Northallerton driving test centre
Elder House, East Road, Northallerton, DL6 1NU
Drive the 5 routes around Northallerton before test day →
Key facts
- Northallerton's pass rate was 60.4% in 2025/26 from 3,244 tests, 10.4 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 2 of 27 centres in Yorkshire and The Humber (Yorkshire and The Humber average 50.4%), one of the higher pass rates in the region, 10 points above it.
- The rate has been stable since 2021/22, moving between 50.9% (2022/23) and 60.4% (2025/26).
- Male candidates passed at 58.6% and female candidates at 62.6%, a gap of 4 points.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 8.9 weeks since booking (shorter than the national median of 11.9 weeks); the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 14.6 weeks ahead.
Two things stand out about Northallerton before you look at anything else. Thirteen mini-roundabouts sit inside the area the practice loops on this page cover, and not one conventional roundabout. And there are ten level crossings: this is East Coast Main Line country, and the barriers come down often. Add eleven schools and a long, busy High Street, and you have a test that is mostly about junctions and about stopping properly. It is a large centre by rural standards, over three thousand car tests a year, and its pass rate is the second highest in Yorkshire and the Humber. Waiting times have come down sharply over the past year, by the better part of two months.
Drive the Northallerton test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 47 km in all, with 31 roundabouts and 105 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Northallerton; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Northallerton from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 47 km · 105 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 Thirsk Road9.5 km loop with 8 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 10 left turns and a stretch of Turker Lane.9.5 km · 26 turns · 8 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Valley Road9.2 km loop with 5 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 8 left turns and a stretch of High Street.9.2 km · 21 turns · 5 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via Brompton Road8.6 km loop with 4 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 12 left turns and a stretch of Valley Road.8.6 km · 24 turns · 4 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Thirsk Road10.6 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 6 right turns, 4 left turns and a stretch of Yafforth Road.10.6 km · 17 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Ainderby Road9.5 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 4 right turns, 6 left turns and a stretch of Stokesley Road.9.5 km · 17 turns · 7 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Northallerton's junctions are almost all mini-roundabouts. There are thirteen in the area the loops on this page cover and no conventional roundabout at all, along with only two sets of traffic lights. If you can handle a mini-roundabout properly you have handled most of this test.
Three things catch people out here:
- Mini-roundabouts in quick succession, where the signal for the second one has to go on before you are clear of the first.
- The level crossings. Ten sit within the area, and a barrier coming down turns an ordinary approach into a stop, a wait and a move-off with a queue behind you.
- The High Street. It is long, it is 30, and it has parking, deliveries and people crossing between vehicles the whole way along.
Beyond the town, Yafforth Road, Ainderby Road and Brompton Road run out into open country to the north and west, where the limit goes to 60 and the road narrows. Thirsk Road and Darlington Road are the busier arms in and out, and the B6271 gives a longer, faster stretch on some of the loops.
Romanby Road, South Parade, Valley Road, Friarage Street and Turker Lane are the residential ground closer in, at 30 or 20, and the usual setting for a reverse or a pull-up on the right. Eleven schools sit in the same area, so an afternoon slot in term time will find a school run somewhere on the route.
Pass rate at Northallerton, 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 | 3,244 | 60.4% | 58.6% | 62.6% |
| 2024/25 | 2,314 | 58.6% | 55.0% | 62.9% |
| 2023/24 | 2,942 | 53.8% | 54.9% | 52.8% |
| 2022/23 | 3,253 | 50.9% | 51.7% | 50.2% |
| 2021/22 | 3,446 | 60.2% | 61.7% | 58.8% |
| 2020/21 | 855 | 56.3% | 55.8% | 56.7% |
| 2019/20 | 2,701 | 57.6% | 58.9% | 56.2% |
| 2018/19 | 2,521 | 61.8% | 63.1% | 60.6% |
Yorkshire and The Humber average 50.4% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Northallerton
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 | 8.9 | 14.6 | 43 | 10.2% |
| Jul 2026 | 8.9 | 16.5 | 46 | 7.8% |
| Jun 2026 | 7.9 | 15.6 | 49 | 6.2% |
| May 2026 | 5.7 | 15.5 | 54 | 7% |
| Apr 2026 | 12.3 | 16 | 36 | 15% |
| Mar 2026 | 10.1 | 16 | 39 | 12.8% |
Tell me when the wait at Northallerton drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Northallerton
The centre is at Elder House on East Road, on the eastern side of town. DVSA publishes that this centre can be accessed if you use a wheelchair, which is worth knowing because plenty of centres of this size cannot be.
Car tests are the only ones run here, and booking, moving and cancelling are all done on GOV.UK.
Nothing official covers candidate parking. At an office-type centre on a road like East Road it usually comes down to a legal space nearby and a short walk, and instructors normally plan on that rather than on a space at the door. Get there early enough that a full street does not turn into a problem.
Northallerton station is a little over half a mile from the centre, which makes the train workable if you are coming from Darlington, Thirsk or York. Allow extra time either way: the level crossings in this town can hold you for several minutes when the barriers are down, and that applies to the journey in as much as to the test itself.
What DVSA publishes about Northallerton
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
- DVSA states you can access this centre in a wheelchair.
Learner reports from Northallerton
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 Northallerton.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Elder House, East RoadNorthallerton DL6 1NU
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- DarlingtonDL1 4PW · 21 km47.1%-2.9 vs GB8.9 wkswait
- MiddlesbroughTS3 8TE · 30 km47.7%-2.3 vs GB14.3 wkswait
- KnaresboroughHG5 8QB · 38 km58.5%+8.5 vs GB9.7 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Northallerton
- Is Northallerton an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 60.4% 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 Northallerton?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Northallerton was 8.9 weeks, and you had to look about 14.6 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 Northallerton driving test centre?
- Northallerton test centre is at Elder House, East Road, Northallerton, DL6 1NU. 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 Northallerton do a year?
- 3,244 car tests were conducted at Northallerton in 2025/26, of which 1,958 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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