Driving test pass rates in North West, 2025/26

31 test centres in North West with at least 100 tests, ranked highest to lowest. The region averaged 49% from 256,739 tests, 1 points below the 50% Great Britain average. Barrow In Furness was the highest at 69.6%.

All regions East Midlands East of England London North East North West Scotland South East South West Wales West Midlands Yorkshire and The Humber

#	Test centre	Region	Tests	Passed	Pass rate	vs GB
1	Barrow In Furness	North West	1,699	1,183	69.6%	+19.6
2	Kendal (Oxenholme Road)	North West	2,231	1,453	65.1%	+15.1
3	Workington	North West	2,998	1,857	61.9%	+11.9
4	Heysham	North West	3,692	2,187	59.2%	+9.2
5	Carlisle	North West	3,518	2,065	58.7%	+8.7
6	Northwich	North West	3,529	2,032	57.6%	+7.6
7	Southport (Liverpool)	North West	7,949	4,493	56.5%	+6.5
8	Preston	North West	9,194	5,174	56.3%	+6.3
9	Bredbury (Manchester)	North West	10,636	5,953	56.0%	+6.0
10	Warrington	North West	7,550	4,193	55.5%	+5.5
11	Wallasey	North West	968	526	54.3%	+4.3
12	Chorley	North West	5,415	2,860	52.8%	+2.8
13	Upton	North West	10,772	5,667	52.6%	+2.6
14	Macclesfield	North West	4,509	2,341	51.9%	+1.9
15	Blackpool	North West	8,948	4,633	51.8%	+1.8
16	Bolton (Manchester)	North West	11,570	5,996	51.8%	+1.8
17	Nelson	North West	5,955	3,081	51.7%	+1.7
18	Sale (Manchester)	North West	10,921	5,613	51.4%	+1.4
19	Rochdale (Manchester)	North West	11,563	5,584	48.3%	-1.7
20	West Didsbury (Manchester)	North West	17,806	8,496	47.7%	-2.3
21	Chester	North West	9,212	4,360	47.3%	-2.7
22	Chadderton	North West	15,988	7,475	46.8%	-3.2
23	Blackburn with Darwen	North West	12,205	5,688	46.6%	-3.4
24	Bury (Manchester)	North West	7,024	3,255	46.3%	-3.7
25	Cheetham Hill (Manchester)	North West	10,207	4,565	44.7%	-5.3
26	Atherton (Manchester)	North West	13,035	5,779	44.3%	-5.7
27	Crewe	North West	4,994	2,187	43.8%	-6.2
28	Widnes (Liverpool)	North West	6,846	2,922	42.7%	-7.3
29	St Helens (Liverpool)	North West	14,174	5,803	40.9%	-9.1
30	Speke (Liverpool)	North West	8,159	3,308	40.5%	-9.5
31	Norris Green (Liverpool)	North West	13,472	5,099	37.8%	-12.2

Why pass rates differ so much between centres

The spread is wide: the top of this table is above 70% and the bottom below 35%, for the same test and the same marking sheet. Three things explain most of it. Rural centres put candidates on roads with fewer junctions, less traffic and simpler roundabouts. Urban centres, especially in London and Birmingham, see more candidates who learn in a hurry, take the test sooner, and retake more often. And who books where matters: some centres draw candidates from far away precisely because of their reputation.

A high pass rate does not mean easier examiners. Examiners rotate, and DVSA monitors their pass rates. What a high rate does tell you is that the local roads are forgiving, which is worth knowing if you have a choice of centres within reach.

Addresses, waiting times and route notes for every centre here are in the North West test centre directory, and the same ranking for the whole country is on the national pass rate table.