Durham driving test centre

The pass rate, how long you'll wait for a test, and the other centres nearby.

Durham's pass rate has been above Britain's pass rate every year since 2011, the first year DVSA has figures for it.

Quick answers

  • Where is it? 1st Floor Enna House, Whitfield Court, St John's Road, Meadowfield Durham, DH7 8XL. Directions
  • What's the pass rate? 53% overall (manual 54%, automatic 48%), compared with the 50% national average.
  • How long is the wait? If you book now, expect about 3½ months. Check gov.uk for the real earliest date.
  • Is it hard to pass? About average: it's around the middle of Britain's 276 bigger test centres.
  • What's nearby? None within half an hour. The nearest is Sunderland, about a 32 minute drive away.

Waiting times

Over the last 12 months, the typical wait here averaged about 2½ months, down from about 3½ months in the 12 months before.

Before the pandemic, from May 2019 to February 2020, the typical wait here averaged about 2 months.

Typical wait at DurhamAcross Great Britain
Typical wait by year at Durham and across Great Britain
YearDurhamGreat Britain
20192 months1½ months
20202½ months2½ months
20215½ months4 months
20223½ months2½ months
20232½ months2½ months
20242 months2 months
20253½ months2½ months
20263 months2½ months

2019 starts in May and 2026 runs to September.

See how waits have changed across Britain in our report on driving test waiting times.

Other test centres nearby

No other test centre is within half an hour's drive of Durham. The nearest is Sunderland, about a 32 minute drive away. Its pass rate is 51% and its typical wait about 2 months.

Test centreDriving timePass rateTypical wait
OverallManualAutomatic
Sunderland
20 miles by road
32 minutes51.1%53.6%42.7%2 months

Driving times are without traffic.

Pass rate over the years

In the 12 months to March 2026, Durham's pass rate was 53%, compared with 50% across Great Britain.

The automatic pass rate here was lower than manual, as it is almost everywhere: 48%, compared with 54%. That gap is about the same as at most centres. Its automatic pass rate is around the middle of the 267 centres that ran 100 or more automatic tests. 18% of tests here were in automatic cars, compared with 29% across Great Britain.

Men had a higher pass rate than women here: 54%, compared with 53%. That's a similar gap to Great Britain's, where men's pass rate was 51% and women's 49%.

YearTestsPass ratePlace
OverallManualAutomatic
2025 to 20269,45153.2%54.4%47.8%103rd of 276
2024 to 20258,22849.6%50.4%45.3%137th of 275
2023 to 20249,51648.1%48.9%43.2%160th of 277
2022 to 20237,61755.7%55.9%54.8%56th of 271
2021 to 20225,79562.5%62.4%64.0%17th of 280

Each year runs from April to March.

Compare every centre in our report on driving test pass rates.

Before your test

In the weeks before your test, ask your instructor to take you round the roads near the centre, and practise the faults learners make most often. If you're still looking for an instructor, see who teaches in Durham.

Frequently asked questions

What's the pass rate for automatic cars at Durham?

48% in the 12 months to March 2026, compared with Britain's automatic pass rate of 45%.

How can I get a test sooner at Durham?

Check gov.uk often: tests other people cancel come back up there.

How busy is Durham test centre?

It ran 9,451 car tests in the 12 months to March 2026. Only 74 of Britain's 311 test centres ran more.

Can I move my test from Durham to another centre?

Yes. You can move it to any centre with a free date, on gov.uk. Before you do, check your instructor can take you there, and bear in mind it's harder to pass on roads you don't know. The nearest other centre is Sunderland, about a 32 minute drive away.

Figures from DVSA: pass rates for the 12 months to March 2026, waits for September 2026, published 14 October 2026. Driving times by road, from OpenRouteService. How we worked these out.