Pinner driving test centre: pass rate, waits and the 2026 rules

Pinner, on Tolcarne Drive in the London Borough of Harrow, is the busiest test centre near us: 14,367 car tests in 2025/26. Here is what DVSA’s own figures say about passing there, how long you will wait, and what the 2026 booking rules change.

49.7%

pass rate, 2025/26 (Great Britain 50.0%)

48.5%

pass rate on a first attempt

50%

of tests taken in an automatic (GB 29.5%)

23.1 wks

median wait, September 2026

Source: DVSA, tables DRT122A, DRT122C, DRT122E and DRT122F. Pass rates cover April 2025 to March 2026.

Pass rates

Pinner’s pass rate, year by year

Pinner sits close to the national average now. It didn’t always: before the pandemic it passed 42–43% of tests.

Car test pass rates at Pinner by year, with men, women and Great Britain
Year (April to March)	Tests	Pinner pass rate	Men	Women	Great Britain
2025/26	14,367	49.7%	53.8%	45.6%	50.0%
2024/25	14,672	50.3%	54.7%	45.7%	48.7%
2023/24	15,263	50.8%	55.5%	45.9%	47.9%
2022/23	14,151	48.4%	53.1%	43.6%	48.4%
2021/22	14,656	48.5%	51.7%	45.0%	48.9%
2018/19	17,383	41.8%	46.6%	37.8%	45.8%

Two things stand out. Pinner has passed roughly half its candidates for five years running, a long way up from 41.8% in 2018/19. And women pass less often than men here, by about eight points; nationally the gap is under two (50.8% against 49.1% in 2025/26). DVSA publishes no reason, so treat it as a fact to prepare for, not an explanation.

Automatic or manual

Half of all Pinner tests are now in an automatic

Pinner’s automatic share has risen every year, and it is far above the national figure. Two in three women who test here do so in an automatic.

Automatic car tests at Pinner by year
Year	Automatic tests	Share of all tests	Automatic pass rate
2025/26	7,183	50.0%	47.6%
2024/25	6,923	47.2%	48.1%
2023/24	7,075	46.4%	48.7%

Manual candidates at Pinner passed 51.9% in 2025/26, a little more often than automatic ones (47.6%). Choose an automatic because it is easier to learn in, not because the test is easier: it isn’t. An automatic pass gives you an automatic-only licence.

Waiting times

How long you will wait for a test at Pinner

DVSA’s measure is the median number of weeks between booking a test and taking it, for people tested that month. Pinner has been one of London’s longest waits all year.

Median weeks from booking to test at Pinner, by month, with the share who waited over 21 weeks
Month	Median wait	Waited over 21 weeks
September 2026	23.1 weeks	63%
August 2026	23.1 weeks	66%
July 2026	23.1 weeks	65%
June 2026	23.1 weeks	65%
May 2026	23.0 weeks	57%
April 2026	22.6 weeks	58%
March 2026	21.3 weeks	51%
February 2026	23.0 weeks	53%
January 2026	18.4 weeks	47%
December 2025	20.1 weeks	47%
November 2025	23.0 weeks	59%
October 2025	21.9 weeks	52%

For comparison, the median wait across London in September 2026 was 14.3 weeks, and across Great Britain 11.6. On DVSA’s other measure, how far ahead a tenth of each week’s appointments are still free, Pinner was at the 24-week maximum in every one of these months. In practice: once you and your instructor agree a realistic test date, book it.

Booking a Pinner test under the 2026 rules

Only you can book, change or cancel your test, since 12 May 2026. Your instructor can’t, and neither can cancellation-finder apps; you can still look for earlier slots yourself on gov.uk.
You get two changes per booking, since 31 March 2026. Moving the date and the centre at once counts as one.
Since 9 June 2026 you can only move a test to one of the three centres nearest the one you booked. Book Pinner only if you mean to test at Pinner: you can’t book it to hold a date and move far away later.
Add your instructor’s reference number when you book so they are free that day. It doesn’t count as a change.

Rules: DVSA, Changes to driving test booking rules in 2026 (updated 19 June 2026).

The centre and its roads

Tolcarne Drive and the roads around it

DVSA no longer publishes test routes, and they change. These are the kinds of road a Pinner test is built from.

Tolcarne Drive, Pinner HA5

The centre is in Pinner, inside the London Borough of Harrow. Every test starts and ends here, so your first and last minutes are on quiet residential streets: a good moment to settle, and to finish calmly.

Pinner Road, Rickmansworth Road and Eastcote Road

Unofficial route lists published online put these busier roads, and Joel Street, on many Pinner tests. Expect traffic lights, right turns across traffic and bus stops.

Residential junctions and parked cars

Much of a Pinner test is suburban: emerging from side roads with limited views, passing parked cars on both sides and meeting oncoming traffic in narrow gaps. We practise the type of road, not a memorised route.

Lessons for Pinner

Who tests at Pinner, and who can teach you

Learners from Harrow and Wembley often test at Pinner. We pick up across both; these are the WLDS instructors who cover them and are taking new learners.

Enter your Harrow or Wembley postcode in the guided booking to see the instructors who cover it.

More about lessons in Harrow and Wembley, or compare Pinner with eight other centres on our test centres page.

Common questions

Pinner test centre: FAQs

What is the pass rate at Pinner test centre?

49.7% from April 2025 to March 2026, across 14,367 car tests, against 50.0% for Great Britain (DVSA). On a first attempt it was 48.5%.

Is Pinner test centre hard?

Not unusually, any more. Pinner has passed roughly half its candidates for the last five years, up from 41.8% in 2018/19. Women do pass less often there than men (45.6% against 53.8% in 2025/26), a bigger gap than nationally, so a mock test on the local roads is worth booking.

How long is the wait for a driving test at Pinner?

The median wait from booking to test was 23.1 weeks for people tested in September 2026, and 63% had waited more than 21 weeks (DVSA, provisional). It has been around 23 weeks every month since April 2026.

Is Pinner a good centre for an automatic test?

Half of Pinner’s tests are in an automatic, so examiners there see plenty of them. The automatic pass rate was 47.6% in 2025/26, against 51.9% for manual tests.

Can I move my Pinner test to a centre with a shorter wait?

Only to one of the three centres nearest Pinner, since 9 June 2026, and you get two changes per booking. Choose the centre you mean to use before you book.

Where is Pinner driving test centre?

On Tolcarne Drive in Pinner, HA5, inside the London Borough of Harrow. Tests start and finish at the centre.

Do you give lessons for a test at Pinner?

Yes. Our instructors who cover Harrow and Wembley prepare learners for Pinner, including a mock test on the roads around it. Book through the guided booking or ask us on WhatsApp.

Figures: DVSA, car driving test data by test centre. Pass rates April to March each year; waits are provisional monthly figures, published 14 October 2026. Checked 2 November 2026.

Get ready for Pinner, from £75

Lessons from your door in Harrow or Wembley, with an instructor who knows the roads around Tolcarne Drive.

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