Carlisle driving test centre

England • North WestAbout 8 weeks

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

Driving Test Centre Carlisle

Port Road Business Park, Port Road

Carlisle

CA2 7AF

58.7%

2025/26 pass rate · all attempts

8.6 percentage points above average

Out of every 100 car tests at Carlisle last year, about 59 passed (8.6 points above the 50.0% UK average).

DVSA DRT122A · OGL v3
First-time pass

59.9%

9.3 points above the national first-attempt average.

Reported wait

8 weeks

Reported in July 2026 (DRT122F); this centre median is not a booking promise.

This centre in numbers

40

3,518 published tests in April 2025 - March 2026 · 58.7% overall pass rate

Carlisle's pass rate has changed

Carlisle's pass rate was 3.8 points higher than the previous financial year. The pass rate was 58.7% from 3,518 tests in April 2025 - March 2026.

The reported wait was 8 weeks in July 2026.

A good place to sit it

58.7% of tests here end in a pass, about 40 people a week.

Fault snapshot

Move off - safely

This was the most commonly recorded fault here in April 2025 - March 2026. It is a useful place to start a conversation, not a prediction for your test.

Recorded
1,488
marks
Rate
42.3
marks per 100 tests

Before the day, take a calm look at the parts of moving off that feel least settled: observations, control and choosing a safe gap. Your instructor can help you practise the bits that need another go.

Explore the full fault breakdown

National pass rates also move with the calendar - see UK seasonality.

Across the region

North West centres by current pass rate.

  • Barrow In Furness69.6%
  • Kendal (Oxenholme Road)65.1%
  • Workington61.9%
  • Heysham59.2%
  • Carlisle58.7%
  • Northwich57.6%
  • Southport (Liverpool)56.5%
  • Preston56.3%

Pass rate · last 12 months

Overall, male and female monthly rates for this centre. Gaps bridge months with no tests.

Men and women breakdown

Men and women here

Men have the higher published pass rate here in April 2025 - March 2026; no wider explanation is inferred from these figures. On 3,518 tests the difference is small enough to move year to year.

Axis starts at 56%.

How faults are marked

Every mark is serious, dangerous, or a driving (minor) fault. Shown per 100 tests.

  • Serious · 65.7
  • Dangerous · 3.0
  • Driving · 421.9

Faults that end tests

Top categories by total marks in April 2025 - March 2026. Colour shows severity mix within each bar.

  • Move off - safely1,488
  • Control - steering1,177
  • Junctions - observation1,139
  • Move off - control1,055
  • Maintain progress - undue hesitation980
  • Maintain progress - speed898
  • Clearance / obstructions798
  • Reverse park - Control694
Serious Dangerous Driving

Named categories

Counts per 100 tests.

Top 10 fault categories
FaultSerious / 100Dangerous / 100Driving / 100All / 100
Move off - safely4.00.138.242.3
Control - steering3.30.230.033.5
Junctions - observation9.80.921.732.4
Move off - control2.10.127.830.0
Maintain progress - undue hesitation1.20.026.727.9
Maintain progress - speed1.20.024.325.5
Clearance / obstructions2.00.220.522.7
Reverse park - Control1.90.117.719.7
Mirrors - change direction5.10.512.317.9
Position - normal stops1.00.015.116.1
About these figures
Fault categories are self-reported by DVSA examiners; a single test can record more than one fault, so these describe examiner records, not route difficulty.

More about this centre

Waiting time, automatic and first-attempt detail, and DVSA-initiated cancellations - only the slices this centre publishes.

Waiting time

Median wait and slot availability as of July 2026.

Slots still bookable

5.7%

As of July 2026

Weeks to 10%+ availability

24 weeks

DRT122F · July 2026

Overtime slots added

36

Automatic transmission

585 automatic tests in April 2025 - March 2026.

Pass rate

48.9%

585 automatic tests

Male

46.7%

274 tests

Female

50.8%

311 tests

First-time passes

First attempts in April 2025 - March 2026. Cleaner than the all-attempt rate when published.

Faultless passes

103

Zero-fault first-time passes

First vs overall

-1.2 pts

All-attempt rate vs first-attempt rate

DVSA cancellations

About 4.2% of tests attempted here. DVSA-initiated, not learner no-shows.

Tests cancelled

153

DRT122B · April 2025 - March 2026

  • Leave92
  • Acts of nature43
  • Medical absences18

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