Featherstone driving test centre
The pass rate, how long you'll wait for a test, and the other centres nearby.
Featherstone is one of Britain's 10 hardest driving test centres.
Quick answers
- Where is it? Cat & Kitten Lane, Featherstone, WV10 7JD. Directions
- What's the pass rate? 36% overall (manual 37%, automatic 35%), compared with the 50% national average.
- How long is the wait? If you book now, expect about 2½ months. Check gov.uk for the real earliest date.
- Is it hard to pass? Harder than most. Only four of Britain's 276 bigger centres had a lower pass rate.
- What's nearby? Wednesbury is the closest, 14 minutes away. Its pass rate is 35% and its typical wait about 3 months.
Waiting times
Over the last 12 months, the typical wait here averaged about 2 months, down from about 2½ months in the 12 months before.
Before the pandemic, from May 2019 to February 2020, the typical wait here averaged about 1½ months.
| Year | Featherstone | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1½ months | 1½ months |
| 2020 | 2½ months | 2½ months |
| 2021 | 3½ months | 4 months |
| 2022 | 3 months | 2½ months |
| 2023 | 2 months | 2½ months |
| 2024 | 1½ months | 2 months |
| 2025 | 2½ months | 2½ months |
| 2026 | 2½ months | 2½ 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
There are seven other centres within half an hour's drive. Of those, Wednesbury has the shortest wait, about 3 months, and Lichfield the highest pass rate, 53%.
| Test centre | Driving time | Pass rate | Typical wait | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| Wednesbury 10 miles by road | 14 minutes | 35.0% | 37.3% | 30.2% | 3 months |
| Wolverhampton 7 miles by road | 18 minutes | 34.3% | 38.2% | 27.2% | 3½ months |
| Birmingham (Kingstanding) 15 miles by road | 22 minutes | 48.5% | 50.5% | 45.3% | 3½ months |
| Stafford 18 miles by road | 24 minutes | 45.8% | 49.3% | 33.8% | 3½ months |
| Lichfield 16 miles by road | 24 minutes | 53.0% | 54.5% | 46.0% | 4 months |
| Telford 20 miles by road | 26 minutes | 48.9% | 50.5% | 43.9% | 3½ months |
| Dudley 12 miles by road | 29 minutes | 45.2% | 46.7% | 41.5% | 4 months |
Driving times are without traffic.
Pass rate over the years
In the 12 months to March 2026, Featherstone's pass rate was 36%, compared with 50% across Great Britain. It has been below Britain's pass rate every year since 2014, the first year DVSA has figures for it.
The automatic pass rate here was lower than manual, as it is almost everywhere: 35%, compared with 37%. That gap is narrower than at most centres. Only 19 of the 267 centres that ran 100 or more automatic tests had a lower automatic pass rate. 28% of tests here were in automatic cars, compared with 29% across Great Britain.
Men had a higher pass rate than women here: 38%, compared with 34%. That's a wider gap than across Great Britain, where men's pass rate was 51% and women's 49%.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| 2025 to 2026 | 13,193 | 36.4% | 36.9% | 35.3% | 272nd of 276 |
| 2024 to 2025 | 14,070 | 34.1% | 34.2% | 33.9% | 274th of 275 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 13,534 | 33.6% | 33.9% | 32.5% | 275th of 277 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 8,397 | 38.5% | 38.8% | 37.3% | 257th of 271 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 7,699 | 37.8% | 37.8% | 37.9% | 269th 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 Wolverhampton.
Frequently asked questions
What's the pass rate for automatic cars at Featherstone?
35% in the 12 months to March 2026, compared with Britain's automatic pass rate of 45%.
How can I get a test sooner at Featherstone?
Check gov.uk often: tests other people cancel come back up there.
How busy is Featherstone test centre?
It ran 13,193 car tests in the 12 months to March 2026. Only 25 of Britain's 311 test centres ran more.
Can I move my test from Featherstone 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 closest other centre is Wednesbury, about 14 minutes away by road.
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.