Rothesay driving test centre
C/O Dept. of Employment, 9 King Street, Rothesay, PA20 0DG
Drive the 5 routes around Rothesay before test day →
Key facts
- Rothesay's pass rate was 52% in 2025/26 from 125 tests, 2 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 46 of 67 centres in Scotland (Scotland average 49.3%), one of the lower pass rates in the region, 2.7 points above it.
- Since 2016/17 the pass rate has fallen by 19.8 points, from 71.8% to 52%.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 23.6 weeks since booking (longer than the national median of 11.9 weeks); the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 21 weeks ahead.
- A year earlier (August 2025) the median wait was 6.9 weeks, so waits have grown by about 16.7 weeks.
- 55.6% 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.
Book early for Rothesay. The wait has more than doubled in a year: learners tested in July 2026 had waited a median of 23.6 weeks, against 10.9 a year earlier and a national 11.9. The pass rate is 52 per cent from 125 tests, two points above the national average but 46th of the 67 Scottish centres, and it has come down 19.8 points since 2016/17. What makes the drive here unusual is the turning. Every one of the practice loops on this page is right-turn heavy — one asks for 13 right turns against eight left — on a street grid where 69 per cent of the distance is at 30 mph and the rest is open road at 60.
Drive the Rothesay test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 51 km in all, with 0 roundabouts and 82 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Rothesay; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Rothesay from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 51 km · 82 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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Everything else on PassRank, every centre, its pass rate, its waiting time and the forum, is free and needs no account.
- Route 1 · via Eastlands Road11.0 km loop with 11 right turns, 6 left turns and a stretch of Barone Road.11.0 km · 17 turns
- Route 2 · via Argyle Place11.3 km loop with 13 right turns, 8 left turns and a stretch of Barone Road.11.3 km · 21 turns
- Route 3 · via Westland Road10.9 km loop with 10 right turns, 8 left turns and a stretch of Roslin Road.10.9 km · 18 turns
- Route 4 · via Barone Road9.4 km loop with 7 right turns, 4 left turns and a stretch of Mountstuart Road.9.4 km · 11 turns
- Route 5 · via Mountstuart Road8.7 km loop with 9 right turns, 6 left turns and a stretch of Battery Place.8.7 km · 15 turns
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Every loop here turns right more often than left. An 11.3 kilometre loop asks for 13 right turns against eight left, an 11 kilometre loop asks for 11 against six, and a 10.9 kilometre one asks for ten against eight. That imbalance is worth taking seriously, because a right turn is the one that asks you to cross oncoming traffic, hold the car on a gradient and read a gap under pressure. On a street grid this tight, several of them come in a row.
Sixty-nine per cent of the distance is at 30 mph and the other 31 per cent at 60, with nothing in between. The A844 takes the driving out of town and back, so the pattern is a long spell of junction work, a stretch of open coastal road and then straight back into it.
The junction furniture is thin: five give-way junctions, four sets of traffic signals, two mini-roundabouts, two zebra crossings and two pieces of traffic calming across 51.2 kilometres. There are no signalled crossings and no named roundabouts.
High Street, King Street, Argyle Street, Stuart Street, Castlehill Street, Russell Street, John Street, Bridgend Street, Ladeside Street, Roslin Road, Mackinlay Street and Minister's Brae carry most of the driving, with Barone Road, Mountstuart Road and Battery Place named on the loops. There are 4 schools in the area, no level crossings and no dual carriageway.
Waiting time for a test at Rothesay
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 | 23.6 | 21 | 11 | 55.6% |
| Jul 2026 | 23.6 | 24 | 5 | 78.9% |
| Jun 2026 | 13.4 | 24 | 0 | 40% |
| May 2026 | 22.1 | 24 | 10 | 60% |
| Apr 2026 | 22.7 | 24 | 7 | 60% |
| Mar 2026 | 21.9 | 19.8 | 20 | 60% |
Pass rate at Rothesay, 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 | 125 | 52.0% | 53.0% | 50.8% |
| 2023/24 | 127 | 59.1% | 64.5% | 53.8% |
| 2022/23 | 78 | 80.8% | 89.2% | 72.5% |
| 2021/22 | 95 | 70.5% | 66.0% | 75.6% |
| 2019/20 | 110 | 61.8% | 52.6% | 71.7% |
| 2018/19 | 108 | 54.6% | 60.0% | 50.8% |
| 2017/18 | 95 | 69.5% | 82.6% | 57.1% |
| 2016/17 | 117 | 71.8% | 71.2% | 72.5% |
Scotland average 49.3% · GB 50%
Tell me when the wait at Rothesay drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Rothesay
The centre is at 9 King Street, PA20 0DG, sharing a building with the employment office rather than occupying one of its own. Car tests only. GOV.UK states that you can access this test centre if you use a wheelchair.
There is no railway station on Bute and parking is not published for the site. King Street is close to the seafront, where the on-street bays fill through the day and in summer fill early, so leave more time than the walk needs.
The wait is the problem. Learners tested in July 2026 had waited a median of 23.6 weeks against a national 11.9, and a year earlier the same figure was 10.9 — nearly 13 weeks have been added in twelve months. The first week with a tenth of its slots still free was 24 weeks ahead. If you have a date, do not give it up lightly.
Going elsewhere means a crossing and a drive. Dunoon is 15.4 kilometres away, passes 71.5 per cent and was waiting 21.1 weeks. Brodick (Isle of Arran) is 29.4 kilometres at 67.3 per cent and 19.1 weeks. Greenock is 22.1 kilometres at 41.7 per cent and 9 weeks — much sooner, and much harder. Booking and cancelling is on GOV.UK only.
What DVSA publishes about Rothesay
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 can access this centre in a wheelchair.
Learner reports from Rothesay
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 Rothesay.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
C/O Dept. of Employment, 9 King StreetRothesay PA20 0DG
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- DunoonPA23 8BP · 15 km71.5%+21.5 vs GB21.1 wkswait
- GreenockPA16 8DD · 22 km41.7%-8.3 vs GB9 wkswait
- Brodick (Isle of Arran)Brodick · KA27 8AU · 29 km67.3%+17.3 vs GB19.1 wkswait
- LochgilpheadPA31 8QX · 32 km56.4%+6.4 vs GB14.3 wkswait
- DumbartonG82 3PD · 33 km52.8%+2.8 vs GB12.9 wkswait
- PaisleyPA1 2FB · 36 km48.6%-1.4 vs GB13.7 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Rothesay
- Is Rothesay an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 52% 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 Rothesay?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Rothesay was 23.6 weeks, and you had to look about 21 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 Rothesay driving test centre?
- Rothesay test centre is at C/O Dept. of Employment, 9 King Street, Rothesay, PA20 0DG. 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 Rothesay do a year?
- 125 car tests were conducted at Rothesay in 2025/26, of which 65 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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