Duns Practical Driving Test Centre
Listed as active
Information checked 13 July 2026
Centre details
- Run by
- Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)
- Official website
- View official office page
Before you travel
Listed in the official practical test-centre dataset at the snapshot time. This directory status is not real-time opening-hours confirmation. Check the official office page for same-day changes before travelling.
Tests available
Practical test
You can take your practical test at this location.
Test types: car
Practical test · Official requirements
Duns driving test centre guide
Duns follows the standard DVSA car-test format. Build reliable observation, speed, positioning, and independent-driving habits across a varied road mix instead of trying to predict the route.
Before test day
Plan the arrival before test day
The published address is Duns Library, 49 Newtown Street, Duns, TD11 3AU. Check the map, your booking confirmation, and any reporting instructions before you travel; this listing does not assume that candidate parking is available.
Local access, parking, and reception arrangements can change. Follow current signs and official appointment instructions when you arrive.
Useful skills and road types to practise
Treat these as preparation themes, not published test routes. Change the direction, timing, and traffic conditions with your instructor so you practise reading the road.
Vehicle control
Make moving off, stopping, steering, speed changes, and safe clearance feel routine enough that your attention stays on the road around you.
Junction observations
Vary the junctions and roundabouts you practise. Look early, judge gaps without pressure, and choose the correct lane before the decision becomes rushed.
Independent decisions
Follow signs or sat-nav directions while continuing safely. If you miss a turn, respond to the road in front of you instead of making a sudden correction.
A complete road mix
Practise residential, urban, rural, and higher-speed roads that are appropriate locally. The aim is adaptable driving, not predicting a route.
What happens on the day
01
Eyesight and safety question
Read a number plate from 20 metres away (or 20.5 metres for an old-style plate), then answer a “tell me” vehicle-safety question before driving.
02
Around 35 minutes of driving
GOV.UK says the driving portion lasts around 35 minutes. You drive in varied road and traffic conditions while the examiner assesses observation, control, and safe decisions.
03
Independent driving
Follow a sat nav, traffic signs, or both for 20 to 35 minutes. A wrong turn is not a fault if you continue safely.
04
Reversing and vehicle safety
Complete one reversing exercise and answer a “show me” question while driving. You might also be asked for an emergency stop.
Routes change. Good decisions travel.
DVSA does not publish real driving-test routes. If you take a wrong turn during independent driving, the examiner helps you get back on route; the turn itself is not marked as a fault. Use local practice to build adaptable habits, not to learn a script.
Test-day checklist
Bring your physical UK driving licence and your theory test pass certificate if you have it.
Use a suitable car—most learners use their instructor’s—and check the DVSA rules if you bring your own.
Recheck the appointment time, published address, route to the centre, and any instructions in your confirmation.
Allow for normal travel disruption while following any centre-specific arrival time in your booking confirmation.
Official guidance: what happens during the car test, what to take to a car test, book or manage a practical test and driving-test faults and results. Always recheck the official requirements before the appointment.
Pass rate at this centre
DVSA recorded 171 car driving tests at Duns in 2025/26, of which 120 passed — a 70.2% pass rate, 20.2 points above the 50.0% national average. That is 11th of 317 car test centres in Great Britain. The rate is 4 points lower than the 74.2% recorded in 2024/25.
Pass rate
70.2%
Tests conducted
171
Tests passed
120
National rank
11th
Among the 6 nearest driving test centres with published figures, Hawick has the highest pass rate at 64.3% and Galashiels the lowest at 47.4%. Duns's own 70.2% is higher than all 6 of them.
Source: DVSA table DRT122A, financial year 2025/26 and 2024/25. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Waiting time and appointment availability
DVSA reports a median wait of 21 weeks for a car driving test at Duns, 11.1 weeks longer than a year earlier. 4 of 48 appointment slots in the current booking window are still open. Figures are for June 2026.
Median wait
21 wks
Slots still open
4
Booked slots
44
First availability
15 wks
12-month waiting-time trend
July 2025 to June 2026
Median wait in weeks
- Latest
- 21.0 wks
- Peak
- 21.1 wks
- Lowest
- 13.0 wks
Jun
Nov
Aug
Ranged from 13 to 21.1 weeks over the period. Each point is the DVSA-published monthly median, not a live appointment quote.
The longest wait for a driving test at Duns in this period was 21.1 weeks in November 2025, and the shortest was 13.0 weeks in August 2025. DVSA measures this as the median wait across appointments booked at the test centre, so it moves as examiner capacity and demand change.
Source: DVSA table DRT122F, published 2026-07-08.
Accessibility and arrival information
Before you arrive
DVSA will make arrangements for you at this test centre if you have a disability.
Where you take the theory test
Duns does not run that test. The nearest theory test centre is Berwick, 13.2 miles away.
Berwick
Berwick-upon-Tweed · 13.2 miles away
Other theory test centres nearby
Nearest alternative practical test centres
The closest is Berwick-On-Tweed, 12.9 miles from Duns; the furthest listed here is 30.1 miles. None is within 10 miles, so Duns is the only practical test centre in its immediate area.
- Berwick-On-Tweed12.9 miles away53.9% pass rate · 17.4 wk wait
- Kelso13.3 miles away59.2% pass rate · 19.9 wk wait
- Galashiels21.1 miles away47.4% pass rate · 6.6 wk wait
- Haddington21.1 miles away57.5% pass rate · 21.5 wk wait
- Hawick28.7 miles away64.3% pass rate · 23.6 wk wait
- Edinburgh (Musselburgh)30.1 miles away49.4% pass rate · 16.1 wk wait
Distances are straight-line from each centre’s published coordinates.
Common questions about this centre
- What is the pass rate at Duns?
- DVSA figures show 70.2% of car driving tests taken at Duns were passed — 120 passes from 171 tests. That is 20.2 percentage points above the 50.0% national average, ranking it 11th of 317 car test centres in Great Britain, and 4 points lower than 74.2% in 2024/25.
- How long is the wait for a driving test at Duns?
- DVSA reports a median wait of 21 weeks, compared with 9.9 weeks a year earlier. 4 of 48 appointment slots in the current booking window remain open.
- Does DVSA publish the Duns driving test routes?
- No. DVSA does not publish routes used for real driving tests at Duns or any other test centre. Practise a varied mix of suitable roads and junctions rather than memorising an unofficial route.
- How long does the car driving test at Duns take?
- GOV.UK says you drive for around 35 minutes. The test also includes an eyesight check, two vehicle-safety questions, independent driving, and one reversing exercise.
- What should I bring to my Duns driving test?
- Bring your UK driving licence, your theory test pass certificate if you have it, and a suitable car. If you use your own car, it must meet the DVSA rules for driving tests.
- What tests can I take at Duns?
- You can take practical driving tests at Duns.
- Who runs Duns?
- Duns is run by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). DVSA publishes the pass-rate and waiting-time figures shown on this page.
- Where do I take the theory test if I use Duns?
- Duns does not run the theory test. The nearest theory test centre is Berwick, 13.2 miles away.
- Which other practical test centres are near Duns?
- The closest are Berwick-On-Tweed (12.9 miles), Kelso (13.3 miles), Galashiels (21.1 miles). 4 of the 6 nearest are within 25 miles.
- How do I get into Duns?
- Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency publishes this note for Duns: DVSA will make arrangements for you at this test centre if you have a disability.