Male vs female driving test pass rates: women now just ahead in manual cars

For years, men passed their driving test more often than women. Since the pandemic, that gap has mostly closed.

Megan Watkins, Drivepal Founder·Updated 26 October 2026

Just before the pandemic, in the 12 months to March 2020, men's pass rate in manual cars was 50% and women's was 43%. Men had been ahead by about that much every year since 2008.

Women have now caught up. In the 12 months to March 2026, women's pass rate in manual cars was 53%, and men's was 52%. It's the first time women have been ahead since these figures began in 2008.

Counting automatic tests as well, men are still just ahead: 51%, against 49% for women.

Women's manual pass rate

52.6%

the 12 months to March 2026

Men's manual pass rate

52.0%

the 12 months to March 2026

Centres where women pass more often

88 of 259

2 of 271 before the pandemic

How the gap closed

The gap between men and women got smaller every year after the pandemic, in manual cars and overall. The table below has every year since 2007.

You can see the same change at test centres. In the 12 months to March 2008, women had a higher pass rate than men at none of the 289 centres we compared, but by the 12 months to March 2026 they were ahead at 88 of 259.

Year	Men	Women	Men, manual	Women, manual	Centres where women pass more often
2025 to 2026	50.8%	49.1%	52.0%	52.6%	88 of 259
2024 to 2025	49.5%	47.6%	50.4%	50.1%	79 of 261
2023 to 2024	49.1%	46.5%	49.8%	48.5%	52 of 263
2022 to 2023	50.1%	46.4%	50.8%	48.0%	25 of 261
2021 to 2022	51.0%	46.7%	51.6%	48.3%	17 of 266
2020 to 2021	52.5%	47.1%	52.8%	48.4%	7 of 197
2019 to 2020	49.6%	42.6%	49.8%	43.4%	2 of 271
2018 to 2019	49.6%	42.4%	49.7%	43.1%	2 of 278
2017 to 2018	50.0%	43.0%	50.1%	43.5%	3 of 278
2016 to 2017	50.6%	43.9%	50.6%	44.3%	3 of 271
2015 to 2016	50.6%	43.7%	50.5%	44.0%	1 of 265
2014 to 2015	50.5%	43.6%	50.3%	43.8%	2 of 272
2013 to 2014	50.6%	43.7%	50.6%	44.1%	1 of 270
2012 to 2013	50.6%	43.9%	50.5%	44.2%	1 of 265
2011 to 2012	50.3%	43.8%	-	-	0 of 259
2010 to 2011	49.5%	43.2%	49.6%	43.5%	2 of 260
2009 to 2010	49.1%	42.8%	48.9%	42.9%	3 of 268
2008 to 2009	48.6%	42.1%	48.5%	42.3%	0 of 291
2007 to 2008	47.3%	41.3%	-	-	0 of 289

Each year runs from April to March. DVSA has no figures for automatic tests before 2008 to 2009 or for 2011 to 2012, so no manual figures for those years. Centres compared are those where men and women each took at least 500 tests that year. Tests were stopped for much of 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic.

Automatic cars

Women are much more likely than men to take their test in an automatic. In the 12 months to March 2026, 40% of women's tests were in an automatic, compared with 21% of men's. Pass rates are lower in automatic cars for everyone, so this keeps women's overall pass rate a little below men's.

Women have closed most of the gap in automatic cars too. In the 12 months to March 2020, men's automatic pass rate was 45% and women's was 37%. By the 12 months to March 2026, men's was 46% and women's had risen to 44%.

At every age from 17 to 25

Women have closed most of the gap at every age from 17 to 25, so the change isn't mainly down to who's testing at what age.

Age	Men, 2019 to 2020	Women, 2019 to 2020	Men, 2025 to 2026	Women, 2025 to 2026
17	57.4%	53.9%	64.4%	62.5%
18	49.3%	45.9%	56.0%	54.4%
19	47.8%	42.7%	52.6%	51.5%
20	47.6%	41.9%	52.0%	50.6%
21	48.9%	42.7%	52.1%	51.2%
22	49.6%	43.3%	52.4%	52.4%
23	50.0%	42.9%	51.6%	51.1%
24	49.8%	42.3%	49.6%	49.5%
25	49.0%	41.7%	48.7%	48.4%

Pass rates for manual and automatic tests together.

