Kendal driving test centre
DVSA name: Kendal (Oxenholme Road) · Lake District National Park Authority, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, LA9 7RL
Drive the 5 routes around Kendal before test day →
Key facts
- Kendal's pass rate was 65.1% in 2025/26 from 2,231 tests, 15.1 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 2 of 31 centres in North West (North West average 49.0%), one of the higher pass rates in the region, 16.1 points above it.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has risen by 2.2 points, from 62.9% to 65.1%.
- 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 9.4 weeks ahead.
- A year earlier (August 2025) the median wait was 7.8 weeks, so waits have grown by about 2.9 weeks.
Kendal passes 65.1 per cent, 22nd of the 302 centres ranked and second of the 31 in the North West — 16.1 points above the regional average, one of the widest gaps anywhere in the country. The roads are one judgement after another. There are 92 give-way junctions on the practice loops on this page against only 13 sets of traffic signals, so almost nothing tells you when to move; you read the gap yourself, all the way round. Just over half the distance is at 30 mph, with 19 per cent at 60 on the lanes out of town. The wait is 10.7 weeks, shorter than most, though it has grown from 8.1 a year ago.
Drive the Kendal test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 54 km in all, with 10 roundabouts and 80 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Kendal; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Kendal from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 54 km · 80 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 Burton Road9.4 km loop with 4 roundabouts, 10 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Esthwaite Avenue.9.4 km · 23 turns · 4 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Helm Lane11.4 km loop with 12 right turns, 7 left turns and a stretch of Natland Road.11.4 km · 19 turns
- Route 3 · via Singleton Park Road12.2 km loop with 1 roundabout, 6 right turns, 3 left turns and a stretch of Beehive Lane.12.2 km · 10 turns · 1 roundabout
- Route 4 · via Oxenholme Road11.3 km loop with 3 roundabouts, 6 right turns, 4 left turns and a stretch of Natland Road.11.3 km · 13 turns · 3 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Milnthorpe Road9.1 km loop with 2 roundabouts, 7 right turns, 6 left turns and a stretch of Parkside Road.9.1 km · 15 turns · 2 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Ninety-two give-way junctions sit on the practice loops on this page. That is a very high count for 53.5 kilometres, and it is the whole character of the test here: nothing decides for you. Against them there are thirteen sets of traffic signals, three named roundabouts — Romney Road, Burton Road and Lound Road — and two mini-roundabouts. One 11.4 kilometre loop has no roundabout on it at all and asks for twelve right turns.
The speeds change more than a market town suggests. Fifty-five per cent of the distance is at 30 mph, 18 per cent at 40, 19 per cent at 60 and 7 per cent at 20. The 60 is single-carriageway lane, not dual carriageway — there is none on the set — and lanes like that are where examiners look for the opposite fault to the town one: hesitating, sitting at 40 where 60 is safe, and building a queue behind you.
Burton Road, Romney Road, Milnthorpe Road, Natland Road, Oxenholme Road and Parkside Road carry most of the distance, with Esthwaite Avenue, Heron Hill, Valley Drive, Lingmoor Rise and Singleton Park Road for the residential half where the manoeuvres go.
Fourteen signalled crossings and six zebras cover the pedestrian side, with 15 schools in the area, and there are no level crossings anywhere on the set.
Pass rate at Kendal, 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 | 2,231 | 65.1% | 65.1% | 65.2% |
| 2024/25 | 2,149 | 64.8% | 64.0% | 66.0% |
| 2023/24 | 2,288 | 64.8% | 62.7% | 67.2% |
| 2022/23 | 1,695 | 68.3% | 69.1% | 67.5% |
| 2021/22 | 2,090 | 62.9% | 65.0% | 60.5% |
| 2020/21 | 638 | 67.7% | 67.0% | 68.5% |
| 2019/20 | 2,171 | 63.1% | 64.8% | 61.3% |
| 2018/19 | 2,263 | 63.0% | 66.8% | 59.3% |
North West average 49% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Kendal
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 | 9.4 | 36 | 9% |
| Jul 2026 | 10.7 | 15.3 | 35 | 13.2% |
| Jun 2026 | 9.3 | 18.4 | 40 | 11.4% |
| May 2026 | 8.1 | 16.8 | 47 | 10% |
| Apr 2026 | 9.1 | 15.5 | 41 | 13.5% |
| Mar 2026 | 4.4 | 13.8 | 66 | 11.5% |
Tell me when the wait at Kendal drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Kendal
The centre shares a site with the Lake District National Park Authority at Murley Moss on Oxenholme Road, LA9 7RL, south-east of the town. It is an office campus rather than a standalone building, so follow the signs for the test centre instead of heading for the main reception.
Car tests are conducted here, along with ADI part 2 and part 3. Oxenholme Lake District station is 1.1 kilometres away, close enough to walk if your instructor is meeting you at the centre.
Parking is not published for this site. On a shared office campus the bays belong to the offices; leave time to find something sensible rather than assuming a space.
The wait was a median of 10.7 weeks for tests taken in July 2026, shorter than the national 11.9, and the first week with a tenth of its slots still free was 15.3 weeks ahead. It has lengthened — a year earlier the median was 8.1 weeks — but 22.7 per cent of standard slots were still unbooked, so a cancellation or an earlier date is realistic here.
July returned 68.7 per cent and March 62.3. Barrow-in-Furness passes 69.6 per cent at a wait of 4.4 weeks, but it is 39.4 kilometres away and the roads there are nothing like these. Booking and cancelling is on GOV.UK only.
What DVSA publishes about Kendal
Taken from the GOV.UK test centre finder, checked 3 September 2026. Where DVSA says nothing, this site says nothing.
- Tests conducted here
- carADI part 2ADI part 3
- Wheelchair access
- Not published. Ring DVSA before the day rather than assuming.
Other tests at Kendal
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 Kendal
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 Kendal.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Lake District National Park Authority, Murley Moss, Oxenholme RoadKendal LA9 7RL
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- HeyshamLA3 2UZ · 32 km59.2%+9.2 vs GB18.1 wkswait
- Barrow In FurnessBarrow-In-Furness · LA14 2PN · 39 km69.6%+19.6 vs GB4.4 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Kendal
- Is Kendal an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 65.1% 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 Kendal?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Kendal was 10.7 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 Kendal driving test centre?
- Kendal test centre is at Lake District National Park Authority, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, LA9 7RL. 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 Kendal do a year?
- 2,231 car tests were conducted at Kendal in 2025/26, of which 1,453 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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