Devon · South West
Plymouth driving test centre
40.7% of car practical tests taken at Plymouth passed in 2025-26, from 11,167 tests. Pass rates, local road types and how we prepare you for this centre.
Plymouth pass rates
Pass rate 2025-26
40.7%
4,546 passes
National average
50%
-9.3 points here
Tests conducted
11,167
about 931 a month
Best published year
42.4%
2020-21
11,167 car practical tests were taken at Plymouth in 2025-26. 40.7% passed, 9.3 percentage points below the national average of 50%. It is up on 2019-20, when 38.6% passed.
Over the published years the rate has moved between 37.2% in 2022-23 and 42.4% in 2020-21, so a single year's figure is a weak guide on its own. In 2025-26 the rate was 38.3% for male candidates and 43.7% for female candidates. That works out at roughly 931 tests a month, which is what waiting times at Plymouth depend on more than the pass rate does.
- Plymouth
- National average
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate | National | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 11,167 | 4,546 | 40.7% | 50% | 38.3% | 43.7% |
| 2024-25 | 9,867 | 4,023 | 40.8% | 48.7% | 40% | 41.6% |
| 2023-24 | 9,037 | 3,641 | 40.3% | 47.9% | 41.3% | 39.2% |
| 2022-23 | 9,345 | 3,475 | 37.2% | 48.4% | 39.6% | 34.9% |
| 2021-22 | 7,671 | 3,021 | 39.4% | 48.9% | 40.7% | 38.2% |
| 2020-21 | 2,327 | 986 | 42.4% | 49.8% | 45% | 39.8% |
| 2019-20 | 8,563 | 3,303 | 38.6% | 45.9% | 41.4% | 35.9% |
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 Plymouth 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 Plymouth
Expect steep hills, busy junctions and dual carriageway on a test out of Plymouth. The demands are ordinary, but they are specific to this area.
Gradient control is the local challenge.
Plymouth covers learners in and around Plymouth, and it is where most of our Plymouth course students sit the test. If you are choosing between centres, practise the road types listed above rather than picking on pass-rate figures alone.
A marked mock test on these roads is the most useful thing you can do in the week before your slot.
Roads you are likely to meet
Steep hills
Busy junctions
Dual carriageway
- Gradient control is the local challenge.
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 Plymouth
Moving off uphill
Stopping on a hill is the easy half. The marked half is moving away again without rolling back into the car behind.
Joining and leaving at speed
Build up to the speed of the traffic on the slip road rather than emerging slowly, and check the mirror–blind spot pair before every lane change.
How we prepare you for this centre
Time on the real roads
We plan the final sessions around Plymouth itself, so the steep hills you meet on test day are ones you have already driven.
A full mock test
A full-length mock from the Plymouth 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 Plymouth 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
Plymouth test centre FAQs
What are the test routes like at Plymouth?
The DVSA stopped publishing official routes, and examiners vary them. In practice, routes from Plymouth draw on steep hills, busy junctions, dual carriageway, so those are the conditions to rehearse rather than a fixed sequence of streets.
What do learners most often fail on at Plymouth?
moving off uphill, joining and leaving at speed — all of which come directly from the road types on the local network.
Can I take an intensive course and test at Plymouth?
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 Plymouth or a nearby centre serving Plymouth.
How do I book a practical test at Plymouth?
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 Plymouth?
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 Plymouth 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 Plymouth 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.