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Average Driving Test Pass Rates
With only 45.8% of people passing the practical driving test and 47.3% passing the theory test, test takers are more likely to fail their test than pass it. However the pass rates change by gender and age. Read below to find driving test pass rate statistics for your demographic. This information can be useful when researching driving lessons and instructors, to see how their pass rate compares to the UK average.
How Many People Pass the Car Driving Test?
In 2018/19 in Great Britain, of the 1,664,218 people who took the practical driving test, only 762,972 passed—a pass rate of just 45.8% for the practical driving test. That means that less than half of people pass the test when they take it. However, the pass rates are different the first time you take the test than on subsequent goes. Around 47.3% of test takers passed the theory test in 2018/19.
| Car Test Pass Rates | Conducted | Passes | Pass Rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theory | 1,787,773 | 845,028 | 47.3% |
| Practical | 1,664,218 | 761,971 | 45.8% |
How Many People Pass the Practical Driving Test for Cars the First Time?
Overall, 46.6% of test takers pass on the fist attempt (50.3% for men and 42.9% for women). The pass rate improves very slightly for those taking the test the second time, with 47% passing on the second attempt (50.6% for men and 43.8% for women). However, if you haven't passed after two attempts it seems to become harder to become qualified to drive, as the pass rate drops steadily between 3 and 6 attempts. By the 6th attempt, only 38% of test takers pass their test.
| Practical Car Test Pass Rates | Conducted | Passes | Pass Rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st attempt | 733,166 | 341,393 | 46.6% |
| 2nd attempt | 409,670 | 192,636 | 47.0% |
| 3rd attempt | 224,513 | 103,464 | 46.1% |
| 4th attempt | 123,933 | 55,369 | 44.7% |
| 5th attempt | 69,533 | 29,795 | 42.9% |
| 6th attempt | 103,403 | 39,314 | 38.0% |
| Total | 1,664,218 | 761,971 | 45.8% |
How Many Men and Women Pass the Driving Test?
Driving pass rates differ slightly by gender. Men have a slightly higher pass rate than women on the practical test (49.6% vs. 42.4%, respectively), but whatever your gender you're more likely to fail than pass the practical driving test when you take it.
| Practical Driving Test Pass Rates 2018/19 | Conducted | Passed | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 779,980 | 386,889 | 49.6% |
| Women | 884,238 | 375,082 | 42.4% |
| Total | 1,664,219 | 761,972 | 45.8% |
However, women have better pass rates then men when it comes to the theory test. In 2018/19 women passed at a rate of 45.9% while 43.8% of men passed the theory test when they took it.
| Car Theory Test Pass Rates 2018/19 | Conducted | Passes | Pass Rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 925,453 | 421,768 | 45.6% |
| Women | 861,953 | 423,023 | 49.1% |
| Total | 1,787,773 | 845,028 | 47.3% |
Driving Test Pass Rates by Age
For the practical test, those aged 17 and under have the best driving test pass rates, with 55.8% passing the test overall and 54.5% passing on the first attempt. By age 18, the pass rate drops to 47.6%. Those aged 60 have the worst pass rate, with only 31.2% of test takers passing (of 60 year olds taking the test for the first time, the pass rate is 37.5%).
In terms of the theory test, the age group with the best pass rate is the 18 year olds, with 47.2% passing. This is also the age group with the largest number of people taking the test.
