Peterhead driving test centre
The pass rate, how long you'll wait for a test, and the other centres nearby.
Peterhead's pass rate has been above Britain's pass rate every year since DVSA's figures began in 2007.
Quick answers
- Where is it? Suite 21 Burnside Business Centre Burnside Road, Peterhead, AB42 3AW. Directions
- What's the pass rate? 53% overall (manual 56%, automatic 41%), compared with the 50% national average.
- How long is the wait? If you book now, expect about 1½ 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? Fraserburgh is the closest, 25 minutes away. Its pass rate is 64% and its typical wait about 3½ months.
Waiting times
Over the last 12 months, the typical wait here averaged about 1 month, down from about 2 months in the 12 months before.
The wait here has been shorter than Britain's typical wait in seven of the last eight years.
Before the pandemic, from May 2019 to February 2020, the typical wait here averaged about 1½ months.
| Year | Peterhead | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1½ months | 1½ months |
| 2020 | 1½ months | 2½ months |
| 2021 | 3 months | 4 months |
| 2022 | 1½ months | 2½ months |
| 2023 | 1½ months | 2½ months |
| 2024 | 1½ months | 2 months |
| 2025 | 2 months | 2½ months |
| 2026 | 1½ 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
Fraserburgh is the only other centre within half an hour's drive. Its pass rate is higher than Peterhead's, and its wait longer.
| Test centre | Driving time | Pass rate | Typical wait | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| Fraserburgh 19 miles by road | 25 minutes | 64.0% | - | - | 3½ months |
Driving times are without traffic.
Pass rate over the years
In the 12 months to March 2026, Peterhead'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: 41%, compared with 56%. That gap is wider than at most centres. Its automatic pass rate is around the middle of the 267 centres that ran 100 or more automatic tests. 21% of tests here were in automatic cars, compared with 29% across Great Britain.
Women had a higher pass rate than men here: 55%, compared with 52%. Across Great Britain it was the other way round: men's pass rate was 51% and women's 49%.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| 2025 to 2026 | 2,628 | 53.2% | 56.4% | 41.1% | 100th of 276 |
| 2024 to 2025 | 1,400 | 57.8% | 58.9% | 48.2% | 39th of 275 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 1,291 | 60.7% | 61.2% | 56.0% | 13th of 277 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 1,538 | 59.0% | 60.7% | 43.4% | 24th of 271 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 1,174 | 66.6% | - | - | 4th 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.
Frequently asked questions
What's the pass rate for automatic cars at Peterhead?
41% in the 12 months to March 2026, compared with Britain's automatic pass rate of 45%.
How can I get a test sooner at Peterhead?
Check gov.uk often: tests other people cancel come back up there.
How busy is Peterhead test centre?
It ran 2,628 car tests in the 12 months to March 2026. Only 76 of Britain's 311 test centres ran fewer.
Can I move my test from Peterhead 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 Fraserburgh, about 25 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.