Ullapool driving test centre
Ullapool Fire Station, Lady Smith Street, IV26 2UW
Drive the 5 routes around Ullapool before test day →
Key facts
- Ullapool's pass rate was 61.2% in 2025/26 from 49 tests, 11.2 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- On waiting times, the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 19.4 weeks ahead.
Ullapool passed 61.2 per cent of candidates in 2025/26, 11.2 points above the national average of 50, from 49 tests — a small centre, and too small for a national ranking, so treat the figure as a good sign rather than a promise. The median wait was 8.4 weeks, shorter than the national 11.9. The drive is a slow one: 56 per cent of the distance on the practice loops on this page is at 20 mph and only 26 per cent at 60, on a grid of village streets where a 9.5 kilometre loop asks for 23 turns. There are no traffic signals anywhere in the area and only two give-way junctions, so priority is yours to judge.
Drive the Ullapool test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 46 km in all, with 0 roundabouts and 85 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Ullapool; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Ullapool from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 46 km · 85 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 Garve Road9.5 km loop with 11 right turns, 12 left turns and a stretch of North Road.9.5 km · 23 turns
- Route 2 · via North Road11.0 km loop with 9 right turns, 11 left turns and a stretch of Old Moss Road.11.0 km · 20 turns
- Route 3 · via North Road11.3 km loop with 6 right turns, 6 left turns and a stretch of Garve Road.11.3 km · 12 turns
- Route 4 · via North Road7.1 km loop with 8 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Garve Road.7.1 km · 17 turns
- Route 5 · via North Road6.8 km loop with 6 right turns, 7 left turns and a stretch of Garve Road.6.8 km · 13 turns
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Most of this test happens at 20 mph. Fifty-six per cent of the distance sits in a 20 zone, 26 per cent at 60, 11 per cent at 40 and 7 per cent at 30. The village is laid out as a grid of short streets running back from the shore, and that grid is where the marking happens — junction after junction, with parked cars deciding who goes first and pedestrians crossing between them.
The turn counts show how dense it is. A 9.5 kilometre loop asks for 11 right turns and 12 left, an 11 kilometre loop asks for nine and 11, and a 7.1 kilometre loop asks for eight and nine. That is a junction every few hundred metres, and on a grid the next one arrives before you have finished settling from the last.
There is almost nothing to help you decide. Two give-way junctions and one mini-roundabout across 45.8 kilometres, no traffic signals at all, no named roundabouts, no traffic calming and no level crossings. Two zebra crossings, and with 2 schools in the area they matter — stopping properly and not creeping is the whole of it.
Shore Street, Quay Street, Argyle Street, West Argyle Street, Pulteney Street, Mill Street, West Lane, Ladysmith Street, North Road, Riverside Terrace, Garve Road and Old Moss Road carry most of the driving, and three of the five loops run out along Garve Road. There is no dual carriageway.
Pass rate at Ullapool, 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 | 49 | 61.2% | 68.2% | 55.6% |
| 2024/25 | 59 | 74.6% | 75.0% | 74.1% |
| 2023/24 | 70 | 68.6% | 78.1% | 60.5% |
| 2022/23 | 62 | 75.8% | 77.1% | 74.1% |
| 2021/22 | 51 | 78.4% | 73.9% | 82.1% |
| 2019/20 | 55 | 72.7% | 73.1% | 72.4% |
| 2018/19 | 52 | 75.0% | 74.2% | 76.2% |
| 2017/18 | 61 | 59.0% | 64.0% | 55.6% |
Scotland average 49.3% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Ullapool
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 | – | 19.4 | 100 | 0% |
| Jun 2026 | 8.4 | 24 | 40 | 0% |
| May 2026 | 8.5 | 24 | 33 | 0% |
| Apr 2026 | 10 | 24 | 0 | 20% |
| Mar 2026 | 11.9 | 24 | 33 | 0% |
| Feb 2026 | 13.6 | 21 | 0 | 0% |
Tell me when the wait at Ullapool drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Ullapool
Tests are conducted from Ullapool Fire Station on Lady Smith Street, IV26 2UW. Car tests only. GOV.UK does not publish a wheelchair access note for this site, so ring DVSA and ask if you need to know before booking.
There is no railway station here and parking is not published for the centre. It is a working fire station and the appliance bay has to stay clear, so leave the car on a street nearby and walk in with a few minutes to spare. The village fills with ferry and visitor traffic through the summer, which makes the walk longer than you would expect.
The two waiting figures pull in different directions. Learners tested in June 2026 had waited a median of 8.4 weeks, comfortably under the national median of 11.9. But the first week with a tenth of its slots still free was 24 weeks ahead. The median describes people who already held a booking; the diary you are looking at now is much fuller than that. Take an early slot if one appears and keep checking for cancellations.
Gairloch is the only centre within reach, 36.8 kilometres away as the crow flies and considerably further round the coast by road, passing 73.5 per cent with a 6.3 week wait. Booking and cancelling is on GOV.UK only.
What DVSA publishes about Ullapool
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. Ring DVSA before the day rather than assuming.
Learner reports from Ullapool
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 Ullapool.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Ullapool Fire Station, Lady Smith StreetUllapool IV26 2UW
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- GairlochIV21 2BX · 37 km73.5%+23.5 vs GB6.3 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Ullapool
- Is Ullapool an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 61.2% 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 Ullapool driving test centre?
- Ullapool test centre is at Ullapool Fire Station, Lady Smith Street, IV26 2UW. 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 Ullapool do a year?
- 49 car tests were conducted at Ullapool in 2025/26, of which 30 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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