| Number Taking and Passing the Driving Test by Age | Practical | Theory | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conducted | Passes | Pass Rate (%) | Conducted | Passes | Pass Rate (%) | |
| 17 and under | 307,388 | 171,665 | 55.8% | 114,718 | 54,094 | 47.2% |
| 18 | 221,801 | 105,605 | 47.6% | 546,068 | 266,182 | 48.7% |
| 19 | 128,225 | 57,951 | 45.2% | 145,477 | 62,943 | 43.3% |
| 20 | 93,929 | 42,222 | 45.0% | 93,475 | 41,303 | 44.2% |
| 21 | 82,193 | 37,410 | 45.5% | 85,343 | 40,355 | 47.3% |
| 22 | 75,021 | 34,873 | 46.5% | 73,977 | 36,535 | 49.4% |
| 23 | 66,695 | 30,836 | 46.2% | 64,065 | 31,739 | 49.5% |
| 24 | 58,118 | 26,702 | 45.9% | 57,135 | 28,212 | 49.4% |
| 25 | 51,557 | 23,576 | 45.7% | 51,851 | 25,408 | 49.0% |
| 26 | 47,694 | 21,482 | 45.0% | 47,671 | 23,378 | 49.0% |
| 27 | 42,955 | 19,132 | 44.5% | 43,097 | 21,086 | 48.9% |
| 28 | 41,423 | 17,780 | 42.9% | 41,436 | 19,936 | 48.1% |
| 29 | 39,379 | 16,641 | 42.3% | 38,678 | 18,854 | 48.7% |
| 30 | 37,964 | 15,785 | 41.6% | 37,579 | 17,943 | 47.7% |
| 31 | 36,129 | 14,972 | 41.4% | 34,440 | 16,459 | 47.8% |
| 32 | 33,687 | 13,672 | 40.6% | 32,067 | 15,262 | 47.6% |
| 33 | 31,875 | 12,680 | 39.8% | 29,088 | 14,080 | 48.4% |
| 34 | 29,566 | 11,729 | 39.7% | 27,151 | 12,904 | 47.5% |
| 35 | 27,235 | 10,549 | 38.7% | 25,253 | 12,010 | 47.6% |
| 36 | 25,064 | 9,592 | 38.3% | 22,884 | 10,763 | 47.0% |
| 37 | 22,601 | 8,718 | 38.6% | 20,811 | 9,563 | 46.0% |
| 38 | 20,976 | 7,854 | 37.4% | 19,780 | 8,732 | 44.1% |
| 39 | 17,691 | 6,637 | 37.5% | 16,453 | 7,361 | 44.7% |
| 40 | 15,274 | 5,594 | 36.6% | 14,617 | 6,213 | 42.5% |
| 41 | 13,606 | 4,763 | 35.0% | 12,395 | 5,299 | 42.8% |
| 42 | 12,172 | 4,337 | 35.6% | 11,379 | 4,842 | 42.6% |
| 43 | 10,687 | 3,846 | 36.0% | 10,358 | 4,359 | 42.1% |
| 44 | 9,509 | 3,356 | 35.3% | 8,967 | 3,719 | 41.5% |
| 45 | 8,172 | 2,864 | 35.0% | 7,662 | 3,199 | 41.8% |
| 46 | 7,082 | 2,516 | 35.5% | 7,049 | 2,960 | 42.0% |
| 47 | 6,252 | 2,213 | 35.4% | 6,469 | 2,601 | 40.2% |
| 48 | 6,028 | 2,053 | 34.1% | 5,602 | 2,314 | 41.3% |
| 49 | 5,266 | 1,882 | 35.7% | 4,936 | 1,983 | 40.2% |
| 50 | 4,576 | 1,582 | 34.6% | 4,243 | 1,737 | 40.9% |
| 51 | 3,837 | 1,273 | 33.2% | 3,814 | 1,527 | 40.0% |
| 52 | 3,226 | 1,098 | 34.0% | 3,400 | 1,430 | 42.1% |
| 53 | 3,096 | 1,067 | 34.5% | 2,994 | 1,190 | 39.7% |
| 54 | 2,852 | 952 | 33.4% | 2,643 | 1,094 | 41.4% |
| 55 | 2,359 | 811 | 34.4% | 2,330 | 934 | 40.1% |
| 56 | 2,041 | 682 | 33.4% | 1,886 | 811 | 43.0% |
| 57 | 1,749 | 575 | 32.9% | 1,564 | 634 | 40.5% |
| 58 | 1,447 | 485 | 33.5% | 1,308 | 515 | 39.4% |
| 59 | 1,083 | 357 | 33.0% | 993 | 420 | 42.3% |
| 60 | 829 | 259 | 31.2% | 775 | 329 | 42.5% |
| 61 and over | 3,875 | 1,333 | 34.4% | 3,525 | 1,579 | 44.8% |
| Total | 1,664,218 | 761,971 | 45.8% | 1,787,773 | 845,028 | ** 47.3%** |
