Fort William driving test centre
Lochaber College, An Aird, Fort William, PH33 6AN
Drive the 5 routes around Fort William before test day →
Key facts
- Fort William's pass rate was 65.5% in 2025/26 from 374 tests, 15.5 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 17 of 67 centres in Scotland (Scotland average 49.3%), one of the higher pass rates in the region, 16.2 points above it.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has risen by 6.7 points, from 58.8% to 65.5%.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 15.6 weeks since booking (longer than the national median of 11.9 weeks); the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 23.8 weeks ahead.
- A year earlier (August 2025) the median wait was 18.1 weeks, so waits have shortened by about 2.5 weeks.
Nothing on the practice loops on this page is faster than 40 mph. Fifty-seven per cent of the distance is at 30, 22 per cent at 20 and 21 per cent at 40 — no national-limit road at all, which is rare for a Highland centre. What the loops carry instead is roundabouts, seven of them named and every loop taking in at least seven, and seven level crossings, which is more than almost anywhere. Fort William passes 65.5 per cent, 21st of the 302 centres ranked and 16.2 points above the Scottish average, having risen 6.7 points since 2021/22. The wait is 15.6 weeks, up from 11.1 a year ago.
Drive the Fort William test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 50 km in all, with 46 roundabouts and 122 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Fort William; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Fort William from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 50 km · 122 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
One payment, no renewal. Or £9.99 a month with a 3-day free trial. Cancel any time.
Everything else on PassRank, every centre, its pass rate, its waiting time and the forum, is free and needs no account.
- Route 1 · via North Road14.5 km loop with 11 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 11 left turns and a stretch of Kilmallie Road.14.5 km · 30 turns · 11 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Kennedy Road6.9 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 10 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Alma Road.6.9 km · 26 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via North Road10.1 km loop with 10 roundabouts, 7 right turns, 8 left turns and a stretch of Lochaber Road.10.1 km · 25 turns · 10 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via North Road12.2 km loop with 10 roundabouts, 7 right turns, 8 left turns and a stretch of Kilmallie Road.12.2 km · 25 turns · 10 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Belford Road6.3 km loop with 8 roundabouts, 5 right turns, 3 left turns and a stretch of Montrose Avenue.6.3 km · 16 turns · 8 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Two things make this test unusual. The first is that nothing on it is faster than 40 mph: 57 per cent of the distance at 30, 22 per cent at 20, 21 per cent at 40, and no national-limit road anywhere on the set. The second is seven level crossings across 50 kilometres, which is more than almost any test area in Britain. Stopping properly at a closed barrier — behind the line, no creeping, and not moving until it lifts — is worth practising with your instructor rather than meeting for the first time on the day.
Roundabouts do the joining, and there are a lot of them. Seven are named — An Aird Road, North Road, Road to the Isles, Camanachd Crescent, Carmichael Way, Earl of Inverness Road and Lundavra Road — and every loop takes in at least seven, with one 14.5 kilometre loop carrying eleven and a 6.9 kilometre loop carrying seven in under seven kilometres. Against them there is a single set of traffic signals on the whole set and eight give-way junctions.
So the test is approach, lane and exit, over and over, at 30 mph, with the loch on one side and tourist traffic in season.
North Road, Belford Road, Camanachd Crescent, An Aird Road, Kilmallie Road, Kennedy Road, Victoria Road, Alma Road and Fassifern Road carry most of the driving, with the A861. Eight signalled crossings and three zebras cover the pedestrian side, and there are 8 schools in the area.
Pass rate at Fort William, 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 | 374 | 65.5% | 66.3% | 64.6% |
| 2024/25 | 308 | 62.0% | 63.9% | 60.1% |
| 2023/24 | 382 | 56.5% | 59.5% | 53.5% |
| 2022/23 | 441 | 55.3% | 60.5% | 51.0% |
| 2021/22 | 362 | 58.8% | 55.1% | 63.4% |
| 2020/21 | 94 | 69.1% | 62.0% | 77.3% |
| 2019/20 | 359 | 64.9% | 62.8% | 67.0% |
| 2018/19 | 377 | 58.6% | 58.2% | 59.1% |
Scotland average 49.3% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Fort William
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 | 15.6 | 23.8 | 20 | 0% |
| Jul 2026 | 15.6 | 22.5 | 15 | 2.5% |
| Jun 2026 | 17.3 | 23.2 | 23 | 7.7% |
| May 2026 | 17.6 | 24 | 13 | 15.6% |
| Apr 2026 | 18.1 | 24 | 15 | 32.6% |
| Mar 2026 | 19.7 | 24 | 15 | 40% |
Tell me when the wait at Fort William drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Fort William
The centre is at Lochaber College on An Aird, PH33 6AN. Fort William station is 0.1 kilometres away — effectively next door, and the shortest station-to-centre distance of any test centre in the country. If you are travelling in for the test rather than driving, this is about as easy as it gets.
Car tests only are conducted here. DVSA will make arrangements for you at this test centre if you have a disability, which means telling them when you book rather than on the day.
Parking is not published for this site. A college campus has its own bays and its own rules during term; read the signs and allow a few minutes rather than assuming there is space by the door.
The wait was a median of 15.6 weeks for tests taken in July 2026, against a national 11.9, and it has grown from 11.1 a year earlier. The first week with a tenth of its slots still free was 22.5 weeks ahead, so there is no quick date sitting there — book early.
February returned 68.4 per cent and October 46.4, on between forty and a hundred tests a month. Ballachulish is the only centre close by, 15.3 kilometres away, passing 69.2 per cent. Booking, moving and cancelling is on GOV.UK only.
What DVSA publishes about Fort William
Taken from the GOV.UK test centre finder, checked 3 September 2026. Where DVSA says nothing, this site says nothing.
- Tests conducted here
- car
- Wheelchair access
- Not published. DVSA says it will make arrangements for candidates with a disability, which is not the same as step-free access. Ring DVSA before the day rather than assuming.
Learner reports from Fort William
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 Fort William.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Lochaber College, An AirdFort William PH33 6AN
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- BallachulishBalachulish · PH49 4HP · 15 km69.2%+19.2 vs GB–wait
Questions learners ask about Fort William
- Is Fort William an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 65.5% of car tests were passed there in 2025/26, against 50.0% nationally. Pass rates reflect the local roads and who takes tests there as much as the examiners, so treat it as a guide, not a guarantee.
- How long is the wait for a driving test at Fort William?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Fort William was 15.6 weeks, and you had to look about 23.8 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 Fort William driving test centre?
- Fort William test centre is at Lochaber College, An Aird, Fort William, PH33 6AN. 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 Fort William do a year?
- 374 car tests were conducted at Fort William in 2025/26, of which 245 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.
Drive Fort William’s 5 test routes in 3D3 days free, then £9.99/month · or £14.99 once for 90 days
Try free