Wolverhampton driving test centre
The pass rate, how long you'll wait for a test, and the other centres nearby.
Wolverhampton has had the lowest pass rate of Britain's bigger test centres for three years running.
Quick answers
- Where is it? Spring Road, Spring Road Industrial Estate, Ettingshall, Wolverhampton, WV4 6JX. Directions
- What's the pass rate? 34% overall (manual 38%, automatic 27%), compared with the 50% national average.
- How long is the wait? If you book now, expect about 3½ months. Check gov.uk for the real earliest date.
- Is it hard to pass? Yes. It had the lowest pass rate of Britain's 276 bigger test centres.
- What's nearby? Wednesbury is the closest, 15 minutes away. Its pass rate is 35% and its typical wait about 3 months. Featherstone, 18 minutes away, has a shorter wait, about 2½ months, and a pass rate of 36%.
Waiting times
Over the last 12 months, the typical wait here averaged about 3 months, about the same as in the 12 months before.
Before the pandemic, from May 2019 to February 2020, the typical wait here averaged about 1 month.
| Year | Wolverhampton | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 month | 1½ months |
| 2020 | 2 months | 2½ months |
| 2021 | 4½ months | 4 months |
| 2022 | 3 months | 2½ months |
| 2023 | 2½ months | 2½ months |
| 2024 | 2 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 four other centres within half an hour's drive. Of those, Featherstone has the shortest wait, about 2½ months, and Birmingham Kingstanding the highest pass rate, 49%.
| Test centre | Driving time | Pass rate | Typical wait | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| Wednesbury 5 miles by road | 15 minutes | 35.0% | 37.3% | 30.2% | 3 months |
| Dudley 6 miles by road | 17 minutes | 45.2% | 46.7% | 41.5% | 4 months |
| Featherstone 7 miles by road | 18 minutes | 36.4% | 36.9% | 35.3% | 2½ months |
| Birmingham (Kingstanding) 13 miles by road | 27 minutes | 48.5% | 50.5% | 45.3% | 3½ months |
Driving times are without traffic.
Pass rate over the years
In the 12 months to March 2026, Wolverhampton's pass rate was 34%, compared with 50% across Great Britain. It has been below Britain's pass rate for the last 13 years. It wasn't always that way: when DVSA's figures began, in the 12 months to March 2008, it was 47%, above Britain's pass rate of 44%.
The automatic pass rate here was lower than manual, as it is almost everywhere: 27%, compared with 38%. That gap is wider than at most centres. Its automatic pass rate is the lowest of the 267 centres that ran 100 or more automatic tests. 36% 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 31%. 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 | 11,561 | 34.3% | 38.2% | 27.2% | 276th of 276 |
| 2024 to 2025 | 11,719 | 33.4% | 35.4% | 28.4% | 275th of 275 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 15,295 | 32.4% | 34.0% | 27.3% | 277th of 277 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 13,160 | 35.3% | 36.8% | 29.3% | 269th of 271 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 10,023 | 36.7% | 37.7% | 31.4% | 273rd 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 Wolverhampton?
27% in the 12 months to March 2026, compared with Britain's automatic pass rate of 45%.
How can I get a test sooner at Wolverhampton?
Check gov.uk often: tests other people cancel come back up there. Or book a centre nearby: Featherstone, 18 minutes away, had a typical wait of about 2½ months.
How busy is Wolverhampton test centre?
It ran 11,561 car tests in the 12 months to March 2026. Only 43 of Britain's 311 test centres ran more.
Can I move my test from Wolverhampton 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 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.