St Helens driving test centre
The pass rate, how long you'll wait for a test, and the other centres nearby.
Quick answers
- Where is it? 1 Navigation Road, off Pocket Nook Street, St Helens, WA9 1NS. Directions
- What's the pass rate? 41% overall (manual 43%, automatic 34%), 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 17 of Britain's 276 bigger centres had a lower pass rate.
- What's nearby? Widnes is the closest, 15 minutes away. Its pass rate is 43% and its typical wait about 2 months. Speke, 22 minutes away, has a shorter wait, about 1½ months, and a pass rate of 41%.
Waiting times
Over the last 12 months, the typical wait here averaged about 1½ months, about the same as 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 was about the same.
| Year | St Helens | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1½ months | 1½ months |
| 2020 | 2 months | 2½ months |
| 2021 | 3½ months | 4 months |
| 2022 | 2 months | 2½ months |
| 2023 | 2 months | 2½ months |
| 2024 | 1½ months | 2 months |
| 2025 | 1½ 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
There are five other centres within half an hour's drive. Of those, Speke has the shortest wait, about 1½ months, and Warrington the highest pass rate, 56%.
| Test centre | Driving time | Pass rate | Typical wait | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| Widnes 11 miles by road | 15 minutes | 42.7% | 44.5% | 37.6% | 2 months |
| Warrington 11 miles by road | 20 minutes | 55.5% | 58.1% | 48.6% | 4 months |
| Norris Green (Liverpool) 10 miles by road | 20 minutes | 37.8% | 39.2% | 34.9% | 4 months |
| Speke (Liverpool) 14 miles by road | 22 minutes | 40.5% | 42.0% | 37.2% | 1½ months |
| Atherton (Manchester) 14 miles by road | 27 minutes | 44.3% | 47.1% | 37.9% | 2½ months |
Driving times are without traffic.
Pass rate over the years
In the 12 months to March 2026, St Helens's pass rate was 41%, compared with 50% across Great Britain. It has been below Britain's pass rate for the last seven years. It wasn't always that way: in the 12 months to March 2014, the first year DVSA has figures for it, it was 52%, above Britain's pass rate of 47%.
The automatic pass rate here was lower than manual, as it is almost everywhere: 34%, compared with 43%. That gap is about the same as at most centres, but only ten of the 267 centres that ran 100 or more automatic tests had a lower automatic pass rate. 25% of tests here were in automatic cars, compared with 29% across Great Britain.
Women had a higher pass rate than men here: 44%, compared with 40%. 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 | 14,174 | 40.9% | 43.3% | 34.1% | 259th of 276 |
| 2024 to 2025 | 9,776 | 40.2% | 42.0% | 32.1% | 257th of 275 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 9,718 | 38.6% | 40.1% | 29.2% | 263rd of 277 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 8,292 | 38.2% | 39.4% | 27.6% | 259th of 271 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 7,422 | 44.6% | 45.3% | 34.9% | 223rd 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 Liverpool.
Frequently asked questions
What's the pass rate for automatic cars at St Helens?
34% 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 Helens?
Check gov.uk often: tests other people cancel come back up there. Or book a centre nearby: Speke, 22 minutes away, had a typical wait of about 1½ months.
How busy is St Helens test centre?
It ran 14,174 car tests in the 12 months to March 2026. Only 17 of Britain's 311 test centres ran more.
Can I move my test from St Helens 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 Widnes, about 15 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.