Galashiels driving test centre
1 Croft Street, Scottish Borders, Galashiels, TD1 3BH
Drive the 5 routes around Galashiels before test day →
Key facts
- Galashiels's pass rate was 47.4% in 2025/26 from 2,241 tests, 2.6 points below the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 57 of 67 centres in Scotland (Scotland average 49.3%), one of the lower pass rates in the region, 1.9 points below it.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has fallen by 20.5 points, from 67.9% to 47.4%.
- Male candidates passed at 45% and female candidates at 53.1%, a gap of 8.1 points, wider than at most centres.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 7.4 weeks since booking (shorter than the national median of 11.9 weeks); the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 9.4 weeks ahead.
- A year earlier (August 2025) the median wait was 10.6 weeks, so waits have shortened by about 3.2 weeks.
Galashiels is a 20 mph town almost end to end. More than four fifths of the roads within a mile and a half of the test centre carry that limit, one of the highest shares anywhere in Britain, and it has changed what the test measures: holding a steady 20 down a brae without riding the brakes, and knowing where the limit goes back up. The pass rate has fallen a long way since 2021 and now sits below the Scottish average, while Hawick, Kelso and Peebles up the road all pass well over half their candidates. The trade is time. Those three centres have waits roughly three times as long as the wait at Galashiels, which is one of the shortest in Scotland.
Drive the Galashiels test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 59 km in all, with 23 roundabouts and 112 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Galashiels; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Galashiels from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 59 km · 112 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 Abbotsford Road12.2 km loop with 4 roundabouts, 10 right turns, 11 left turns and a stretch of Langlee Mains Road.12.2 km · 25 turns · 4 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Huddersfield Street11.7 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 6 left turns and a stretch of Ellwyn Crescent.11.7 km · 21 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via Abbotsford Road12.2 km loop with 4 roundabouts, 12 right turns, 11 left turns and a stretch of Langlee Mains Road.12.2 km · 27 turns · 4 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Boleside Road12.3 km loop with 2 roundabouts, 11 right turns, 7 left turns and a stretch of Dale Street.12.3 km · 20 turns · 2 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Abbotsford Road10.2 km loop with 6 roundabouts, 6 right turns, 7 left turns and a stretch of Langlee Mains Road.10.2 km · 19 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.
Two features do most of the work here: the 20 mph limit and the hills. The town sits on the side of a valley, so Hill Street, Station Brae and the braes off it climb and drop steeply, and holding 20 on a descent takes more thought than holding it on the flat. Use the gears. A test spent on the brakes down every hill reads badly, and so does drifting past the limit on a straight without noticing.
The main through roads are Abbotsford Road, Melrose Road and Currie Road, and they are where the limit changes. Only a small share of the roads near the centre is 30 mph and a smaller share again is 40, with about seven in a hundred at the national limit out towards the country. The transitions are infrequent but sharp: you can spend ten minutes at 20 and then need to be at 60 within a few hundred metres, which is a harder adjustment than doing it often.
Roundabouts are few and spread out. Kingsknowes is at the south end by the river, Gala Water and Paton Street are closer in, Tweedbank sits out to the east and Station Brae is in the middle of town. Four mini-roundabouts and seven sets of lights make up the rest, so most junctions on a route are unmarked give-ways where you decide priority for yourself.
Manoeuvres are usually set on the estate streets, around Ellwyn Crescent and the roads off Thornbank Street and Huddersfield Street. The practice loops on this page run from 10.2 to 12.3 km.
Pass rate at Galashiels, 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 | 2,241 | 47.4% | 45.0% | 53.1% |
| 2024/25 | 2,193 | 49.1% | 46.9% | 53.7% |
| 2023/24 | 1,624 | 58.9% | 58.1% | 60.2% |
| 2022/23 | 1,763 | 58.7% | 58.8% | 58.5% |
| 2021/22 | 904 | 67.9% | 69.5% | 66.3% |
| 2020/21 | 255 | 67.5% | 69.1% | 65.9% |
| 2019/20 | 770 | 53.6% | 55.3% | 51.8% |
| 2018/19 | 894 | 55.8% | 55.7% | 55.9% |
Scotland average 49.3% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Galashiels
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 | 7.4 | 9.4 | 49 | 28.2% |
| Jul 2026 | 7.4 | 9.5 | 49 | 29.2% |
| Jun 2026 | 6.6 | 17 | 52 | 21.9% |
| May 2026 | 8.1 | 21.8 | 45 | 18.6% |
| Apr 2026 | 9.9 | 24 | 40 | 30.5% |
| Mar 2026 | 8.4 | 24 | 46 | 22.3% |
Tell me when the wait at Galashiels drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Galashiels
The centre is at 1 Croft Street, in the middle of Galashiels and a few minutes' walk from the station on the Borders line, so it is one of the easier Scottish centres to reach without a car. Town-centre centres of this kind rarely have candidate parking of their own and nothing is published about spaces here, so the safe assumption is a public car park or a side street and a short walk in.
DVSA lists car tests only. Its record for Galashiels also says the agency will make arrangements for candidates with a disability, so if you need something specific — a different waiting area, more time, help with the paperwork — ask when you book rather than on the morning.
The rest is the usual sequence: your name called, licence checked, the insurance and residency declaration signed, and the eyesight check outside. The start of the drive is the part to think about, because you move off into town traffic rather than out of a quiet yard. Get the mirror and shoulder check done properly and take the first junction at your own pace.
What DVSA publishes about Galashiels
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.
Other tests at Galashiels
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 Galashiels
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 Galashiels.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
1 Croft Street, Scottish BordersGalashiels TD1 3BH
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- HawickTD9 8EJ · 20 km64.3%+14.3 vs GB24.9 wkswait
- KelsoTD5 8DW · 24 km59.2%+9.2 vs GB22.9 wkswait
- PeeblesEH45 8DN · 25 km58.8%+8.8 vs GB22 wkswait
- DunsTD11 3AU · 34 km70.2%+20.2 vs GB22.4 wkswait
- HaddingtonEH41 3NG · 39 km57.5%+7.5 vs GB23.3 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Galashiels
- Is Galashiels an easy test centre?
- Its 47.4% 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 Galashiels?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Galashiels was 7.4 weeks, and you had to look about 9.4 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 Galashiels driving test centre?
- Galashiels test centre is at 1 Croft Street, Scottish Borders, Galashiels, TD1 3BH. 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 Galashiels do a year?
- 2,241 car tests were conducted at Galashiels in 2025/26, of which 1,063 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 Galashiels’s 5 test routes in 3D3 days free, then £9.99/month · or £14.99 once for 90 days
Try free