Merthyr Tydfil Driving Test Centre
The Merthyr Tydfil driving test centre is located in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales (CF47 8BS). 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
26.5K passed, 22.0K failed, 48.6K total
How Merthyr Tydfil compares
Merthyr Tydfil 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 Merthyr Tydfil 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 Merthyr Tydfil have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Merthyr Tydfil 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 Merthyr Tydfil
- 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 CF48 4DR, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Merthyr Tydfil sits in Merthyr Tydfil, just inside the CF47 8BS postcode. It's a DVSA-run car test centre, and the routes from here work outward into the streets and arterial roads that learners from Merthyr Tydfil tend to know already. Merthyr Tydfil sees moderate volume: 48.6K practical tests through 2017-18-2024-25. Year-on-year percentages here are meaningful, but watch the trend line rather than fixating on any single period.
53.5% at Merthyr Tydfil, against a UK car average of 48.7%. That puts the centre 4.8 points above the national figure and ranks it #119 of 323 car centres in the DVSA's network. 51.8% of first-timers pass at Merthyr Tydfil, 2.8 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 Merthyr Tydfil
- Merthyr Tydfil doesn't deviate much from the national curve, so generic preparation advice (mock tests, mirror discipline, junction observation) applies here in the same shape it would anywhere.
- If you can, take at least one lesson with an instructor who specifically works the Merthyr Tydfil 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 Merthyr Tydfil
Turn up at Merthyr Tydfil 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 (postcode CF47 8BS). 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.
The practical lasts about 40 minutes and uses the standard DVSA format nationwide. After an eyesight check at 20 metres and one show-me and one tell-me question, the examiner sits in for the drive. Roughly 20 minutes of that is independent driving, either following a sat nav set by the examiner or following road signs, and you will complete one of four set manoeuvres; about one in three tests includes 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 53.5% of Merthyr Tydfil's candidates reach right now.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Merthyr Tydfil?
Is Merthyr Tydfil an easy or hard test centre?
How does Merthyr Tydfil compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Merthyr Tydfil each year?
Which driving test centres are near Merthyr Tydfil?
When is the best time to book a test at Merthyr Tydfil?
How do I book a test at Merthyr Tydfil and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Merthyr Tydfil?
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.