Why it changed

The figures show the gap closing, but not why. We checked two easy explanations, and neither explains it on its own.

Longer waits for a test: waits got much longer after the pandemic, so you might expect learners to go in better practised. But the gap closed just as much at centres with short waits as at centres with long ones, so differences in waits between centres don't explain it.
A switch to automatic cars: more women learning in automatic cars can't explain it either. Automatic pass rates are lower, so that would pull women's pass rate down, but it rose from 43% to 49%.

One thing that has changed is who's taking the test. Men took 45% more tests in the 12 months to March 2026 than in the 12 months to March 2020, while women took 6% more. The figures don't say whether that's behind the change.

Instructors

Women are 27% of driving instructors: in April 2026, 11,860 of the 44,628 approved driving instructors in Great Britain were women, according to figures DVSA released to us under the Freedom of Information Act.

Women's share of new instructors has barely moved. Every year since 2007, women have made up between 26% and 31% of the people who passed the last of the three tests to become an instructor. Women passed that test more often than men in 17 of the 18 years.

Where women pass more often

In the 12 months to March 2026, the gap in women's favour was widest at Galashiels, where women's pass rate was 53% and men's 45%.

#	Test centre	Men	Women	Men, manual	Women, manual
1	Galashiels Scotland	45.0%	53.1%	46.6%	60.7%
2	Dunfermline (Vine) Scotland	33.3%	40.6%	34.8%	42.9%
3	Darlington North East	44.7%	51.3%	47.0%	56.2%
4	Bishopbriggs Scotland	47.2%	53.3%	49.1%	58.2%
5	Launceston South West	43.8%	50.0%	46.3%	51.5%
6	Plymouth South West	38.3%	43.7%	39.9%	45.9%
7	Folkestone South East	40.5%	45.4%	42.5%	49.9%
8	Wellingborough East Midlands	57.5%	62.3%	58.3%	66.9%
9	Dumfries Scotland	51.9%	56.6%	53.7%	61.6%
10	Llanelli Wales	48.9%	53.5%	50.4%	56.1%

Widest gap in women's favour first. Only centres where men and women each took at least 500 tests in the 12 months to March 2026.

