Pass rate
UK theory test pass rate
Last updated
The UK car driving theory test pass rate for April 2024 to March 2025 was 44.9% — meaning fewer than half of candidates pass at the first sitting. The rate has been steadily declining from a 2007/08 peak of around 65% and has settled in the mid-40s since 2020.
Tables show pass rates for the car theory test by gender, age and test centre.
Latest annual pass rate
| Year | Pass rate | Note |
|---|---|---|
| April 2024 – March 2025 | 44.9% | Latest full year |
| April 2023 – March 2024 | ~45% | Q4 was 46.0% |
| April 2022 – March 2023 | ~44% | Q4 was 44.9% |
| 2007/08 | ~65.4% | Historic peak |
Five-year trend (2020-21 → 2024-25)
The pandemic spike of 2020-21 is the standout feature of the recent decade: with test centres closed for long stretches, learners had unprecedented time to revise, and the pass rate jumped over 11 points above the long-term trend. The decline back through 2021-22 and 2022-23 is the return to normal, not a sign of a harder test.
Pre-pandemic, the rate had been drifting downward for over a decade — from the 65.4% peak in 2007-08 to the high 40s by the late 2010s. The 2020-21 anomaly aside, the long-term direction has been steadily down as DVSA refreshed the question bank and added new categories (case study in 2020, CPR/AED in 2026, ADAS coverage in 2025).
Pass rate by gender (April 2024 – March 2025)
| Female | 47.2% |
|---|---|
| Male | 43.1% |
| Difference | +4.1 percentage points (female) |
Female candidates have consistently outperformed male candidates by roughly 3–4 percentage points since the gender breakdown was first published. The gap has stayed stable since 2020.
Pass rate by region (recent annual figures)
| Region | Pass rate |
|---|---|
| Scotland | ~48.9% |
| England | ~46.0% |
| Wales | ~42.3% |
Scotland has the highest theory test pass rate in Great Britain, around 7 percentage points above Wales. The gap holds across recent years.
Best and worst test centres
Pass rates vary considerably by test centre — partly driven by population mix and partly by the proportion of repeat candidates. Extremes from the April 2024 – March 2025 DVSA centre-level data (DRT112A):
- Highest: Kyle of Lochalsh in the Scottish Highlands at 64.3%.
- Lowest: Millom in Cumbria at 34.6%.
See the full top 10 and bottom 10, the biggest year-on-year movers and a breakdown by nation on our pass rate by test centre page. Use the official centre finder to see what’s near you; everyone takes the same DVSA question bank, so your centre choice does not change what’s actually tested.
Why the pass rate is lower than people expect
The pass mark is 43 out of 50 on multiple choice (86%) and 44 out of 75 on hazard perception (about 59%) — and both must be passed in the same sitting. DVSA has expanded the question bank, added the video case-study question (2020), upgraded the hazard perception clips to CGI (2015), and from 2026 is rolling out new CPR and AED questions. Each refresh tends to nudge the pass rate down a point or two until candidates and revision materials catch up.
The pass rate is not the same as the pass mark. The mark is the threshold a single candidate has to clear; the rate is how often candidates actually clear it. For a deep dive on the threshold, see the pass mark guide .
How to be in the 44.9%
- Practise by syllabus topic before you take full mocks. The DVSA test covers 14 syllabus topics — work through them in order, then start mock tests.
- Score 47/50 or above in practice consistently. Real-exam nerves cost a few marks; 43/50 in practice is too close to the line.
- Practise hazard perception separately. The click-timing skill is different from multiple-choice recall — see our hazard perception explainer .
- Don’t take the test on a slow week. Q1 of each calendar year tends to have higher pass rates than Q3 — candidates seem better prepared after the new-year goal-setting bump.
- Book early, then keep revising. Theory test slots are usually available within 1–2 weeks; booking gives you a deadline to revise toward.
How DVSA publishes the data
DVSA publishes theory test statistics on gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/driving-test-and-theory-test-data-cars . Tables of interest:
- DRT111A — Quarterly and annual pass rates for Great Britain
- DRT111B — Monthly breakdown by gender
- DRT111C — Annual breakdown by gender and age
- DRT112A — Pass rates by gender and month at each test centre
Tables are .ods (OpenDocument Spreadsheet). The most recent release covers data to March 2025 and was published on 14 August 2025 — the figures on this page reflect that release. DVSA’s car practical test data is now updated monthly, but the car theory test tables (DRT111A/B/C and DRT112A) have not been refreshed since August 2025. The next release covering April 2025 to March 2026 is expected in summer 2026; we will update this page when DVSA publishes it.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Driving test and theory test data: cars (DVSA quarterly tables)
- GOV.UK — Driver and rider testing and instructor statistics: April 2023 to March 2024
- GOV.UK — Theory test pass mark and result
- DVSA — DVSA Annual Report and Accounts 2024–2025