# Darlington Driving Test Centre — Pass Rate & Waiting Time

> Darlington driving test centre has a 47.1% pass rate and an average 8.9 weeks wait. Compare it with nearby DVSA centres.

Source: https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/darlington/

# Darlington driving test centre

North East, England · Yarm Road, Morton Palms, Darlington · DL1 4PX

## Darlington at a glance

Pass rate

47.1%

April 2025 to March 2026

Average wait

8.9 weeks

August 2026

Tests a year

12,183

April 2025 to March 2026

Slots still free

8.6%

Of the 24-week booking window

## How Darlington compares

Darlington passes **47.1%** of car tests, which is **3 points below the 50.1% national average**. The typical wait between booking and testing is **8.9 weeks**, 3.9 weeks shorter than the national average of 12.8 weeks. It conducted **12,183** car tests in April 2025 to March 2026. In the most recent month DVSA has published, March 2026, the rate was **44.4%** — a single month, so expect it to bounce around the annual figure.

## Trends at Darlington

Pass rate

Mar 2026: **44.4%**

Monthly car practical pass rate at Darlington driving test centre, most recent 12 published months.
| Month | Pass rate |
| --- | --- |
| March 2026 | 44.4% |
| February 2026 | 44.6% |
| January 2026 | 46.4% |
| December 2025 | 45.5% |
| November 2025 | 43.8% |
| October 2025 | 46.4% |
| September 2025 | 48% |
| August 2025 | 50.1% |
| July 2025 | 50.6% |
| June 2025 | 51% |
| May 2025 | 50.4% |
| April 2025 | 51.7% |

Waiting time

Aug 2026: **8.9w**

Average wait in weeks between booking and taking a car test at Darlington, most recent 12 published months.
| Month | Average wait |
| --- | --- |
| August 2026 | 8.9 weeks |
| July 2026 | 8.9 weeks |
| June 2026 | 7.1 weeks |
| May 2026 | 6.7 weeks |
| April 2026 | 6.4 weeks |
| March 2026 | 5.7 weeks |
| February 2026 | 4.9 weeks |
| January 2026 | 5.6 weeks |
| December 2025 | 6.3 weeks |
| November 2025 | 6.4 weeks |
| October 2025 | 6.9 weeks |
| September 2025 | 6.3 weeks |

Tests conducted each month

Mar 2026: **1227**

Car practical tests conducted each month at Darlington, most recent 12 published months.
| Month | Tests conducted |
| --- | --- |
| March 2026 | 1,227 |
| February 2026 | 1,237 |
| January 2026 | 1,199 |
| December 2025 | 1,230 |
| November 2025 | 1,191 |
| October 2025 | 1,291 |
| September 2025 | 1,164 |
| August 2025 | 885 |
| July 2025 | 1,005 |
| June 2025 | 625 |
| May 2025 | 564 |
| April 2025 | 565 |

## Year by year

Car practical tests, passes and pass rate at Darlington driving test centre by DVSA financial year (April to March).
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-26 | 12,183 | 5,740 | 47.1% |
| 2024-25 | 6,828 | 3,357 | 49.2% |
| 2023-24 | 6,944 | 3,825 | 55.1% |
| 2022-23 | 5,456 | 3,111 | 57% |
| 2021-22 | 3,317 | 1,823 | 55% |
| 2020-21 | 702 | 436 | 62.1% |
| 2019-20 | 3,337 | 1,718 | 51.5% |
| 2018-19 | 3,069 | 1,580 | 51.5% |
| 2017-18 | 3,740 | 1,839 | 49.2% |
| 2016-17 | 4,323 | 2,160 | 50% |

## Where it is

## Nearby test centres

There is no catchment area for the practical test — you can book at any of these instead.

-   [Middlesbrough](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/middlesbrough/)
    
    20 km away
    
    47.7% pass · 14.3 weeks wait
    
-   [Northallerton](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/northallerton/)
    
    20 km away
    
    60.4% pass · 8.9 weeks wait
    
-   [Chester](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/chester/)
    
    20 km away
    
    47.3% pass · 14.4 weeks wait
    
-   [Durham](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/durham/)
    
    26 km away
    
    53.2% pass · 15.7 weeks wait
    
-   [Hartlepool](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/hartlepool/)
    
    26 km away
    
    51% pass · 13.4 weeks wait
    
-   [Sevenoaks](https://ukdrivingtestcentres.co.uk/sevenoaks/)
    
    41 km away
    
    59% pass · 10.4 weeks wait
    

Everything on this page describes Darlington driving test centre. Figures come from the DVSA statistical data sets [DRT122A and DRT122F](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/driving-test-and-theory-test-data-cars), published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Pass rates run to March 2026 and waiting times to August 2026. This page was last updated 14 September 2026.