Every centre

Show all 258 centres, A to Z

Test centre	Men	Women	Men, manual	Women, manual
Aberdeen North Scotland	47.4%	48.9%	50.1%	55.8%
Aberdeen South (Cove) Scotland	51.0%	54.2%	55.3%	59.8%
Abergavenny Wales	66.1%	62.2%	66.8%	64.3%
Aberystwyth (Park Avenue) Wales	56.2%	53.8%	56.0%	51.4%
Airdrie Scotland	47.8%	47.0%	48.5%	47.7%
Alnwick North East	53.6%	58.1%	58.5%	66.6%
Ashfield East Midlands	58.4%	56.1%	60.4%	59.1%
Ashford (Kent) South East	45.7%	46.9%	47.0%	49.2%
Atherton (Manchester) North West	45.7%	42.4%	47.5%	46.4%
Aylesbury South East	49.9%	48.5%	50.4%	51.0%
Ayr Scotland	57.4%	57.5%	60.5%	58.9%
Banbury South East	40.8%	41.7%	42.3%	44.3%
Bangor Wales	62.7%	61.7%	63.7%	64.7%
Barking (Tanner Street) London	37.5%	34.3%	39.8%	35.6%
Barnet (London) London	51.4%	47.7%	52.2%	48.8%
Barnsley Yorkshire and The Humber	58.0%	59.3%	58.7%	59.9%
Barnstaple South West	50.5%	52.6%	52.3%	55.7%
Barrow In Furness North West	71.2%	68.1%	73.6%	70.2%
Barry Wales	56.8%	57.3%	57.5%	60.2%
Basildon Eastern	48.2%	50.5%	49.6%	54.5%
Basingstoke South East	57.0%	56.5%	58.7%	59.6%
Bedford Eastern	54.8%	52.3%	56.5%	58.0%
Belvedere (London) London	43.2%	36.1%	44.5%	37.7%
Birmingham (Garretts Green) West Midlands	46.9%	40.7%	47.3%	42.7%
Birmingham (Kings Heath) West Midlands	47.6%	45.7%	47.6%	48.3%
Birmingham (Kingstanding) West Midlands	51.7%	45.5%	52.6%	47.2%
Birmingham (Shirley) West Midlands	57.9%	54.7%	59.9%	61.6%
Birmingham (South Yardley) West Midlands	45.4%	38.4%	46.7%	40.7%
Bishopbriggs Scotland	47.2%	53.3%	49.1%	58.2%
Bishops Stortford Eastern	51.6%	51.0%	53.8%	55.6%
Blackburn with Darwen North West	48.2%	44.6%	47.9%	45.2%
Blackpool North West	51.6%	52.0%	52.3%	54.2%
Bletchley South East	52.0%	50.9%	53.4%	55.3%
Blyth North East	49.7%	52.4%	52.5%	58.4%
Bodmin South West	48.3%	46.5%	49.8%	47.1%
Bolton (Manchester) North West	53.5%	50.0%	54.5%	55.1%
Borehamwood (London) London	51.2%	50.2%	52.3%	53.0%
Boston East Midlands	52.0%	49.1%	54.2%	54.1%
Bradford (Heaton) Yorkshire and The Humber	57.0%	55.1%	57.6%	55.1%
Bradford (Thornbury) Yorkshire and The Humber	50.7%	43.4%	52.1%	46.0%
Brecon Wales	63.1%	53.7%	64.3%	55.1%
Bredbury (Manchester) North West	55.9%	56.1%	57.0%	61.7%
Brentwood (London) Eastern	48.1%	49.2%	49.0%	51.4%
Bridgend Wales	52.9%	53.8%	54.6%	56.3%
Bridlington Yorkshire and The Humber	59.3%	51.8%	60.8%	53.6%
Bristol (Avonmouth) South West	56.3%	54.5%	56.8%	58.0%
Bristol (Kingswood) South West	51.8%	52.1%	53.1%	55.6%
Bromley (London) London	56.0%	49.5%	56.2%	52.1%
Burgess Hill South East	44.0%	47.3%	45.1%	49.8%
Burton on Trent West Midlands	55.8%	53.3%	58.0%	58.1%
Bury (Manchester) North West	48.9%	43.0%	51.2%	45.3%
Bury St Edmunds Eastern	44.7%	48.0%	46.0%	50.5%
Buxton East Midlands	58.4%	59.1%	60.0%	63.5%
Camborne South West	41.4%	39.8%	43.1%	41.5%
Cambridge (Brookmount Court) Eastern	55.5%	51.9%	57.0%	55.4%
Canterbury South East	44.6%	47.6%	45.1%	50.3%
Cardiff (Llanishen) Wales	48.1%	44.7%	50.0%	48.4%
Cardigan Wales	40.0%	42.1%	-	-
Carlisle North West	58.8%	58.6%	60.9%	60.4%
Carmarthen Wales	54.2%	54.2%	56.0%	55.8%
Chadderton North West	49.8%	43.3%	51.0%	47.4%
Cheetham Hill (Manchester) North West	48.7%	40.5%	49.8%	43.0%
Chelmsford	56.9%	53.7%	58.3%	57.5%
