Detailed in this section are the official Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) driving test pass rates by age. Dates range from the months April 2016 through to March 2017.
Statistics are a combination of male and female test candidates where tests are taken throughout all UK practical driving test centres.
In the table below, there is statistical data marked ‘unidentified’. Data is not obtained for statistical purposes for unidentified test candidates who have used a licence that has not been issued by the DVLA and their age is not known.
It is widely known that younger people tend to require fewer driving lessons and will often stand a better chance of passing the driving test on first attempt. As can be seen for a comparison by the table data below, those that are 17 years old have almost 10% greater chance of passing the test than that of an 25 year old.
Driving Test Pass Rates By Age
Statistics detail the age of the test candidate, the total amount of driving tests taken, the total amount of test passes and the pass rate for that age group.
| Age | Conducted | Passes | Pass rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 75 | 46 | 61.3 |
| 17 | 295,139 | 167,524 | 56.8 |
| 18 | 249,544 | 123,075 | 49.3 |
| 19 | 142,158 | 66,984 | 47.1 |
| 20 | 103,098 | 48,057 | 46.6 |
| 21 | 88,416 | 41,736 | 47.2 |
| 22 | 80,237 | 38,525 | 48.0 |
| 23 | 71,008 | 33,637 | 47.4 |
| 24 | 62,638 | 29,654 | 47.3 |
| 25 | 55,963 | 26,137 | 46.7 |
| 26 | 51,365 | 23,610 | 46.0 |
| 27 | 46,068 | 20,627 | 44.8 |
| 28 | 43,657 | 19,450 | 44.6 |
| 29 | 41,042 | 18,021 | 43.9 |
| 30 | 39,804 | 17,012 | 42.7 |
| 31 | 37,301 | 15,726 | 42.2 |
| 32 | 34,890 | 14,480 | 41.5 |
| 33 | 32,709 | 13,548 | 41.4 |
| 34 | 30,072 | 12,193 | 40.5 |
| 35 | 27,354 | 11,104 | 40.6 |
| 36 | 25,224 | 9,951 | 39.5 |
| 37 | 21,463 | 8,397 | 39.1 |
| 38 | 18,680 | 7,215 | 38.6 |
| 39 | 16,252 | 6,061 | 37.3 |
| 40 | 14,474 | 5,406 | 37.3 |
| 41 | 12,988 | 4,738 | 36.5 |
| 42 | 11,466 | 4,132 | 36.0 |
| 43 | 9,671 | 3,558 | 36.8 |
| 44 | 9,042 | 3,310 | 36.6 |
| 45 | 7,742 | 2,808 | 36.3 |
| 46 | 6,968 | 2,517 | 36.1 |
| 47 | 6,059 | 2,253 | 37.2 |
| 48 | 5,332 | 1,964 | 36.8 |
| 49 | 4,588 | 1,621 | 35.3 |
| 50 | 4,022 | 1,451 | 36.1 |
| 51 | 3,608 | 1,313 | 36.4 |
| 52 | 3,201 | 1,140 | 35.6 |
| 53 | 2,680 | 983 | 36.7 |
| 54 | 2,381 | 826 | 34.7 |
| 55 | 2,158 | 722 | 33.5 |
| 56 | 1,927 | 654 | 33.9 |
| 57 | 1,574 | 542 | 34.4 |
| 58 | 1,185 | 424 | 35.8 |
| 59 | 981 | 348 | 35.5 |
| 60 | 780 | 270 | 34.6 |
| 61+ | 3,945 | 1,415 | 35.9 |
| Unidentified | 7 | 3 | 42.9 |
| Total | 1,730,936 | 815,168 | 47.1 |
Male and Female Driving Test Pass Rates Based on Age
For specific male or female driving test pass rates based on age, see: