Lancashire · North West
Heysham driving test centre
59.2% of car practical tests taken at Heysham passed in 2025-26, from 3,692 tests. Pass rates, local road types and how we prepare you for this centre.
Heysham pass rates
Pass rate 2025-26
59.2%
2,187 passes
National average
50%
+9.2 points here
Tests conducted
3,692
about 308 a month
Best published year
59.2%
2025-26
3,692 car practical tests were taken at Heysham in 2025-26. 59.2% passed, 9.2 percentage points above the national average of 50%. It is up on 2019-20, when 49.3% passed.
Over the published years the rate has moved between 49.3% in 2019-20 and 59.2% in 2025-26, so a single year's figure is a weak guide on its own. That works out at roughly 308 tests a month, which is what waiting times at Heysham depend on more than the pass rate does.
- Heysham
- National average
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate | National | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 3,692 | 2,187 | 59.2% | 50% | 59.2% | 59.3% |
| 2024-25 | 3,735 | 2,054 | 55% | 48.7% | 54.6% | 55.5% |
| 2023-24 | 3,641 | 1,989 | 54.6% | 47.9% | 54.1% | 55.3% |
| 2022-23 | 3,017 | 1,669 | 55.3% | 48.4% | 57% | 53.8% |
| 2021-22 | 2,685 | 1,382 | 51.5% | 48.9% | 55.8% | 47.4% |
| 2019-20 | 2,669 | 1,315 | 49.3% | 45.9% | 52.8% | 45.8% |
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.
Driving out of Heysham
Instructors who teach out of Heysham report the same road mix on most routes: industrial-estate approaches, level crossing or bridge pinch points and quiet outer streets. Learners who have only driven quiet estate roads tend to find the pace higher than they expect.
A calmer centre than the nearby cities, but the rural sections catch people out on speed and positioning. Sat-nav sections usually run on the wider through-routes rather than the back streets. Most candidates here travel in from around Lancashire, so allow for the journey when you pick a slot.
Heysham 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.
Book the mock early enough that there is time to fix whatever it finds.
Roads you are likely to meet
Industrial-estate approaches
Level crossing or bridge pinch points
Quiet outer streets
- A calmer centre than the nearby cities, but the rural sections catch people out on speed and positioning.
- Sat-nav sections usually run on the wider through-routes rather than the back streets.
- 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 Heysham
Meeting traffic and clearance
Whose priority it is, how much room you leave for parked cars, and whether you wait in a safe place — all marked closely on these streets.
Sharing the road with lorries
If you cannot see the lorry's mirrors, the driver cannot see you — and an examiner sitting alongside will mark the position.
How we prepare you for this centre
Practice where you will be marked
Your instructor works the roads around Heysham in the sessions before your test — industrial-estate approaches included — not generic estate roads.
A marked mock run
Run silently and scored properly — no coaching mid-drive — then debriefed fault by fault.
Manoeuvres to standard
Bay park, parallel park, pull up on the right and forward bay — rehearsed on live roads near the centre rather than an empty car park.
Everything around the drive
Paperwork, show me / tell me questions and the independent drive, run through in advance.
Courses that suit test-centre prep
Heysham test centre FAQs
What are the test routes like at Heysham?
The DVSA stopped publishing official routes, and examiners vary them. In practice, routes from Heysham draw on industrial-estate approaches, level crossing or bridge pinch points, quiet outer streets, so those are the conditions to rehearse rather than a fixed sequence of streets.
What do learners most often fail on at Heysham?
meeting traffic and clearance, sharing the road with lorries — all of which come directly from the road types on the local network.
Can I take an intensive course and test at Heysham?
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 Heysham.
How do I book a practical test at Heysham?
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.
How early should I arrive at Heysham?
Ten minutes early is enough. Bring your provisional licence; the eyesight check happens outside before you get in the car, so know which plate you can read.
Should I travel to a different centre instead?
We will not sell you a pass rate. Published DVSA figures reflect who books there as much as the roads, and a centre an hour away that you cannot practise around is a worse bet than the one your instructor drives every week.
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.