Thurso driving test centre
Naver House, Naver Road, Naver Business Park, Thurso, KW14 7QA
Drive the 5 routes around Thurso before test day →
Key facts
- Thurso's pass rate was 63% in 2025/26 from 162 tests, 13 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 22 of 67 centres in Scotland (Scotland average 49.3%), one of the higher pass rates in the region, 13.7 points above it.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has risen by 5.4 points, from 57.6% to 63%.
- On waiting times, the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 24 weeks ahead.
- 66.7% of the standard slots in the booking window were still unbooked in August 2026, which usually means a cancellation or new date is realistic here.
Ninety per cent of the roads around this centre are 20 mph. Thurso is about as slow a test area as exists in Britain, and the loops are packed with junctions to match: one 9.6 kilometre loop asks for 19 right turns and 14 left, and an 8.2 kilometre loop asks for 18 left turns. Almost none of it is decided for you — there are three sets of traffic signals in the town and one mini-roundabout. It passes 63 per cent, 32nd of the 302 centres ranked and 13.7 points above the Scottish average, up 5.4 points since 2021/22. The wait is 15.1 weeks and the diary is full a long way out.
Drive the Thurso test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 52 km in all, with 0 roundabouts and 140 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Thurso; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Thurso from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 52 km · 140 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 Ormlie Road9.6 km loop with 19 right turns, 14 left turns and a stretch of Castlegreen Road.9.6 km · 33 turns
- Route 2 · via Ormlie Road11.4 km loop with 15 right turns, 13 left turns and a stretch of Castlegreen Road.11.4 km · 28 turns
- Route 3 · via Henderson Street8.2 km loop with 9 right turns, 18 left turns and a stretch of Ormlie Road.8.2 km · 27 turns
- Route 4 · via Mount Pleasant Road11.7 km loop with 12 right turns, 15 left turns and a stretch of Smith Terrace.11.7 km · 27 turns
- Route 5 · via Ormlie Road11.0 km loop with 9 right turns, 16 left turns and a stretch of Riverside Road.11.0 km · 25 turns
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Ninety per cent of the roads within a mile and a half of this centre are 20 mph, with 7 per cent at 30, 2 per cent at 40 and 1 per cent at 60. That is the slowest profile of any test area in the country, and it changes what the drive asks of you. There is no stretch where speed is the skill; it is all observation, position and junction after junction.
The turn counts show it. A 9.6 kilometre loop asks for 19 right turns and 14 left. An 8.2 kilometre loop asks for nine right and 18 left. An 11.7 kilometre loop asks for twelve and fifteen. Across five loops and 51.9 kilometres, that is a junction every few hundred metres, on streets narrow enough that parked cars decide who gives way.
Almost nothing sequences it for you. Three sets of traffic signals in the town and one mini-roundabout, with no named roundabout anywhere. A run of left turns like that 8.2 kilometre loop is where carelessness shows — cutting the corner, and not checking the nearside before you commit.
Castlegreen Road, Ormlie Road, Smith Terrace, Naver Road, Dale Road, Sir George's Street, Henderson Street, Pennyland Drive, Howburn Road and Bishops Drive carry most of the driving, with the A9, A836, B870 and B874 beyond the town. One level crossing sits in the area, there are 5 schools, and there is no dual carriageway.
Pass rate at Thurso, 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 | 162 | 63.0% | 69.7% | 57.0% |
| 2024/25 | 167 | 58.1% | 58.0% | 58.1% |
| 2023/24 | 206 | 62.6% | 56.5% | 69.4% |
| 2022/23 | 203 | 51.7% | 54.1% | 49.5% |
| 2021/22 | 125 | 57.6% | 58.7% | 56.5% |
| 2019/20 | 193 | 65.8% | 62.8% | 67.8% |
| 2018/19 | 203 | 61.6% | 58.1% | 64.5% |
| 2017/18 | 214 | 64.5% | 62.7% | 66.1% |
Scotland average 49.3% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Thurso
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 | – | 24 | 11 | 66.7% |
| Jun 2026 | 15.1 | 24 | 14 | 18.4% |
| May 2026 | 22.7 | 24 | 7 | 71.4% |
| Apr 2026 | – | 24 | – | – |
| Mar 2026 | 24.3 | 24 | 18 | 63.6% |
| Feb 2026 | 18.1 | 24 | 18 | 50% |
Tell me when the wait at Thurso drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Thurso
The centre is at Naver House on Naver Road, in the Naver Business Park, KW14 7QA. One thing to check before you book: GOV.UK states that you cannot access this test centre if you use a wheelchair. If that affects you, ring DVSA and ask what they can arrange instead.
Car tests only are conducted here. Thurso station is 0.6 kilometres away, an easy walk, which is unusual this far north.
Parking is not published for this site. A business park usually leaves you to find a space on the estate roads; the marked bays belong to the units, so allow a couple of minutes to walk in.
The wait was a median of 15.1 weeks for tests taken in June 2026, above the national 11.9, and the first week with a tenth of its slots still free was 24 weeks ahead. That gap is the thing to plan around: the median describes people who booked months ago, and the diary in front of you is fuller than it suggests.
February returned 60.5 per cent from 43 tests, which is the only month with enough tests to read anything into. Wick is 30.3 kilometres away, passes 59.4 per cent and was waiting 11.4 weeks — sooner, on very different roads. Booking, moving and cancelling is on GOV.UK only.
What DVSA publishes about Thurso
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 cannot access this centre in a wheelchair. Ring DVSA before booking to arrange an alternative.
Learner reports from Thurso
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 Thurso.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Naver House, Naver Road, Naver Business ParkThurso KW14 7QA
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- WickKW1 4QS · 30 km59.4%+9.4 vs GB11.4 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Thurso
- Is Thurso an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 63% 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.
- Where is Thurso driving test centre?
- Thurso test centre is at Naver House, Naver Road, Naver Business Park, Thurso, KW14 7QA. 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 Thurso do a year?
- 162 car tests were conducted at Thurso in 2025/26, of which 102 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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