Cheltenham South West	44.6%	41.8%	45.8%	44.3%
Chertsey (London) South East	53.8%	51.9%	54.6%	56.7%
Chester North West	47.2%	47.5%	49.2%	49.6%
Chesterfield East Midlands	56.3%	56.1%	58.3%	59.9%
Chichester South East	61.5%	61.7%	63.1%	63.4%
Chingford (London) London	41.8%	36.8%	42.1%	38.5%
Chippenham South West	57.2%	55.6%	57.8%	57.7%
Chorley North West	52.5%	53.2%	53.5%	55.7%
Clacton-on-Sea Eastern	46.8%	50.1%	48.1%	52.3%
Colchester Eastern	51.7%	49.4%	53.7%	53.0%
Coventry West Midlands	41.1%	38.4%	42.1%	42.3%
Crawley South East	41.6%	44.5%	42.9%	47.3%
Crewe North West	44.4%	43.1%	44.8%	46.2%
Darlington North East	44.7%	51.3%	47.0%	56.2%
Derby (Alvaston) East Midlands	54.4%	49.1%	55.9%	52.5%
Doncaster Yorkshire and The Humber	53.6%	52.8%	54.9%	54.0%
Dorchester South West	68.4%	69.6%	71.6%	75.5%
Dudley West Midlands	48.0%	42.1%	48.1%	44.7%
Dumbarton Scotland	52.6%	53.1%	53.6%	54.5%
Dumfries Scotland	51.9%	56.6%	53.7%	61.6%
Dundee Scotland	59.9%	54.7%	62.0%	58.4%
Dunfermline (Vine) Scotland	33.3%	40.6%	34.8%	42.9%
Durham North East	53.7%	52.6%	55.0%	53.6%
East Kilbride Scotland	55.7%	59.8%	57.8%	63.6%
Eastbourne South East	54.8%	56.2%	56.4%	59.0%
Edinburgh (Currie) Scotland	41.0%	42.3%	42.7%	45.0%
Edinburgh (Musselburgh) Scotland	48.9%	50.1%	50.5%	52.5%
Elgin Scotland	42.2%	42.4%	43.6%	43.7%
Enfield (Innova Business Park) London	55.0%	52.3%	56.9%	56.1%
Erith (London) London	52.0%	51.1%	52.9%	53.2%
Exeter South West	45.8%	48.0%	47.0%	51.1%
Farnborough South East	61.7%	57.6%	63.8%	60.9%
Featherstone West Midlands	38.2%	34.3%	37.9%	35.0%
Folkestone South East	40.5%	45.4%	42.5%	49.9%
Galashiels Scotland	45.0%	53.1%	46.6%	60.7%
Gateshead North East	37.2%	37.9%	38.5%	40.6%
Gillingham South East	57.1%	55.4%	59.0%	60.0%
Glasgow (Anniesland) Scotland	45.5%	43.2%	45.9%	46.1%
Glasgow (Baillieston) Scotland	48.1%	46.6%	49.7%	50.4%
Glasgow (Shieldhall) Scotland	38.9%	41.4%	39.7%	43.3%
Gloucester South West	47.6%	47.9%	49.7%	53.0%
Goodmayes (London) London	47.2%	39.1%	47.5%	41.6%
Gosforth North East	49.8%	46.7%	51.8%	49.0%
Grangemouth Scotland	51.1%	50.2%	52.3%	52.7%
Grantham (Somerby) East Midlands	57.9%	57.9%	59.8%	62.6%
Greenford (Horsenden Lane) London	44.0%	36.9%	42.9%	37.5%
Greenham South East	56.3%	56.6%	57.7%	58.6%
Greenock Scotland	40.6%	43.5%	41.5%	46.7%
Grimsby Coldwater Yorkshire and The Humber	42.0%	43.8%	44.6%	45.5%
Guildford South East	58.2%	55.6%	59.8%	60.0%
Haddington Scotland	57.5%	57.6%	59.4%	61.4%
Halifax Yorkshire and The Humber	48.4%	41.3%	49.1%	41.7%
Hamilton Scotland	41.9%	42.1%	43.8%	44.7%
Hartlepool North East	51.0%	51.1%	52.2%	53.0%
Hastings (Ore) South East	51.8%	53.1%	51.6%	54.6%
Heckmondwike Yorkshire and The Humber	48.8%	42.8%	49.5%	44.1%
Hendon (London) London	54.3%	47.4%	53.8%	46.5%
Hereford West Midlands	59.9%	57.4%	61.7%	62.0%
Herne Bay South East	56.0%	55.8%	56.8%	57.7%
Hexham North East	53.1%	52.8%	59.1%	57.9%
Heysham North West	59.2%	59.3%	60.8%	61.5%
High Wycombe South East	54.3%	48.7%	55.6%	50.9%
Hinckley East Midlands	46.5%	46.2%	48.1%	49.1%
Hornchurch (London) London	47.0%	45.2%	48.4%	48.2%
Horsforth Yorkshire and The Humber	49.0%	50.5%	49.9%	54.9%
Huddersfield Yorkshire and The Humber	50.6%	47.4%	52.1%	50.1%
