Newtown driving test centre
Ladywell House, Newtown, SY16 1JB
Drive the 5 routes around Newtown before test day →
Key facts
- Newtown's pass rate was 58% in 2025/26 from 2,256 tests, 8 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 6 of 21 centres in Wales (Wales average 52.4%), one of the higher pass rates in the region, 5.6 points above it.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has fallen by 16.5 points, from 74.5% to 58%.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 14 weeks since booking (longer than the national median of 11.9 weeks); the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 16.2 weeks ahead.
- 22.1% of the standard slots in the booking window were still unbooked in August 2026, which usually means a cancellation or new date is realistic here.
Newtown has no neighbouring test centre close enough to be a fallback. If you want a car test in this part of mid Wales, this is it, and the practical effect is a wait of about three and a half months, with the first genuinely open week further out again. The pass rate is still well above the national figure, but it has dropped a long way, by sixteen points in four years, one of the sharper falls anywhere. The driving is slow. Seven in ten of the roads tagged around the centre are 20 mph, which is the Welsh default on restricted roads, and there is very little fast road within reach of a short loop.
Drive the Newtown test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 47 km in all, with 12 roundabouts and 101 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Newtown; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Newtown from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 47 km · 101 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 Bryn Lane10.4 km loop with 1 roundabout, 13 right turns, 16 left turns and a stretch of Kerry Road.10.4 km · 30 turns · 1 roundabout
- Route 2 · via Newtown Bypass10.1 km loop with 6 roundabouts, 4 right turns, 5 left turns and a stretch of Dolfor Road.10.1 km · 15 turns · 6 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via Plantation Lane10.9 km loop with 2 roundabouts, 9 right turns, 11 left turns and a stretch of Heol Treowen.10.9 km · 22 turns · 2 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Milford Road7.2 km loop with 2 roundabouts, 7 right turns, 7 left turns and a stretch of Upper Dolfor Road.7.2 km · 16 turns · 2 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Llanidloes Road8.8 km loop with 1 roundabout, 7 right turns, 10 left turns and a stretch of Heol Treowen.8.8 km · 18 turns · 1 roundabout
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Newtown is a 20 mph town almost throughout, seven in ten of the tagged roads under the Welsh default, with the rest mostly 30. There is no large multi-lane roundabout near the centre. The junction work is give-ways, seven sets of traffic lights and a pair of mini-roundabouts. That sounds gentle, and the mistake candidates make is treating it that way.
The streets carry the difficulty instead. Longbridge Street, New Church Street, Commercial Street and Shortbridge Street are narrow, with parking down one side and oncoming traffic that has to be let through. Back Lane and Canal Road are tighter again. Judging who goes first, and doing it without stopping dead in the road, is most of what is being assessed on that part of the drive.
Dolfor Road and Kerry Road climb out of town to the south and east, and this is where the speed changes are. A 20 becomes a 60 quickly, and coming back down is where people get caught, either still at 40 past the sign or braking so late that the car is unsettled. Llanfair Road and New Road are the other ways out. Heol Treowen and Plantation Lane serve the estates and the industrial ground, and are the usual place for a reverse.
There is a level crossing within the area the loops cover. It is worth a practice run, if only so that stopping at a closed barrier is not new to you on the day.
Pass rate at Newtown, 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 | 2,256 | 58.0% | 59.3% | 56.5% |
| 2024/25 | 1,740 | 63.7% | 62.3% | 65.8% |
| 2023/24 | 1,835 | 67.7% | 66.2% | 69.9% |
| 2022/23 | 1,415 | 59.1% | 63.4% | 54.5% |
| 2021/22 | 957 | 74.5% | 74.1% | 74.9% |
| 2019/20 | 1,165 | 56.1% | 52.8% | 59.1% |
| 2018/19 | 1,279 | 58.3% | 55.1% | 61.7% |
| 2017/18 | 1,192 | 53.9% | 52.0% | 55.6% |
Wales average 52.4% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Newtown
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 | 14 | 16.2 | 26 | 22.1% |
| Jul 2026 | 14 | 13 | 28 | 31.3% |
| Jun 2026 | 10 | 18.6 | 43 | 25% |
| May 2026 | 12.4 | 23 | 30 | 26.1% |
| Apr 2026 | 12.5 | 24 | 34 | 28.2% |
| Mar 2026 | 9.2 | 24 | 40 | 19.8% |
Tell me when the wait at Newtown drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Newtown
The centre is at Ladywell House in the middle of Newtown, and one published detail should shape your morning: there are no toilets at the test centre. DVSA says so plainly and points to public toilets a short walk away, along with other places nearby that let people use theirs. Sort that out before you check in rather than after.
Newtown station is about three hundred metres from the door, unusually close for a test centre and a few minutes on foot. If you are coming in from Welshpool, Machynlleth or Shrewsbury, the train is a real option.
Car tests and instructor part 3 tests run here. Nothing is published about wheelchair access or other arrangements, so ring DVSA in advance if you need to know. Booking, moving and cancelling go through GOV.UK.
Parking is not published for this centre. In a town-centre location like this one it is normally a case of using a public car park nearby and walking the last bit, which is what most instructors plan on. Do not count on a space outside the door.
What DVSA publishes about Newtown
Taken from the GOV.UK test centre finder, checked 3 September 2026. Where DVSA says nothing, this site says nothing.
- Tests conducted here
- carADI part 3
- Wheelchair access
- Not published. Ring DVSA before the day rather than assuming.
- On the day
- There is no access to toilets facilities at the test centre. There are Public Toilet facilities a very short distance away from the DTC as well as multiple other establishments that do offer public toilets close to the DTC.
Learner reports from Newtown
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 Newtown.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Questions learners ask about Newtown
- Is Newtown an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 58% of car tests were passed there in 2025/26, against 50.0% nationally. Pass rates reflect the local roads and who takes tests there as much as the examiners, so treat it as a guide, not a guarantee.
- How long is the wait for a driving test at Newtown?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Newtown was 14 weeks, and you had to look about 16.2 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 Newtown driving test centre?
- Newtown test centre is at Ladywell House, Newtown, SY16 1JB. 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 Newtown do a year?
- 2,256 car tests were conducted at Newtown in 2025/26, of which 1,309 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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