Driving test waiting times in North East, August 2026
11 test centres in North East, shortest wait first. For tests taken in August 2026 the median learner here had booked 14.3 weeks earlier, against 11.9 weeks across Great Britain. The shortest wait in the region was Gateshead at 7.1 weeks. 1 of them sat at 20 weeks or more, close to the 24-week limit of the booking window.
| # | Test centre | Region | Median wait | Weeks to free slots | Still free | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gateshead | North East | 7.1 wks | 21.4 | 21% | 37.5% |
| 2 | Darlington | North East | 8.9 wks | 9.4 | 8.6% | 47.1% |
| 3 | Sunderland | North East | 8.9 wks | 18.4 | 25.1% | 51.1% |
| 4 | Hartlepool | North East | 13.4 wks | 15 | 11.7% | 51% |
| 5 | Blyth | North East | 13.5 wks | 23.8 | 31.6% | 50.9% |
| 6 | Middlesbrough | North East | 14.3 wks | 23.6 | 34.3% | 47.7% |
| 7 | Alnwick | North East | 14.7 wks | 20 | 27.8% | 55.5% |
| 8 | Durham | North East | 15.7 wks | 21.6 | 28.2% | 53.2% |
| 9 | Gosforth | North East | 16.3 wks | 23.8 | 40.8% | 48.4% |
| 10 | Hexham | North East | 16.9 wks | 18.2 | 32.4% | 53% |
| 11 | Berwick-On-Tweed | North East | 20.3 wks | 24 | 45.5% | 53.9% |
Reading the waiting time numbers
DVSA opens the booking window 24 weeks ahead. The median wait counts back from the test date to the day it was booked, so a 20-week median means most people at that centre took whatever date they could get when they first looked. A low “weeks to free slots” figure with a long median usually means slots are opening up now after a long backlog, and it is worth checking again.
Tests are booked only at GOV.UK. Cancellation-finder apps that log in on your behalf breach DVSA’s terms and can get a booking cancelled; the honest route is to check the official site in the morning, when cancelled slots tend to be released.
A centre a little further out is often months quicker, so it is worth comparing against neighbouring regions on the national waiting time table. Addresses and route notes for these centres are in the North East test centre directory.