Loughborough driving test centre
The pass rate, how long you'll wait for a test, and the other centres nearby.
Loughborough's pass rate has been below Britain's pass rate for the last five years, after mostly being above it before then.
Quick answers
- Where is it? Loughborough Driving Test Centre, Ark Business Centre, Gordon Road, Loughborough, LE11 1JP. Directions
- What's the pass rate? 42% overall (manual 45%, automatic 33%), 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 26 of Britain's 276 bigger centres had a lower pass rate.
- What's nearby? Leicester Cannock Street is the closest, 23 minutes away. Its pass rate is 40% and its typical wait about 2 months. Nottingham Chilwell, 30 minutes away, has a shorter wait, about 1 month, and a pass rate of 50%.
Waiting times
Over the last 12 months, the typical wait here averaged about 3½ months, up 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 | Loughborough | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1½ months | 1½ months |
| 2020 | 2½ months | 2½ months |
| 2021 | 4 months | 4 months |
| 2022 | 2½ months | 2½ months |
| 2023 | 3 months | 2½ months |
| 2024 | 2½ months | 2 months |
| 2025 | 3 months | 2½ months |
| 2026 | 3½ 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 four other centres within half an hour's drive. Of those, Nottingham Chilwell has the shortest wait, about 1 month, and Melton Mowbray the highest pass rate, 70%.
| Test centre | Driving time | Pass rate | Typical wait | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| Leicester (Cannock Street) 13 miles by road | 23 minutes | 40.2% | 42.2% | 35.3% | 2 months |
| Melton Mowbray 17 miles by road | 26 minutes | 69.7% | 71.3% | 62.6% | 4½ months |
| Derby (Alvaston) 17 miles by road | 26 minutes | 51.8% | 54.5% | 46.3% | 3 months |
| Nottingham (Chilwell) 18 miles by road | 30 minutes | 49.9% | 52.2% | 43.4% | 1 month |
Driving times are without traffic.
Pass rate over the years
In the 12 months to March 2026, Loughborough's pass rate was 42%, compared with 50% across Great Britain.
The automatic pass rate here was lower than manual, as it is almost everywhere: 33%, compared with 45%. That gap is wider than at most centres. Only six of the 267 centres that ran 100 or more automatic tests had a lower automatic pass rate. 20% of tests here were in automatic cars, compared with 29% across Great Britain.
Men and women had the same pass rate here, 42%. Across Great Britain, men's pass rate was 51% and women's 49%.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| 2025 to 2026 | 5,502 | 42.3% | 44.6% | 33.2% | 250th of 276 |
| 2024 to 2025 | 5,769 | 43.7% | 45.6% | 33.6% | 236th of 275 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 5,824 | 40.6% | 42.1% | 30.8% | 253rd of 277 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 4,455 | 42.8% | 43.8% | 35.0% | 228th of 271 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 4,984 | 47.1% | 47.8% | 39.7% | 188th 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 Loughborough.
Frequently asked questions
What's the pass rate for automatic cars at Loughborough?
33% in the 12 months to March 2026, compared with Britain's automatic pass rate of 45%.
How can I get a test sooner at Loughborough?
Check gov.uk often: tests other people cancel come back up there. Or book a centre nearby: Nottingham Chilwell, 30 minutes away, had a typical wait of about 1 month.
How busy is Loughborough test centre?
It ran 5,502 car tests in the 12 months to March 2026. That's around the middle for Britain's test centres.
Can I move my test from Loughborough 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 Leicester Cannock Street, about 23 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.