Hull Yorkshire and The Humber	46.9%	49.2%	48.9%	52.6%
Inverness (Longman Drive) Scotland	45.3%	46.5%	46.1%	48.9%
Ipswich Eastern	62.2%	62.5%	63.4%	65.3%
Irvine Scotland	56.8%	54.5%	57.2%	54.3%
Isleworth (Fleming Way) London	52.3%	48.0%	52.5%	52.0%
Kendal (Oxenholme Road) North West	65.1%	65.2%	67.1%	67.6%
Kettering East Midlands	49.6%	48.5%	51.6%	52.6%
Kings Lynn Eastern	53.9%	49.8%	55.4%	54.1%
Kirkcaldy Scotland	52.5%	49.1%	53.5%	50.6%
Knaresborough Yorkshire and The Humber	58.5%	58.7%	59.4%	61.9%
Lanark Scotland	57.2%	59.1%	58.9%	62.3%
Launceston South West	43.8%	50.0%	46.3%	51.5%
Lee On The Solent South East	64.2%	62.1%	67.0%	67.7%
Leeds (Fearnville) Yorkshire and The Humber	54.2%	48.9%	56.2%	50.6%
Leicester (Cannock Street) East Midlands	42.3%	37.3%	43.3%	39.7%
Leicester (Wigston) East Midlands	53.0%	48.8%	54.5%	52.4%
Leighton Buzzard (Stanbridge Road) Eastern	51.0%	48.4%	51.7%	50.8%
Letchworth Eastern	57.8%	57.0%	58.5%	61.7%
Lichfield West Midlands	54.4%	51.6%	55.4%	53.4%
Lincoln East Midlands	53.6%	50.4%	55.7%	53.1%
Livingston Scotland	57.6%	53.8%	59.0%	56.8%
Llanelli Wales	48.9%	53.5%	50.4%	56.1%
Llantrisant Wales	52.5%	56.2%	54.3%	60.1%
Loughborough East Midlands	42.4%	42.3%	43.9%	45.6%
Loughton (London) Eastern	48.1%	45.2%	49.1%	46.4%
Lowestoft(Mobbs Way) Eastern	41.9%	45.3%	43.5%	48.1%
Ludlow West Midlands	61.0%	55.9%	62.6%	62.1%
Luton Eastern	41.6%	36.6%	42.7%	38.2%
Macclesfield North West	53.7%	49.8%	55.5%	51.8%
Maidstone South East	60.9%	59.3%	62.9%	64.2%
Melton Mowbray East Midlands	71.2%	68.1%	72.1%	70.5%
Merthyr Tydfil Wales	51.5%	50.7%	52.6%	53.0%
Middlesbrough North East	48.3%	47.0%	49.0%	47.9%
Mill Hill (London) London	52.8%	49.7%	52.2%	50.2%
Mitcham (London) London	48.7%	44.5%	49.3%	46.1%
Monmouth Wales	49.1%	53.1%	50.0%	54.7%
Morden (London) London	52.7%	49.1%	52.5%	50.5%
Nelson North West	56.2%	47.2%	55.9%	47.6%
Newport (Gwent) Wales	49.6%	48.0%	51.3%	51.6%
Newport (Isle of Wight) South East	54.4%	53.9%	56.4%	56.9%
Newton Abbot South West	56.1%	51.3%	57.6%	52.5%
Newtown Wales	59.3%	56.5%	61.9%	62.4%
Norris Green (Liverpool) North West	36.7%	39.2%	37.7%	41.5%
Northallerton Yorkshire and The Humber	58.6%	62.6%	59.8%	65.3%
Northampton East Midlands	52.9%	51.0%	55.5%	56.5%
Northwich North West	57.9%	57.2%	59.4%	58.2%
Norwich (Peachman Way) Eastern	62.5%	60.8%	63.9%	62.9%
Nottingham (Chilwell) East Midlands	50.5%	49.1%	52.2%	52.3%
Nottingham (Colwick) East Midlands	45.8%	47.3%	46.6%	52.8%
Nuneaton West Midlands	54.7%	51.4%	57.4%	57.6%
Oswestry West Midlands	52.5%	52.1%	54.8%	54.6%
Oxford (Cowley) South East	53.7%	47.2%	54.3%	50.5%
Paisley Scotland	49.0%	48.2%	49.9%	50.2%
Pembroke Dock Wales	49.6%	50.7%	51.3%	51.8%
Perth (Arran Road) Scotland	53.7%	43.8%	55.7%	46.0%
Peterborough Eastern	54.5%	50.8%	55.4%	54.6%
Peterhead Scotland	52.2%	54.9%	54.7%	59.5%
Pinner (London) London	53.8%	45.6%	53.8%	48.2%
Plymouth South West	38.3%	43.7%	39.9%	45.9%
Pontefract Yorkshire and The Humber	47.1%	46.8%	48.1%	49.2%
Poole South West	54.6%	52.1%	56.1%	54.6%
Portsmouth South East	53.6%	51.9%	55.1%	54.1%
Preston North West	58.2%	54.0%	60.1%	57.1%
Reading South East	55.6%	55.1%	55.9%	60.1%
Redditch West Midlands	50.7%	52.4%	50.0%	53.8%
