St Albans driving test centre
The pass rate, how long you'll wait for a test, and the other centres nearby.
St Albans's pass rate is the highest it has been since DVSA's figures began in 2007.
Quick answers
- Where is it? Beauver House 6 Bricket Road, St Albans, AL1 3JX. Directions
- What's the pass rate? 51% overall (manual 52%, automatic 48%), 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? Watford is the closest, 16 minutes away. Its pass rate is 46% and its typical wait about 3½ months. Enfield Innova Business Park, 26 minutes away, has a shorter wait, less than a month, and a pass rate of 54%.
Waiting times
Over the last 12 months, the typical wait here averaged about 3 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 | St Albans | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1½ months | 1½ months |
| 2020 | 2½ months | 2½ months |
| 2021 | 4½ months | 4 months |
| 2022 | 3 months | 2½ months |
| 2023 | 2½ months | 2½ months |
| 2024 | 2½ months | 2 months |
| 2025 | 3 months | 2½ months |
| 2026 | 3 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 nine other centres within half an hour's drive. Of those, Enfield Innova Business Park has the shortest wait, less than a month, and Stevenage the highest pass rate, 55%. The table shows the closest eight.
| Test centre | Driving time | Pass rate | Typical wait | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| Watford 8 miles by road | 16 minutes | 46.2% | 49.2% | 41.1% | 3½ months |
| Borehamwood (London) 11 miles by road | 18 minutes | 50.8% | 52.5% | 48.4% | 3½ months |
| Barnet (London) 11 miles by road | 19 minutes | 49.9% | 51.2% | 48.1% | 4½ months |
| Mill Hill (London) 14 miles by road | 23 minutes | 51.4% | 51.7% | 51.2% | 4 months |
| Luton 15 miles by road | 24 minutes | 39.2% | 41.2% | 36.5% | 2½ months |
| Enfield (Innova Business Park) 17 miles by road | 26 minutes | 53.9% | 56.7% | 50.0% | Less than a month |
| Hendon (London) 15 miles by road | 26 minutes | 51.4% | 51.8% | 51.0% | 5 months |
| Stevenage 18 miles by road | 26 minutes | 55.3% | 58.4% | 48.5% | 1 month |
Driving times are without traffic.
Pass rate over the years
In the 12 months to March 2026, St Albans's pass rate was 51%, compared with 50% across Great Britain. The year before, it was below Britain's pass rate.
The automatic pass rate here was lower than manual, as it is almost everywhere: 48%, compared with 52%. That gap is narrower than at most centres. Its automatic pass rate is around the middle of the 267 centres that ran 100 or more automatic tests. 33% of tests here were in automatic cars, compared with 29% across Great Britain.
Men had a higher pass rate than women here: 52%, compared with 49%. That's a similar gap to Great Britain's, where men's pass rate was 51% and women's 49%.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| 2025 to 2026 | 7,336 | 50.7% | 52.3% | 47.7% | 159th of 276 |
| 2024 to 2025 | 6,881 | 48.4% | 50.1% | 44.8% | 162nd of 275 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 6,826 | 44.1% | 45.1% | 41.9% | 217th of 277 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 5,320 | 44.0% | 45.4% | 40.3% | 215th of 271 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 6,017 | 45.9% | 47.1% | 41.1% | 212th 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 St Albans.
Frequently asked questions
What's the pass rate for automatic cars at St Albans?
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 St Albans?
Check gov.uk often: tests other people cancel come back up there. Or book a centre nearby: Enfield Innova Business Park, 26 minutes away, had a typical wait of less than a month.
How busy is St Albans test centre?
It ran 7,336 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 St Albans 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 Watford, about 16 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.