Lairg driving test centre
Lairg Fire Station, Main Street, IV27 4DB
Drive the 5 routes around Lairg before test day →
Key facts
- Lairg's pass rate was 50% in 2018/19 from 30 tests, in line with the national average of 50.0%.
There is not much recent data on Lairg. The last published pass rate is 50 per cent, from 30 tests in 2018/19, exactly in line with the national average, and no waiting time is published at all. Treat both as background rather than as a forecast. The roads are the more useful guide. Four level crossings sit in this small area, because the railway to the far north runs through it, and there are no traffic signals and no roundabouts of any kind. Forty-four per cent of the roads around the centre are national limit, 33 per cent are 20 mph and 23 per cent are 30, so the driving swings between village streets and open moorland road.
Drive the Lairg test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 49 km in all, with 0 roundabouts and 93 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Lairg; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Lairg from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 49 km · 93 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
One payment, no renewal. Or £9.99 a month with a 3-day free trial. Cancel any time.
Everything else on PassRank, every centre, its pass rate, its waiting time and the forum, is free and needs no account.
- Route 1 · via Balloan Road9.3 km loop with 8 right turns, 11 left turns and a stretch of Laundry Road.9.3 km · 19 turns
- Route 2 · via Main Street9.0 km loop with 10 right turns, 7 left turns and a stretch of Balloan Road.9.0 km · 17 turns
- Route 3 · via Culbuie Road10.8 km loop with 10 right turns, 8 left turns and a stretch of Balloan Road.10.8 km · 18 turns
- Route 4 · via Saval Road10.3 km loop with 9 right turns, 10 left turns and a stretch of Laundry Road.10.3 km · 19 turns
- Route 5 · via Saval Road9.3 km loop with 10 right turns, 10 left turns and a stretch of Laundry Road.9.3 km · 20 turns
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Four level crossings sit in this area, which is a great many for a village. The line to the far north runs through here and the practice loops on this page cross it more than once, so make sure you have done the whole sequence before the day: slowing early enough that you are never committed, stopping behind the line, waiting without creeping forward, and moving off promptly once the barrier lifts.
Forty-four per cent of the roads around the centre are national limit, 33 per cent are 20 mph and 23 per cent are 30. That is a wide spread for such a small place, and it means the drive keeps changing character — a tight village street, then open road across the moor, then back again. Settling to each new limit before the sign rather than after it is the habit that pays here.
Nothing sequences the junctions for you. There are no traffic signals in the area, no roundabouts named anywhere and no mini-roundabouts, so priority is judged from what you can see on approaches that bends and banks tend to shorten.
The turning is heavier than the quiet setting suggests. A 9.2 kilometre loop asks for ten right turns and seven left, a 12.7 kilometre loop asks for ten of each, and a 9.3 kilometre loop asks for eight and 11.
Main Street, Manse Road, Culbuie Road, Saval Road, Balloan Road, Laundry Road, Ord Crescent, Ord Place and Lochside carry most of the driving. There is one school in the area and no dual carriageway.
Pass rate at Lairg, 2008/09 to 2018/19
Share of car tests passed each April-to-March year. Dashed line: Great Britain average for 2025/26.
Month by month, 2018/19
By year and gender
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018/19 | 30 | 50.0% | 42.9% | 56.3% |
| 2017/18 | 53 | 67.9% | 73.3% | 60.9% |
| 2016/17 | 48 | 62.5% | 65.0% | 60.7% |
| 2015/16 | 56 | 76.8% | 85.7% | 67.9% |
| 2014/15 | 70 | 58.6% | 59.0% | 58.1% |
| 2013/14 | 65 | 50.8% | 65.2% | 42.9% |
| 2010/11 | 56 | 51.8% | 58.3% | 46.9% |
| 2009/10 | 62 | 61.3% | 66.7% | 56.3% |
Scotland average 49.3% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Lairg
Median weeks between booking and taking the test, for tests taken each month. Dashed line: GB median for August 2026.
Not enough data to draw a chart.
Tell me when the wait at Lairg drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Lairg
Tests are conducted from Lairg Fire Station on Main Street, IV27 4DB. Car tests only. GOV.UK says DVSA will make arrangements for you at this test centre if you have a disability, so ring ahead and tell them what you need.
Lairg station is 2.3 kilometres from the centre, which is a walk of half an hour or so rather than a stroll, and the trains are few. If you are coming by rail, arrange for your instructor to collect you rather than planning to walk it in test clothes.
Parking is not published for the site. It is a working fire station on the village main street, so keep the appliance bay and its approach clear, leave the car further along and walk the last part.
No waiting time is published for this centre, which usually means it runs too few tests for DVSA to report a reliable median. The only way to know is to look at what the booking system actually offers, and to look more than once.
Golspie is 24.9 kilometres away, passes 71 per cent and was waiting 15.6 weeks — a much higher pass rate and a published diary, which counts for something when you are trying to plan. Alness is 37.7 kilometres at 63.1 per cent and 14.9 weeks. Booking and cancelling is on GOV.UK only.
What DVSA publishes about Lairg
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
- Not published. DVSA says it will make arrangements for candidates with a disability, which is not the same as step-free access. Ring DVSA before the day rather than assuming.
Learner reports from Lairg
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 Lairg.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Lairg Fire Station, Main StreetLairg IV27 4DB
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
Questions learners ask about Lairg
- Is Lairg an easy test centre?
- It is close to the national average: 50% of tests were passed in 2018/19 against 50.0% across Great Britain.
- Where is Lairg driving test centre?
- Lairg test centre is at Lairg Fire Station, Main Street, IV27 4DB. 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 Lairg do a year?
- 30 car tests were conducted at Lairg in 2018/19, of which 15 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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