Redhill Aerodrome South East	54.8%	52.8%	56.6%	55.2%
Rhyl Wales	58.4%	55.5%	60.3%	56.9%
Rochdale (Manchester) North West	50.1%	45.7%	51.1%	48.8%
Rotherham Yorkshire and The Humber	52.0%	54.7%	53.6%	57.4%
Rugby West Midlands	49.5%	53.7%	51.3%	60.5%
Sale (Manchester) North West	53.7%	48.9%	54.5%	54.8%
Salisbury South West	48.2%	48.8%	50.9%	53.9%
Scarborough Yorkshire and The Humber	44.8%	45.4%	47.4%	46.9%
Scunthorpe Yorkshire and The Humber	46.0%	44.8%	47.9%	47.3%
Sevenoaks South East	57.2%	61.3%	58.4%	64.8%
Sheffield (Handsworth) Yorkshire and The Humber	46.7%	40.9%	47.8%	43.0%
Sheffield (Middlewood Road) Yorkshire and The Humber	50.6%	46.6%	52.2%	51.3%
Shrewsbury West Midlands	51.5%	50.4%	53.5%	53.9%
Sidcup (London) London	58.7%	58.7%	59.3%	63.0%
Skegness East Midlands	55.6%	56.4%	58.9%	61.4%
Skipton Yorkshire and The Humber	60.2%	54.0%	60.9%	53.4%
Slough (London) South East	54.1%	46.8%	54.7%	51.9%
Southall (London) London	46.9%	40.8%	47.3%	43.4%
Southampton (Maybush) South East	52.3%	47.9%	53.8%	50.8%
Southend-on-Sea Eastern	46.6%	47.5%	48.4%	51.1%
Southport (Liverpool) North West	56.5%	56.6%	58.1%	57.9%
Speke (Liverpool) North West	39.7%	41.7%	40.3%	45.4%
St Albans Eastern	51.9%	49.2%	52.7%	51.5%
St Helens (Liverpool) North West	39.5%	43.5%	41.5%	47.1%
Stafford West Midlands	45.6%	46.1%	48.4%	50.5%
Steeton Yorkshire and The Humber	55.0%	49.8%	55.9%	50.7%
Stevenage Eastern	55.9%	54.6%	57.3%	60.1%
Stirling Scotland	43.6%	42.5%	43.8%	45.1%
Stoke-On-Trent (Cobridge) West Midlands	41.4%	39.6%	42.6%	43.7%
Stoke-on-Trent (Newcastle-Under-Lyme) West Midlands	43.4%	40.0%	45.2%	43.0%
Sunderland North East	51.2%	51.1%	53.5%	53.7%
Swansea Wales	48.8%	47.6%	50.8%	53.8%
Swindon South West	51.6%	50.5%	52.9%	53.7%
Taunton South West	59.6%	59.4%	60.9%	62.0%
Telford West Midlands	52.0%	45.9%	53.8%	46.7%
Tilbury Eastern	50.9%	49.7%	52.6%	55.5%
Tolworth (London) London	55.8%	51.0%	57.1%	54.5%
Tottenham London	51.2%	45.6%	51.4%	45.2%
Trowbridge South West	57.4%	53.2%	57.6%	54.2%
Tunbridge Wells South East	65.2%	63.7%	66.1%	65.3%
Upton North West	52.5%	52.7%	53.6%	56.9%
Uxbridge (London) London	54.1%	49.2%	53.7%	52.2%
Wakefield Yorkshire and The Humber	46.6%	44.0%	47.7%	47.2%
Wanstead (London) London	46.1%	41.7%	47.1%	44.1%
Warrington North West	55.7%	55.4%	57.1%	59.4%
Warwick (Wedgenock House) West Midlands	49.7%	47.0%	50.3%	51.4%
Watford Eastern	47.9%	44.0%	49.3%	49.0%
Wednesbury West Midlands	37.9%	32.2%	38.5%	35.6%
Wellingborough East Midlands	57.5%	62.3%	58.3%	66.9%
West Didsbury (Manchester) North West	50.3%	44.7%	50.5%	49.2%
West Wickham (London) London	51.2%	52.1%	51.3%	53.7%
Weston-super-Mare South West	62.4%	59.5%	63.4%	61.3%
Widnes North West	42.0%	43.7%	43.9%	45.5%
Winchester South East	53.4%	51.0%	54.8%	54.3%
Wolverhampton West Midlands	37.5%	30.8%	38.5%	37.7%
Wood Green (London) London	48.6%	44.1%	48.9%	44.5%
Worcester West Midlands	54.0%	49.6%	55.1%	52.4%
Workington North West	63.4%	60.2%	64.9%	62.9%
Worksop East Midlands	57.1%	53.1%	58.5%	55.1%
Worthing South East	60.5%	58.9%	61.7%	61.5%
Wrexham Wales	50.9%	53.1%	52.4%	57.1%
Yeading (London) London	54.0%	50.0%	53.5%	51.3%
Yeovil South West	65.2%	61.4%	66.2%	63.1%
York Yorkshire and The Humber	54.6%	54.3%	55.5%	55.2%

