6% | 49.2% |
| 2023-24 | 3,527 | 1,981 | 56.2% | 47.9% | 57.1% | 55% |
| 2022-23 | 3,393 | 1,960 | 57.8% | 48.4% | 58.4% | 57.1% |
| 2021-22 | 3,943 | 2,258 | 57.3% | 48.9% | 58.4% | 56% |
| 2019-20 | 3,496 | 1,990 | 56.9% | 45.9% | 59.2% | 54.7% |
Source: DVSA table DRT122A, car practical driving test pass rates by test centre, published on GOV.UK. Figures are financial years running April to March.
Where Chorley test centre is
Arrive ten minutes early and park where you can pull out easily. The waiting room is small at most centres, so your instructor will normally wait in the car park while you take the test.
Driving out of Chorley
The local network around Chorley is busy high streets, multi-lane roundabouts and residential roads, and test routes are built from it. You cannot cover that range on one street, so the pre-test sessions move between them.
Lane discipline on the ring road is where most marks are lost. Manoeuvres are normally set in quieter estates a few minutes from the centre. Most candidates here travel in from around Lancashire, so allow for the journey when you pick a slot.
Chorley takes candidates from across Lancashire, so plenty arrive having learned on a different road mix. That usually shows in the first five minutes of the drive.
The aim is simple: nothing on the drive should be new on the day.
Roads you are likely to meet
Busy high streets
Multi-lane roundabouts
Residential roads
- Lane discipline on the ring road is where most marks are lost.
- Manoeuvres are normally set in quieter estates a few minutes from the centre.
- Most candidates here travel in from around Lancashire, so allow for the journey when you pick a slot.
Test routes are no longer published by the DVSA, and examiners vary them. Treat this as a guide to the local road types rather than a route list. Book your test and check availability on GOV.UK.
Where marks are lost at Chorley
Busy-centre awareness
Progress matters here too. Sitting at a clear crossing waiting for nobody is marked as undue hesitancy.
Roundabout observation and lane choice
Marks are lost for arriving in the wrong lane, or for hesitating at a gap that was long enough. Decide your lane at the sign, not at the give-way line.
Priority on narrow streets
The recurring fault is stopping in the gap rather than before it, then having nowhere to go when something comes the other way.
How we prepare you for this centre
Time on the real roads
We plan the final sessions around Chorley itself, so the busy high streets you meet on test day are ones you have already driven.
A full mock test
A full-length mock from the Chorley area, scored on the DVSA sheet so you see exactly where the marks went.
Manoeuvres in real locations
All four test manoeuvres, practised in the kind of streets examiners around Chorley actually use.
The paperwork and the routine
We walk the whole sequence — arrival, documents, eyesight check, independent drive — so nothing on the day is new.
Courses that suit test-centre prep
Chorley test centre FAQs
What are the test routes like at Chorley?
The DVSA stopped publishing official routes, and examiners vary them. In practice, routes from Chorley draw on busy high streets, multi-lane roundabouts, residential roads, so those are the conditions to rehearse rather than a fixed sequence of streets.
What do learners most often fail on at Chorley?
busy-centre awareness, roundabout observation and lane choice, priority on narrow streets — all of which come directly from the road types on the local network.
Can I take an intensive course and test at Chorley?
Yes. We match you with a DVSA approved instructor who teaches on these roads day to day, and we look for the earliest practical slot at Chorley.
How do I book a practical test at Chorley?
Practical tests are booked through GOV.UK with your provisional licence and theory certificate numbers. We can check cancellations for you once your course dates are set.
What do I need to bring to Chorley?
Aim to be there ten minutes before your slot with your provisional licence. Your instructor will normally use the half hour beforehand for a warm-up drive on nearby roads rather than sitting in the car park.
Does Chorley have a good pass rate?
Travelling for a higher published pass rate usually backfires: you arrive tired, on roads you have never driven. Preparing properly for Chorley is the better use of the same hours.
Not sure how many hours you need?
Answer four quick questions and we will recommend a course based on your experience, not a sales target.