Elgin driving test centre
Crown Buildings, 21 Trinity Road, Elgin, IV30 1UE
Drive the 5 routes around Elgin before test day →
Key facts
- Elgin's pass rate was 42.3% in 2025/26 from 2,934 tests, 7.7 points below the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 62 of 67 centres in Scotland (Scotland average 49.3%), one of the lower pass rates in the region, 7 points below it.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has fallen by 2.9 points, from 45.2% to 42.3%.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 10.7 weeks since booking; the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 12.8 weeks ahead.
- A year earlier (August 2025) the median wait was 7.9 weeks, so waits have grown by about 2.8 weeks.
Elgin is a hard centre by the numbers. Its pass rate sits near the bottom of the Scottish table and has fallen since 2021, while Buckie and Huntly, both within driving distance, do noticeably better. What makes it hard is not one big hazard. It is three level crossings, five conventional roundabouts, six mini-roundabouts and a town centre of one-way streets, all packed into a small area that a route crosses several times in forty minutes. The centre is in Crown Buildings on Trinity Road, a short walk from Elgin station, and most routes start on North Street or Boroughbriggs Road, which carry the through traffic and are busy at both ends of the working day.
Drive the Elgin test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 53 km in all, with 39 roundabouts and 135 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Elgin; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Elgin from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 53 km · 135 marked turns
- Examiner-style marking on signalling and observation
- Street View tour of each route
- Every roundabout and junction, in the order you'll meet them
- The four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios, included
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- Route 1 · via Duffus Road11.6 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 11 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Brumley Brae.11.6 km · 27 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via North Street10.0 km loop with 10 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 8 left turns and a stretch of Covesea Road.10.0 km · 26 turns · 10 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via Duffus Road11.4 km loop with 6 roundabouts, 11 right turns, 15 left turns and a stretch of North Street.11.4 km · 32 turns · 6 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Covesea Road12.1 km loop with 10 roundabouts, 10 right turns, 10 left turns and a stretch of North Street.12.1 km · 30 turns · 10 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via North Street8.4 km loop with 6 roundabouts, 10 right turns, 4 left turns and a stretch of Lesmurdie Road.8.4 km · 20 turns · 6 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
The level crossings are what set Elgin apart. Three sit within a mile and a half of the centre, on the line along the north side of the town, and a route can be held at a closed barrier for a couple of minutes. That is not a fault in itself, but candidates who have never stopped at one get flustered. Stop behind the line, handbrake on, and do not creep forward while the barrier is down.
The rest of the test is town driving at 30. Around seven roads in ten nearby carry that limit and fewer than one in five is 20 mph, so the transitions come less often than at Scottish centres further south, which means they are easier to miss. North Street, South Street and Boroughbriggs Road handle the through traffic. Station Road, Haugh Road and Cumming Street are narrower, parked on both sides, with give-way junctions where you cannot see until the bonnet is almost out.
Five conventional roundabouts sit on the routes — Laichmoray, Myreside Circle, Alexandra Road, Covesea Road and Covesea Rise — with six mini-roundabouts on top of them. The mini-roundabouts are where faults collect, usually a missed exit signal or too much speed on approach.
New Elgin Road, Morriston Road, Lesmurdie Road and Springfield Drive run out to the estates on the south and east sides, where the manoeuvres are normally set. Eleven schools sit within the same radius as the centre. The practice loops on this page run from 8.4 to 12.1 km.
Pass rate at Elgin, 2007/08 to 2025/26
Share of car tests passed each April-to-March year. Dashed line: Great Britain average for 2025/26.
Month by month, 2025/26
By year and gender
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 2,934 | 42.3% | 42.2% | 42.4% |
| 2024/25 | 2,184 | 44.5% | 42.7% | 46.3% |
| 2023/24 | 1,942 | 45.2% | 46.6% | 43.7% |
| 2022/23 | 1,917 | 44.7% | 46.4% | 43.1% |
| 2021/22 | 2,358 | 45.2% | 45.6% | 44.9% |
| 2020/21 | 644 | 52.2% | 51.7% | 52.5% |
| 2019/20 | 1,919 | 48.8% | 50.1% | 47.6% |
| 2018/19 | 1,942 | 48.4% | 52.1% | 45.3% |
Scotland average 49.3% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Elgin
Median weeks between booking and taking the test, for tests taken each month. Dashed line: GB median for August 2026.
| Month | Median wait | Weeks to free slots | Slots offered | Still free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 10.7 | 12.8 | 35 | 12.2% |
| Jul 2026 | 10.7 | 16.5 | 37 | 13.2% |
| Jun 2026 | 7.6 | 14.8 | 48 | 9.9% |
| May 2026 | 3.4 | 16.5 | 64 | 8.1% |
| Apr 2026 | 5.7 | 18 | 58 | 5.9% |
| Mar 2026 | 5.6 | 21 | 56 | 13.3% |
Tell me when the wait at Elgin drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Elgin
The centre is in Crown Buildings at 21 Trinity Road, a government office block rather than a purpose-built test centre, about a mile from Elgin station and within walking distance of the town centre. Parking at buildings of this type is usually a small car park with a few visitor spaces, and that is the pattern to expect; instructors here generally park on the streets nearby and walk back.
GOV.UK lists car tests and motorcycle module 2, the on-road module, at Elgin, and records that you can access the centre if you use a wheelchair.
Inside, the routine is the standard one: your name called, licence checked, the insurance and residency declaration signed, then the eyesight check outside before you get into the car.
Two practical points. More than 40 per cent of the standard slots in the booking window were still unbooked in the summer, so chasing a cancellation or an earlier date is realistic here. And the month matters more than at most centres: December and June are consistently the strongest months for passes at Elgin, January and May the weakest, with several points between them.
What DVSA publishes about Elgin
Taken from the GOV.UK test centre finder, checked 3 September 2026. Where DVSA says nothing, this site says nothing.
- Tests conducted here
- carmotorcycle module 2 (on-road)
- Wheelchair access
- DVSA states you can access this centre in a wheelchair.
Other tests at Elgin
This centre is not car only. DVSA publishes results for these categories separately, and they are taken by different candidates on different vehicles, so the rates are not comparable with the car figure above.
Learner reports from Elgin
No reports yet for this centre. If you tested here, the first one is yours to write.
What examiners mark most often
DVSA does not publish faults by centre, but it does publish them nationally. These collected the most marks across every car test in Great Britain in 2025/26, and they are the same ones you will be marked on at Elgin.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Crown Buildings, 21 Trinity RoadElgin IV30 1UE
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
Questions learners ask about Elgin
- Is Elgin an easy test centre?
- Its 42.3% pass rate in 2025/26 is below the 50.0% national average. Busy urban roads and complex junctions usually explain lower rates; knowing the local routes closes most of that gap.
- How long is the wait for a driving test at Elgin?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Elgin was 10.7 weeks, and you had to look about 12.8 weeks ahead to find a week with at least 10% of slots free. DVSA publishes this monthly; the figure above updates when they do.
- Where is Elgin driving test centre?
- Elgin test centre is at Crown Buildings, 21 Trinity Road, Elgin, IV30 1UE. Arrive at least 10 minutes early with your provisional licence; parking rules vary by centre, so check the learner reports below.
- How many driving tests does Elgin do a year?
- 2,934 car tests were conducted at Elgin in 2025/26, of which 1,240 were passed.
Source: DVSA tables DRT122A (pass rates by centre and month) and DRT122F (waiting times and availability), Open Government Licence v3.0. PassRank adds the comparisons and rankings.
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