Open centres where men and women each took at least 500 tests in the 12 months to March 2026. Each centre's own page has its pass rates over the years.

Frequently asked questions

Do men or women pass the driving test more?

Men, by a little. In the 12 months to March 2026, men's pass rate was 51% and women's 49%. In manual cars, women's was just higher: 53% against 52%.

Do women pass manual driving tests more than men?

Yes, just. In the 12 months to March 2026, women's pass rate in manual cars was 53% and men's 52%. It's the first time women have been ahead since these figures began in 2008.

Is the gender gap in driving tests closing?

Yes. In the 12 months to March 2020, men's pass rate was 50% and women's was 43%. In the 12 months to March 2026, men's was 51% and women's was 49%. See every year.

Do women pass more at my test centre?

At 88 of the 259 centres we could compare in the 12 months to March 2026, women had the higher pass rate. Find your centre.

Where does your test centre rank?

How we worked this out

Everything here comes from DVSA's statistics for practical car tests at every test centre in Great Britain. The latest are for the 12 months to March 2026, which DVSA calls its 2025-26 financial year. A pass rate is passes divided by tests, for men and for women. DVSA records each learner as a man or a woman; tests where it didn't are left out.

DVSA publishes automatic tests by gender, but not manual ones. We work them out: at each centre, men's manual tests are all their tests less their automatic ones, and the same for passes and for women. We only count centres with automatic figures by gender. In the 12 months to March 2026, that was 286 centres.

The ages are from DVSA's table of pass rates for 17 to 25 year olds at each centre.

The number of instructors who are women is from DVSA's register of approved driving instructors, as at April 2026, released to us under the Freedom of Information Act (reference 2604-106320). The instructor test figures are DVSA's table DRT521D.

Source: DVSA: Car driving test data by test centre (tables DRT122A, DRT122D and DRT122E). Released under the Open Government Licence v3.0.