Cardigan driving test centre
Crown Buildings, Napier Street, Cardigan, SA43 1ED
Drive the 5 routes around Cardigan before test day →
Key facts
- Cardigan's pass rate was 41% in 2025/26 from 1,192 tests, 9 points below the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 21 of 21 centres in Wales (Wales average 52.4%), one of the lower pass rates in the region, 11.4 points below it.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has fallen by 11.3 points, from 52.3% to 41%.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 7.1 weeks since booking (shorter than the national median of 11.9 weeks); the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 7.6 weeks ahead.
- A year earlier (August 2025) the median wait was 10 weeks, so waits have shortened by about 2.9 weeks.
Cardigan has the lowest pass rate in Wales: 41 per cent, 21st of the 21 Welsh centres and 285th of the 302 ranked, down 11.3 points since 2021/22. The roads are part of it. A third of the distance on the practice loops on this page is at 60 mph on lanes out of the town, another third at 20 through it, and only 29 per cent at the 30 most learners spend their lessons in. There are just two give-way junctions and four sets of traffic signals on the whole set, so nothing much tells you what to do. The one consolation is availability: the wait is 7.1 weeks and 27.4 per cent of slots were still unbooked.
Drive the Cardigan test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 53 km in all, with 22 roundabouts and 124 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Cardigan; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Cardigan from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 53 km · 124 marked turns
- Examiner-style marking on signalling and observation
- Street View tour of each route
- Every roundabout and junction, in the order you'll meet them
- The four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios, included
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- Route 1 · via Rhodfa'r Felin9.1 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 10 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Fishguard Road.9.1 km · 26 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Rhodfa'r Felin10.5 km loop with 4 roundabouts, 12 right turns, 13 left turns and a stretch of Gwbert Road.10.5 km · 29 turns · 4 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via St. Dogmaels Road9.4 km loop with 4 roundabouts, 11 right turns, 11 left turns and a stretch of Rhodfa'r Felin.9.4 km · 26 turns · 4 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Old Castle Road12.7 km loop with 5 roundabouts, 11 right turns, 10 left turns and a stretch of Greenfield Row.12.7 km · 26 turns · 5 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via St. Dogmaels Road11.0 km loop with 2 roundabouts, 8 right turns, 7 left turns and a stretch of Ffordd Felin Newydd / New Mill Road.11.0 km · 17 turns · 2 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Three speeds, and the test moves between them constantly. Thirty-four per cent of the distance on the practice loops on this page is at 20 mph, 29 per cent at 30 and 32 per cent at 60, with a little at 40. There is no dual carriageway, so the 60 is narrow single-carriageway lane with oncoming traffic, hedges and no room to be wide on a bend. Coming off that back into a 20 zone in the town, and having your speed right before the sign rather than after it, is the transition candidates get marked on.
The junctions barely help. Two give-way junctions and four sets of traffic signals across 52.7 kilometres is almost nothing; what joins the roads instead is roundabouts. Fishguard Road, Rhodfa'r Felin and Pont-y-Cleifion are the named ones, there are two mini-roundabouts, and one 9.1 kilometre loop takes in seven roundabouts.
Turning is heavy for a town this small. One 10.5 kilometre loop asks for twelve right turns and thirteen left; another eleven and eleven. In a 20 mph street with parked cars on both sides, every one of those is a hold-back-and-look rather than a swing round.
Rhodfa'r Felin, Pendre, Gwbert Road, St. Dogmaels Road, Bridge Street, Napier Street, Feidrfair and Bath House Road carry the driving, with the B4546, B4548 and B4570. There are only 3 schools in the area, one zebra crossing on the set and no level crossings.
Pass rate at Cardigan, 2007/08 to 2025/26
Share of car tests passed each April-to-March year. Dashed line: Great Britain average for 2025/26.
