Driving Test Pass Rates by Region in Wales

Wales is home to 45 DVSA practical driving test centres, from busy urban assessment hubs in Newport, Swansea and Bangor to rural and small-town centres serving wider catchment areas. Across the full network, 1.1M car tests have been recorded in the published DVSA dataset, producing a volume-weighted average pass rate of 54.3%.

That puts Wales 5.6 percentage points above the UK national average of 48.7%. The gap between Wales's highest- and lowest-passing centres is wide: Heads of the Valleys sits at 81.7% (2024-25), while Cardigan records just 49.8%, a spread of 31.9 percentage points. Rural centres with quieter test routes typically outperform dense urban centres where multi-lane junctions, bus lanes and complex roundabouts dominate the route map.

Use the data below to compare every centre in Wales, see which cities have the deepest choice of testing locations, and read how Wales's pass rate has trended over recent years. Pass rates are influenced by many factors, the route a centre uses, the local instructor community, candidate preparation, and seasonal traffic, so treat any single number as a rough guide, not a verdict.