Carmarthen Driving Test Centre
The Carmarthen driving test centre is located in Carmarthen, Wales (SA31 1RT). 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
15.1K passed, 12.8K failed, 27.9K total
How Carmarthen compares
Carmarthen performs notably better than the UK average. This often correlates with rural or suburban routes that have fewer multi-lane roundabouts and complex urban scenarios.
Where Carmarthen 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 Carmarthen have been gradually shortening as DVSA recovers post-pandemic capacity. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Carmarthen 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 Carmarthen
- 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 SA31 1LP, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Carmarthen is in Carmarthen, Sir Gaerfyrddin / Carmarthenshire (SA31 1RT) 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. Over 2017-18-2024-25, 27.9K candidates sat tests here. The figures are statistically usable for centre-to-centre comparisons, which is most of what people land on this page wanting to do.
Out of 323 UK car test centres, Carmarthen ranks 107, which lands it in the upper half nationally. The 54.4% pass rate is 5.7 points clear of the UK figure of 48.7%. 53.7% of first-timers pass at Carmarthen, 4.7 points above the UK figure of 49%. A prepared first attempt has a real shot here in a way it doesn't at every centre.
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 Carmarthen
- Don't read a higher pass rate as a softer test. Carmarthen's rate reflects route geography more than examiner discretion, DVSA marking is centrally trained. Prepare for the same fault categories you'd prepare for anywhere.
- If you can, take at least one lesson with an instructor who specifically works the Carmarthen routes. Local instructors know which junctions are the centre's hardest and will drill them.
- Don't pay third-party sites for booking access at Carmarthen. Use gov.uk/book-driving-test directly; cancellations show up on the same booking flow.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Carmarthen
Plan to arrive at Carmarthen about ten minutes before your slot. Parking varies between DVSA centres, so check the route and the surrounding streets on the DVSA centre finder (postcode SA31 1RT) a day or two ahead. Demand here is moderate with waits around 10 weeks, so there is usually a little more slot choice than at the busiest urban centres. Bring your provisional photocard licence; the examiner will not start without it, and you will need a roadworthy car with L plates and a working interior mirror. If Llanelli is fully booked, Carmarthen is the next closest centre, roughly 14 miles away.
Expect about 40 minutes once you set off, to the same national DVSA script. It opens with an eyesight check at 20 metres and one show-me plus one tell-me question, after which the examiner rides along for the drive. Around 20 minutes of that is independent driving, guided either by a sat nav the examiner provides or by road signs to a named destination, with one of four set manoeuvres and a one-in-three chance of 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.
The result is given immediately when you get back. Whatever the outcome, the examiner reads through the marked faults and prints your DL25 feedback form; pass and they take the provisional licence to trigger your full one by post. The threshold is the national one, 15 driving faults at most and zero serious or dangerous, which 54.4% of Carmarthen's candidates reach right now.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Carmarthen?
Is Carmarthen an easy or hard test centre?
How does Carmarthen compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Carmarthen each year?
Which driving test centres are near Carmarthen?
When is the best time to book a test at Carmarthen?
How do I book a test at Carmarthen and what do I need?
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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.