Launceston driving test centre
Suite 4 Sheers Barton Barns, Lawhitton, Launceston, PL15 9NJ
Drive the 5 routes around Launceston before test day →
Key facts
- Launceston's pass rate was 46.3% in 2025/26 from 3,991 tests, 3.7 points below the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 18 of 21 centres in South West (South West average 51.7%), one of the lower pass rates in the region, 5.4 points below it.
- The rate has been stable since 2021/22, moving between 41.9% (2023/24) and 48.3% (2024/25).
- Male candidates passed at 43.8% and female candidates at 50%, a gap of 6.2 points, wider than at most centres.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 7 weeks since booking (shorter than the national median of 11.9 weeks); the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 8.4 weeks ahead.
Launceston is a country test. Just under half the roads tagged within two and a half kilometres of the centre are 30 mph, and most of the rest are national speed limit or faster: 31 per cent at 60 and a fifth at 70. There is almost no urban furniture at all, only four mini-roundabouts and two sets of traffic signals in the whole area, and nothing tagged at 20. The centre itself is a suite in a converted farm building at Lawhitton, outside the town. Three of the five practice loops on this page contain no roundabout whatsoever. What they have instead is distance at speed, running between eleven and thirteen kilometres each. The pass rate is below the national average and is one of the lower ones in the South West.
Drive the Launceston test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 61 km in all, with 3 roundabouts and 60 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Launceston; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Launceston from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 61 km · 60 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 111.4 km loop with 9 right turns and 7 left turns.11.4 km · 16 turns
- Route 2 · via Hurdon Road12.6 km loop with 1 roundabout, 6 right turns, 4 left turns and a stretch of Tavistock Road.12.6 km · 11 turns · 1 roundabout
- Route 311.2 km loop with 7 right turns and 5 left turns.11.2 km · 12 turns
- Route 412.3 km loop with 8 right turns and 5 left turns.12.3 km · 13 turns
- Route 5 · via Hurdon Road13.2 km loop with 2 roundabouts, 4 right turns, 2 left turns and a stretch of Tavistock Road.13.2 km · 8 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.
Speed is the whole thing here. Just under half the roads tagged within two and a half kilometres of the centre are 30 mph. Of the rest, 31 per cent are at the national speed limit and 20 per cent are 70, and there is dual carriageway in the area. Nothing at all is tagged at 20.
Tavistock Road and Hurdon Road are the two streets the practice loops on this page lean on, and beyond them the routes are on rural road. Three of the five loops contain no roundabout, and only four mini-roundabouts and two sets of traffic signals exist in the whole area. The junction work is almost entirely give-way and open T-junctions, where the approach is fast and the sightline decides the gap.
Worth practising before a Launceston test:
- Joining and leaving dual carriageway, matching the speed of traffic already there and losing it again in the length of the slip road.
- Emerging right onto a 60 mph road, where a gap that looks adequate often is not.
- Holding a steady speed on open road without creeping over the limit and without dropping so far below it that it reads as hesitation.
- The single level crossing in the area: approach at a speed that lets you stop, and never move on without a clear exit ahead.
Manoeuvres are the awkward part of a rural test. There is little continuous kerb out on the lanes, so they tend to be asked for on the residential edges of town instead. A pull-up on the right, and a reverse into a gap between parked cars, both want practising on a proper kerb line first.
Pass rate at Launceston, 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 | 3,991 | 46.3% | 43.8% | 50.0% |
| 2024/25 | 2,286 | 48.3% | 49.6% | 46.9% |
| 2023/24 | 2,871 | 41.9% | 42.3% | 41.4% |
| 2022/23 | 2,795 | 42.5% | 45.3% | 39.8% |
| 2021/22 | 2,581 | 46.0% | 46.2% | 45.8% |
| 2020/21 | 639 | 51.0% | 53.9% | 48.7% |
| 2019/20 | 2,172 | 48.4% | 48.7% | 48.1% |
| 2018/19 | 2,301 | 50.2% | 53.0% | 47.4% |
South West average 51.7% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Launceston
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 | 8.4 | 52 | 7.8% |
| Jul 2026 | 7 | 11.5 | 50 | 6.8% |
| Jun 2026 | 4.9 | 12.4 | 58 | 8% |
| May 2026 | 5.6 | 16 | 56 | 14.6% |
| Apr 2026 | 3.9 | 12.3 | 62 | 11.7% |
| Mar 2026 | 3.7 | 16.8 | 60 | 12.6% |
Tell me when the wait at Launceston drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Launceston
The centre is Suite 4 at Sheers Barton Barns in Lawhitton, a converted barn site rather than a DVSA block on a main road. It sits outside the town, so give yourself longer than the satnav estimate for the last part of the journey and do not leave finding it until the final ten minutes.
GOV.UK does not publish an accessibility line for this centre. If you use a wheelchair or need any adjustment on the day, ring DVSA before you travel rather than turning up and hoping. Car tests, motorcycle module 2 on the road and ADI part 3 are held here.
Parking is not published either. Rural sites of this kind usually have room on the yard or hardstanding outside, which is typical rather than confirmed.
The nearest station is nearly four kilometres away, so almost everyone arrives with an instructor. The examiner checks your licence, has you sign the insurance declaration and does the eyesight check outside. The drive begins on rural road rather than in town traffic, which catches out candidates who have only practised in built-up areas.
Nearly half the slots in the booking window were still unbooked in the most recent month, so a cancellation or an earlier date is realistic here. Booking, moving and cancelling is through GOV.UK only.
What DVSA publishes about Launceston
Taken from the GOV.UK test centre finder, checked 3 September 2026. Where DVSA says nothing, this site says nothing.
- Tests conducted here
- carmotorcycle module 2 (on-road)ADI part 3
- Wheelchair access
- Not published. Ring DVSA before the day rather than assuming.
Other tests at Launceston
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 Launceston
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 Launceston.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
Suite 4 Sheers Barton Barns, LawhittonLaunceston PL15 9NJ
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
Questions learners ask about Launceston
- Is Launceston an easy test centre?
- Its 46.3% 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 Launceston?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Launceston was 7 weeks, and you had to look about 8.4 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 Launceston driving test centre?
- Launceston test centre is at Suite 4 Sheers Barton Barns, Lawhitton, Launceston, PL15 9NJ. 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 Launceston do a year?
- 3,991 car tests were conducted at Launceston in 2025/26, of which 1,849 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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