DVSA test centre · Somerset, South West20 practice routes

Taunton Driving Test Centre: Pass Rate & Routes

In 2025/26, DVSA examiners at Taunton conducted 8,259 car practical tests and 4,915 candidates passed: a 59.5% pass rate, +9.5 points against the Great Britain average of 50.0%. That ranks 36 of 287 centres with at least 300 tests, and 4 of 21 in South West.

Voice turn-by-turn navigation

Practise Taunton routes in the app

Driving Test Routes UK has compiled practice routes near Taunton, not official DVSA routes. Free to download. Full routes and turn-by-turn need Pro.

Outline of one practice route around Taunton, drawn without a map or street names, with the start marked and a scale bar of 1 kilometre.1 km

A practice route near Taunton

One of 20 practice route patterns around Taunton. Open the app for all 20 with spoken turn-by-turn.

This is an outline of the shape of one compiled practice route, with the start and finish marked and no streets shown. They are not official DVSA routes: examiners change routes for traffic and roadworks.

Waiting time at Taunton

In September 2026 the median wait between booking and taking a car test at Taunton was 12.6 weeks. Half of the people who tested there that month waited 12.6 weeks or less. DVSA counts the wait to the date the test was actually taken, so moved tests are included.

Median wait
12.6 weeks
Booking to test, September 2026
Weeks to 10%+ availability
15.5 weeks
Centres average 19.7 weeks
Tested within 7 weeks
34.5%
45% waited over 14 weeks
Still free to book
30%
Of standard tests in the next 24 weeks

That is about the same as the middle centre, where the median wait was 12.4 weeks: 159 of the 315 centres in DVSA's table had a shorter median wait and 152 a longer one (our comparison of DVSA's figures; DVSA publishes no Great Britain row in this table). Over the 12 months to September 2026 this centre's monthly median ranged from 8.1 weeks (December 2025) to 12.6 weeks (September 2026), so one month is a guide, not a promise.

“Weeks to 10%+ availability” is how many weeks ahead you have to look before at least 10% of a week's test appointments are still free. Many people get an earlier date through cancellations, so it is not the same as the wait above. The 19.7-week figure is a simple average of 248 centres, worked out the way DVSA's notes describe for regional and national figures.

Source: DVSA, car driving test availability by driving test centre (DRT122F, data to September 2026, published 14 October 2026), Open Government Licence v3.0. Data since April 2025 is provisional and may be revised. DVSA-delivered car tests only.

Taunton pass rate in 2025/26

All car tests
59.5%
4,915 of 8,259 passed
First attempt
59.2%
4,526 first tests · 365 zero-fault passes
Automatic cars
52.9%
1,823 automatic tests
By gender
59.4% / 59.6%
Female / male candidates

Pass rate trend at Taunton

The pass rate in 2025/26 (59.5%) was almost the same as in 2021/22. Test volumes changed too, from 5,069 to 8,259 tests a year.

Year (Apr–Mar)TestsPassesTauntonGB average
2021/225,0693,02259.6%48.9%
2022/235,9943,40856.9%48.4%
2023/246,1493,41355.5%47.9%
2024/256,9573,91756.3%48.7%
2025/268,2594,91559.5%50.0%

Month by month, 2025/26

The strongest month was September 2025 (64.8% from 718 tests) and the weakest was April 2025 (51.8%). Monthly rates move with small samples, so treat single months with caution.

April 2025
51.8% · 539 tests
May 2025
56.8% · 532 tests
June 2025
61.8% · 576 tests
July 2025
60.5% · 752 tests
August 2025
60.8% · 627 tests
September 2025
64.8% · 718 tests
October 2025
62.8% · 820 tests
November 2025
57.6% · 791 tests
December 2025
59.2% · 660 tests
January 2026
57.8% · 778 tests
February 2026
56.8% · 602 tests
March 2026
60.5% · 864 tests

Test centres near Taunton

Distances are straight-line from the centre location. Pass rates are DVSA figures for 2025/26. The closest with a noticeably higher rate is Yeovil (30 km, 63.4%).

What the test at Taunton involves

  • About 40 minutes of driving, starting with an eyesight check and a “tell me” question.
  • Around 20 minutes of independent driving, usually following a sat nav set by the examiner.
  • One reversing manoeuvre: parallel park, bay park, or pull up on the right and reverse two car lengths.
  • A “show me” question while you drive, and possibly an emergency stop.

Frequently asked questions

What is the pass rate at Taunton driving test centre?
DVSA figures for 2025/26 show 4,915 passes from 8,259 car practical tests at Taunton, a pass rate of 59.5%, above the Great Britain average of 50.0% for the same year.
How many people pass first time at Taunton?
2,681 of 4,526 first attempts passed in 2025/26 (59.2%). 365 learners passed their first test with zero driving faults.
Is there an easier test centre near Taunton?
The nearest centre with a noticeably higher pass rate is Yeovil, about 30 km away, at 63.4% in 2025/26. Pass rates reflect who tests there as much as the roads, so practise the routes where you will actually take your test.
How long is the wait for a driving test at Taunton?
DVSA figures for September 2026 show a median wait of 12.6 weeks between booking and taking a car test at Taunton: half of the people who took their test there that month waited 12.6 weeks or less. 34.5% of tests were taken within 7 weeks of booking. This describes tests already taken, not today's booking page, so check the live booking service for current dates.
How many practice routes are there for Taunton?
Driving Test Routes UK has 20 compiled practice routes around Taunton, not official DVSA routes. Examiners change routes for traffic and roadworks. Free to download. Full routes and turn-by-turn need Pro.

Pass rates: DVSA, car driving test data by test centre (DRT122A/C/E, April 2025 to March 2026, published June 2026), Open Government Licence v3.0. Waiting times: DVSA, DRT122F (data to September 2026, published 14 October 2026), Open Government Licence v3.0. Practice routes are compiled by Driving Test Routes UK and are not official DVSA routes. Examiners vary routes for traffic and roadworks.