Machrihanish LGV Driving Test Centre
The Machrihanish LGV driving test centre is located in Machrihanish, Scotland (PA28 6PX). 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
73 passed, 5 failed, 78 total
How Machrihanish LGV compares
Machrihanish LGV performs well above the UK average. Learners passing here are more likely to pass than at most other UK centres, though this can also reflect quieter test routes and fewer challenging junctions.
Where Machrihanish LGV ranks among 152 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 Machrihanish LGV have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is comparatively quick: learners booking at Machrihanish LGV typically wait around 5 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 Machrihanish LGV
- HGV/LGV
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 PA28 6NU, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Drivers booked at Machrihanish LGV report to a DVSA centre in Machrihanish, Argyll and Bute, postcode PA28 6PX. The hgv/lgv routes used here are drawn from the streets the centre's examiners drive every week, so the test reflects local conditions rather than a generic syllabus. Small sample warning: 78 tests across 2019-20-2023-24. The headline rate on this page is the multi-year aggregate, which is the only version of the number worth trusting at this volume.
By raw pass rate Machrihanish LGV sits at 93.6%, with the DVSA's national hgv/lgv average over the same window running at 48.7%. The gap (44.9 points clear of the UK figure) places the centre at rank #1 of 152, inside the top ten percent of the country's hgv/lgv test centres. For Machrihanish LGV the DVSA suppresses first-attempt figures in DRT122C. Smaller centres get rolled up; this is one of them. The overall pass rate above is the only published 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 Machrihanish LGV
- Machrihanish LGV passes higher than the UK average, but the marking sheet is identical to every other DVSA centre. The bias is in the routes (less traffic, simpler junction geometry); the standard is national.
- With 78 tests on record at Machrihanish LGV, the per-quarter pass rates are noisy. The trend chart on this page is more informative than any specific number from a specific period.
- If you can, take at least one lesson with an instructor who specifically works the Machrihanish LGV routes. Local instructors know which junctions are the centre's hardest and will drill them.
- Book through the official DVSA service (gov.uk/book-driving-test). Third-party "fast-track" sites charge a premium for the same booking; the DVSA's own cancellation feed is free.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Machrihanish LGV
Plan to arrive at Machrihanish LGV 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 PA28 6PX) a day or two ahead. Demand here is low with waits around 5 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 Campbeltown is fully booked, Machrihanish LGV is the next closest centre, roughly 5 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 93.6% of Machrihanish LGV's candidates reach right now.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Machrihanish LGV?
Is Machrihanish LGV an easy or hard test centre?
How does Machrihanish LGV compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Machrihanish LGV each year?
Which driving test centres are near Machrihanish LGV?
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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: 2023-24.