PureCar
Official DVA statistics

Northern Ireland driving-test pass rates.

Pass rates vary significantly between centres, but that does not make one centre inherently “easy” or another inherently “hard”. DVA itself says candidate ability, learning experience and local driving conditions all affect the figures.

Private-car practical pass rate51.2%January–March 2026
Rolling 4-quarter average52.3%All NI practical car-test centres to March 2026
2025/26 car theory pass rate43.2%Annual private-car theory-test pass rate
Official rolling practical-test range by centreto the end of March 2026
42.5%64.6%
HydebankCraigavon

Hydebank: 42.5%

The lowest rolling four-quarter private-car pass rate reported in the latest completed 2025/26 DVA quarterly publication was 42.5% at Hydebank.

Craigavon: 64.6%

The highest rolling four-quarter private-car pass rate in the same official publication was 64.6% at Craigavon.

NI average: 52.3%

Across all practical test centres, the rolling four-quarter private-car pass rate was 52.3% to the end of March 2026.

Latest quarter: 51.2%

For January to March 2026 alone, the private-car practical pass rate was 51.2%, down from 53.5% in the same quarter a year earlier.

Do not pick a test centre just because its pass rate is higher

A pass-rate table is descriptive, not a prediction of your result. Different candidates, instructors, experience levels and local road conditions feed into each centre's numbers. A centre you know well and can reach reliably may be more sensible than travelling across Northern Ireland chasing a historic percentage.

Theory pass rate is below half

The annual private-car theory-test pass rate was 43.2% in 2025/26. That is another reason to use repeated timed mocks rather than assuming the multiple-choice test is automatic.

Primary source: Department for Infrastructure, DfI Driver, Vehicle, Operator and Enforcement Statistics 2025/26 Q4, Driver Practical Testing section and Theory Testing section · Checked 21 September 2026.