Launceston Driving Test Centre
The Launceston driving test centre is located in Launceston, England. 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
20.7K passed, 19.5K failed, 40.2K total
How Launceston compares
Launceston sits very close to the UK average, within 1 percentage point.
Where Launceston 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 Launceston have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Launceston typically wait around 15 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 Launceston
- car
- motorcycle module 2 (on-road)
- ADI part 3
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 PL15 9NJ, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Launceston: a DVSA car test centre in Launceston, Cornwall. Local routes, local traffic patterns, no national standard for what "harder" or "easier" looks like beyond what the numbers below show. Sample size: 40.2K tests over 2017-18-2024-25. Enough that comparisons hold up; small enough that a single examiner retiring or a route being temporarily diverted can show in the data.
The lower half of the UK by pass rate: Launceston ranks #211 of 323 car centres at 48.3%, within a point of the national figure of 48.7%. Launceston is one of the tougher venues for a first attempt. The DVSA reports 45.2% first-time pass against a UK average of 49%, 3.8 points down on the national figure.
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 Launceston
- Centre difficulty is roughly average at Launceston. The same fault categories that fail candidates nationally (junctions, mirrors, observation) are what fail candidates here, in similar proportions.
- If you can, take at least one lesson with an instructor who specifically works the Launceston routes. Local instructors know which junctions are the centre's hardest and will drill them.
- The only legitimate booking route is gov.uk. Anything calling itself a "test booking concierge" is reselling the same slots at a markup, the slots aren't theirs to control.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Launceston
Turn up at Launceston ten minutes before your appointment, and check ahead where you can park, DVSA sites vary on that. You can preview the location on the DVSA centre finder. Demand is high and waits are near 15 weeks, so an early booking plus a cancellation watch is the sensible approach. The examiner will ask to see your provisional photocard licence before anything else, and your car must carry L plates and a working interior mirror.
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.
You find out there and then, back at Launceston. The examiner runs through the faults on the DL25 feedback form and, on a pass, keeps your provisional licence so a full licence follows in the post. Clearing the test means staying under 16 driving faults, that is 15 or fewer, with no serious or dangerous fault; 48.3% of candidates here manage it on the current marking. First-time candidates pass less often than the headline suggests, 45.2% versus 48.3% overall, so a first booking is worth preparing thoroughly.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Launceston?
Is Launceston an easy or hard test centre?
How does Launceston compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Launceston each year?
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When is the best time to book a test at Launceston?
How do I book a test at Launceston 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.