A year of Spain's driving exam in official numbers, with every test counted separately: the theory and the practical are different stages of the same people, so we never add them up. Permiso B unless stated; last 12 months of DGT microdata.
206,918 people passed the theory on a retake.
The circulation test comes after the theory: same people, different stage — which is why its numbers are read separately.
Only 48.7% of successful candidates made it first time: 247,972 passed on a retake. Your school's rate matters — compare it here.
Two separate lines — never a sum. Hover the points to see each month.
Each category has its own set of tests: pass rate and number of sittings for each (12 months). "Common theory –" means most candidates already hold another licence and only sit the specific theory.
| Licence | Common theory | Specific theory | Manoeuvres (circuit) | Circulation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM (moped) | – | 72.5% 39,674 | 69.0% 37,992 | – |
| A1 (125cc bike) | 50.3% 41,123 | 61.5% 33,749 | 50.6% 28,580 | 71.1% 19,073 |
| A2 (motorcycle) | 46.2% 13,122 | 81.7% 96,985 | 44.1% 148,428 | 78.6% 88,427 |
| B (car) | 49.5% 1,099,095 | – | – | 47.0% 1,029,266 |
| B+E (trailer) | – | 79.5% 3,823 | 55.5% 4,728 | 77.9% 3,230 |
| C (lorry) | – | 62.8% 52,800 | 64.0% 47,338 | 57.6% 45,908 |
| C+E (artic) | – | 82.0% 17,708 | 48.6% 26,729 | 67.1% 17,920 |
| D (bus) | – | 62.1% 18,192 | 59.4% 18,291 | 53.1% 18,268 |
The stat nobody talks about: the A2 manoeuvres test is Spain's most-failed high-volume exam — just 44.1% pass its 148,428 yearly sittings.
In the B practical, Albacete passes 59.1% while Las Palmas passes 33.9%. Full ranking on the home page; your school, in the search.
The theory is the stage that's 100% up to you: half of Spain fails it, almost always from practising on outdated questions. Train on the official format — in English — and book when your probability clears 90%.
🚀 Try a free DGT test in EnglishThe last 12 months of microdata record 1,098,505 permiso B theory exams: 543,508 passed (49.5%) and 554,997 failed. Across all licence categories, theory sittings exceed 1.17 million.
The permiso B circulation test recorded 1,029,266 exams in 12 months: 483,319 passes (47.0%) and 545,947 fails. These are the same people who earlier sat the theory, at a later stage — which is why the two tests are always counted separately.
By pass rate they're close: 49.5% for theory vs 47.0% for the practical (permiso B). The real gap is in attempts: 61.9% of theory passes happen first time, versus only 48.7% of practical passes.
Among high-volume tests, the A2 motorcycle manoeuvres test (closed circuit) is the toughest: only 44.1% of its 148,428 yearly sittings pass. At the other extreme, the A2 specific theory passes 82% of the time.
From the «Microdatos de exámenes por Sección/Autoescuela» files the DGT publishes monthly on its open-data portal, aggregated over the last 12 available months. Each test (theory, specific, manoeuvres, circulation) is counted separately; stages of the same candidate are never added together.