Month by month, 2025/26
By year and gender
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 1,192 | 41.0% | 40.0% | 42.1% |
| 2024/25 | 1,340 | 49.8% | 48.9% | 50.9% |
| 2023/24 | 1,360 | 50.4% | 47.9% | 53.2% |
| 2022/23 | 1,475 | 51.5% | 52.6% | 50.0% |
| 2021/22 | 1,405 | 52.3% | 52.8% | 51.7% |
| 2020/21 | 480 | 55.0% | 55.6% | 54.4% |
| 2019/20 | 1,127 | 49.7% | 54.1% | 46.2% |
| 2018/19 | 1,033 | 56.7% | 59.6% | 53.7% |
Wales average 52.4% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Cardigan
Median weeks between booking and taking the test, for tests taken each month. Dashed line: GB median for August 2026.
| Month | Median wait | Weeks to free slots | Slots offered | Still free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 7.1 | 7.6 | 47 | 14.6% |
| Jul 2026 | 7.1 | 9.3 | 50 | 18.4% |
| Jun 2026 | 7.9 | 14.2 | 46 | 9.9% |
| May 2026 | 8.1 | 17.3 | 47 | 11.6% |
| Apr 2026 | 8.6 | 4.8 | 43 | 8.5% |
| Mar 2026 | 12.1 | 5.8 | 40 | 24.2% |
Tell me when the wait at Cardigan drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Cardigan
The centre is in Crown Buildings on Napier Street, SA43 1ED, in the middle of the town. One thing to know before you book: GOV.UK states that you cannot access this test centre if you use a wheelchair. If that affects you, ring DVSA and ask which centre they can arrange instead.
Car tests only are conducted here. No station is close enough to matter, so everyone arrives by car or with an instructor.
Nothing is published about parking. Napier Street is a town-centre street; treat it as ordinary town parking, read the signs, and allow time to walk rather than arriving on the minute.
The wait was a median of 7.1 weeks for tests taken in July 2026, shorter than the national 11.9, and the first week with a tenth of its slots still free was 9.3 weeks ahead. It has improved from 11.4 weeks a year earlier, and 27.4 per cent of standard slots were still unbooked, so an earlier date is realistic here.
The month matters more than usual: October returned 52.6 per cent and June 41.9, a spread of more than ten points. Carmarthen is 35.2 kilometres away, passes 54.2 per cent and was waiting 9.7 weeks — a long drive, but a very different set of numbers. Booking and cancelling is on GOV.UK only.
What DVSA publishes about Cardigan
Taken from the GOV.UK test centre finder, checked 3 September 2026. Where DVSA says nothing, this site says nothing.
- Tests conducted here
- car
- Wheelchair access
- DVSA states you cannot access this centre in a wheelchair. Ring DVSA before booking to arrange an alternative.
Other tests at Cardigan
This centre is not car only. DVSA publishes results for these categories separately, and they are taken by different candidates on different vehicles, so the rates are not comparable with the car figure above.
Learner reports from Cardigan
No reports yet for this centre. If you tested here, the first one is yours to write.
What examiners mark most often
DVSA does not publish faults by centre, but it does publish them nationally. These collected the most marks across every car test in Great Britain in 2025/26, and they are the same ones you will be marked on at Cardigan.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Crown Buildings, Napier StreetCardigan SA43 1ED
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- CarmarthenSA31 1LP · 35 km54.2%+4.2 vs GB9.7 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Cardigan
- Is Cardigan an easy test centre?
- Its 41% pass rate in 2025/26 is below the 50.0% national average. Busy urban roads and complex junctions usually explain lower rates; knowing the local routes closes most of that gap.
- How long is the wait for a driving test at Cardigan?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Cardigan was 7.1 weeks, and you had to look about 7.6 weeks ahead to find a week with at least 10% of slots free. DVSA publishes this monthly; the figure above updates when they do.
- Where is Cardigan driving test centre?
- Cardigan test centre is at Crown Buildings, Napier Street, Cardigan, SA43 1ED. Arrive at least 10 minutes early with your provisional licence; parking rules vary by centre, so check the learner reports below.
- How many driving tests does Cardigan do a year?
- 1,192 car tests were conducted at Cardigan in 2025/26, of which 489 were passed.
Source: DVSA tables DRT122A (pass rates by centre and month) and DRT122F (waiting times and availability), Open Government Licence v3.0. PassRank adds the comparisons and rankings.
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