Carmarthen Driving Test Centre
At Carmarthen, 54.4% of candidates pass, one of the 323 test centres we rank from the DVSA data. Below you will find the full pass-rate history, the demographic split, the official DVSA waiting time and a comparison with the nearest centres.
DVSA data last updated July 2026
Carmarthen sits in the top half of car pass rates nationally (Top 33%, rank #107 of 323). The strongest car alternative nearby is Pembroke Dock, about 29.2 miles away.
Pass vs fail at a glance
All-time 15.1K passed, 12.8K failed, 27.9K total
How Carmarthen compares
Carmarthen runs 5.7 points ahead of the national average, ranked 107 of 323 in its category. Margins in this range usually track route difficulty: fewer multi-lane roundabouts and less dense traffic.
Where Carmarthen ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Stability is the story at Carmarthen: 55.2% in 2017-18, 54.4% now, and every year in between inside a 4.4-point band.
Pass rate by demographic
Waiting time at Carmarthen
The headline figure for reaching 10% availability is 16.5 weeks, but the typical (median) learner who took their test at Carmarthen in May 2026 had waited 7.8 weeks from booking to test day.
Official DVSA data, May 2026. The median is the time between booking and taking the test; for live availability use the DVSA booking service.
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. Your examiner picks the route on the day without telling you which, and the DVSA does not publish them. 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 area. Local instructors know which nearby junctions are demanding 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 low with waits around 6 to 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 tell-me question, after which the examiner rides along for the drive and asks one show-me question on the move. 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-seven chance of an emergency stop. The drive covers the local mix of road types within roughly a twenty-minute radius of the centre. Across DVSA marking nationally, the fault recorded most often on car tests 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 driving tests does Carmarthen record?
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?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Carmarthen?
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.