The Knowledge in numbers
TfL's own figures, from its freedom of information answer of 11 November 2025: how many start the Knowledge, how many qualify, how long it takes and how often appearances are passed.
Checked against TfL's documents on 3 October 2026.
New applicants and qualified candidates, by year
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| Year | New applicants | Qualified |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,315 | 775 |
| 2016 | 444 | 870 |
| 2017 | 416 | 806 |
| 2018 | 646 | 502 |
| 2019 | 477 | 392 |
| 2020 | 192 | 180 |
| 2021 | 174 | 188 |
| 2022 | 440 | 198 |
| 2023 | 559 | 114 |
| 2024 | 517 | 110 |
| 2025 (to September) | 605 | 91 |
New applications fell from 1,315 in 2015 to 174 in 2021, and were back to 517 in 2024. Qualifications have not followed: 110 in 2024, against 870 in 2016. The dashed lines run to the figures for January to September 2025.
Stage 3 to 5 appearance pass rate, by year
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| Year | Pass rate |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 53% |
| 2020 | 59% |
| 2021 | 57% |
| 2022 | 52% |
| 2023 | 46% |
| 2024 | 46% |
| 2025 (to September) | 38% |
The share of appearances passed at Stages 3 to 5 was highest in 2020, at 59%, and was 46% in 2024. The open point is January to September 2025. TfL's answer does not say why the rate has fallen.
Average time to qualify, by year qualified
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| Year | Average time to qualify |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 49 months |
| 2016 | 48 months |
| 2017 | 50 months |
| 2018 | 55 months |
| 2019 | 59 months |
| 2020 | 63 months |
| 2021 | 61 months |
| 2022 | 60 months |
| 2023 | 58 months |
| 2024 | 53 months |
Candidates who qualified in 2020 had taken 63 months on average, the longest in the series; those who qualified in 2024, 53. TfL's figure for January to September 2025 is left off, since part of a year cannot be compared with a whole one.
About these figures
The yearly figures come from TfL's answer to freedom of information request FOI-2683-2526. Each average counts only the candidates who qualified that year, and TfL holds no figures on candidates who withdrew, so no completion rate can be worked out from them.
TfL counts licensed drivers every week: 15,667 in the week ending 27 September 2026. Its split between All London and Suburban is counted monthly; on 20 September 2026 it was 14,196 All London and 1,506 Suburban, so the two need not add up to the weekly total.
Sources
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