Easiest Place to Pass Your Driving Test in Scotland 2024: Here are the areas with the highest pass rates

Nine out of the 10 areas with the highest pass rates are in Scotland.

Your chances of passing a driving test partly depends on where you take it - as latest research figures show.

New research has revealed which places in the UK are the easiest to pass your driving test - and it seems Scotland is the best place to carry out your emergency stops and three-point turns.

The study, by Howden Insurance, examined the pass rate percentage of major driving test centres in the UK that have conducted at least 1,000 tests from January 2020 to December 2023 - those with the highest rates determined the ranking.

Between the start of 2020 and the end of 2023, 4,490,298 tests were taken in the UK.

And remarkably nine of the top 10 areas with the highest pass rates were in Scotland - led by Montrose, in Angus, which has an average pass rate of 74.8 per cent – of 1,249 tests taken, 934 were passed.  

At the other end of the scale, all five areas with the lowest pass rate were in England - Swindon (21.5 per cent pass rate), Speke in London (32.0 per cent), Doncaster (32.5 per cent), Erith in London (32.8 per cent) and Belvedere in London (33.5 per cent). 

A spokesperson from Howden Insurance said: “Taking a driving test is always a daunting task, but perseverance is key when it doesn’t go your way the first time around. It is interesting to see the vast differences in success rates between the different test centres across the UK, with Scotland coming out on top.” 

The 10 place in the UK with the highest pass rate were as follows:

1. Montrose: This test centre has an average pass rate of 74.8 per cent - of 1,249 tests taken, 934 were passed.  
2. Peebles: Second place with a pass rate of 74.2 per cent. Peebles Test Centre has assessed 531 prospective drivers since the start of 2020, deeming 394 of them ready to drive. 
3. Hawick: The third easiest test centre for someone to pass their driving test in the UK, with a pass rate of 73.3 per cent. Males have a higher pass rate than women at 74.8 per cent, and females are not far behind with a pass rate of 71.8 per cent. 
4. Forfar: Out of 1,251 tests a total of 908 licences were handed out – a pass rate of 70.1 per cent. 
5. Lerwick: The Shetland town had a 70.1 per cent pass rate. Males have a pass rate of 71.1 per cent, whereas women have a slightly lower success rate of 64.8 per cent.  
6. Girvan: The Ayrshire coastal town has a pass rate of 69.7 per cent.
7. Kelso: A total of 69.3 per cent of novice drivers passed their test in the Borders town of Kelso.
8. Stranraer: The test centre in the Dumfries and Galloway town had a pass rate of 68.5 per cent.
9. Fraserburgh: Learner drivers in the Broch have a 66.3 per cent of success.
10. Kendal: The only place in the top 10 not in Scotland is Kendal, in the Lake District, with a pass rate of 66 per cent.