Cardigan Driving Test Centre
The Cardigan driving test centre is located in Aberteifi / Cardigan, Wales (SA43 1JR). Below are the official pass-rate statistics, multi-year trend, demographic breakdown, and how this centre compares against the UK average and its neighbours, all drawn from the DVSA quarterly statistical release.
Pass vs fail at a glance
10.3K passed, 8.4K failed, 18.7K total
How Cardigan compares
Cardigan sits close to the UK average pass rate.
Where Cardigan ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Most common faults at this centre
The fault categories most frequently recorded against learners on test. Knowing them lets you target practice on the things examiners are most likely to penalise.
- 1Junctions - observation10
- 2Mirrors - change direction9
- 3Move off - safely8
- 4Junctions - turning right7
- 5Response to signs - traffic lights6
Per-centre fault breakdowns are derived from the DVSA national fault distribution applied to centre-level test outcomes.
Pass rate by demographic
Estimated wait time and demand
Wait times at Cardigan have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Cardigan typically wait around 10 weeks from booking to test day.
Wait time is estimated from regional demand patterns reported in the National Audit Office investigation into car driving test waiting times (Dec 2024) and the DVSA Despatch blog updates, combined with this centre's test volume. Real availability fluctuates with examiner staffing and cancellations, always check the official DVSA booking service for live slots.
Centre details
Address
Source: DVSA find a driving test centre (Open Government Licence v3.0), captured 2026-05-12.
Tests offered at Cardigan
- car
Accessibility & facilities
Parking and toilet details aren't included in DVSA's published feed. For the current on-site facilities, check the DVSA find a driving test centre tool with postcode SA43 1ED, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Cardigan is in Aberteifi / Cardigan, Ceredigion (SA43 1JR) and runs DVSA car tests for learners across the local area. The routes are the same fixed set every day; your examiner picks one without telling you which. 18.7K tests across 2017-18-2024-25. That's a working sample, enough to take the pass rate at face value but not so large that a single quiet quarter passes unnoticed.
Out of 323 UK car test centres, Cardigan ranks 177, which lands it in the lower half nationally. The 49.8% pass rate is 1.1 points above the UK figure of 48.7%. The first-time pass figure here is 50.9%, which lines up almost exactly with the UK average of 49%. If you're a first-timer, the centre is neither lucky nor unlucky ground, it's average.
All figures shown are aggregated from the DVSA quarterly statistical release covering the most recent reporting periods available. Pass-rate calculations exclude tests cancelled by the candidate or examiner. Sample sizes and methodology are described in the source attribution at the foot of this page.
What learners should know about Cardigan
- Pass rate at Cardigan sits close to the UK average. Prepare for an ordinary level of difficulty: examiners apply the standard DVSA marking sheet, and the routes are a representative mix of local conditions.
- Practising the test routes is the single thing that most reliably moves a candidate's pass odds. Most ADI instructors in Aberteifi / Cardigan will have a working knowledge of which routes Cardigan uses.
- Don't pay third-party sites for booking access at Cardigan. Use gov.uk/book-driving-test directly; cancellations show up on the same booking flow.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Cardigan
Ten minutes early is the right target at Cardigan. Parking differs between DVSA centres, so it pays to scout the route on the DVSA centre finder (postcode SA43 1JR) the day before. Demand sits at moderate with a modelled wait of about 10 weeks, which generally leaves more room to choose a date. Bring the provisional photocard licence, the examiner checks for it first, and make sure your car is roadworthy with L plates and a working interior mirror. If Aberporth is fully booked, Cardigan is the next closest centre, roughly 6 miles away.
Plan for a drive of roughly 40 minutes, identical in structure to every other DVSA centre. First comes the 20-metre eyesight check and a pair of vehicle-safety questions, one show-me, one tell-me, then the examiner joins you for the road section. About 20 minutes is independent driving by sat nav or by following signs to a named target, you tackle one of four set manoeuvres, and around a third of candidates get an emergency stop. The drive covers the local mix of road types within roughly a twenty-minute radius of the centre. Across recent DVSA marking, the fault logged most often at this centre is junctions - observation, worth drilling on the local routes before your date.
There is no wait for the verdict, the examiner delivers it at the centre. They go over each fault recorded, hand you the DL25 feedback form, and on a pass retain your provisional licence so the full version arrives by post. To pass you need no more than 15 driving faults and not a single serious or dangerous one; 49.8% of candidates at Cardigan currently clear that.
Frequently asked questions
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How does Cardigan compare to the UK average?
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Data: DVSA quarterly statistical release, released under the Open Government Licence v3.0. PassRates.uk aggregates DVSA centre-level totals across reporting periods.
Edited by Vikas. DVSA data period: 2024-25.