Monmouthshire · Wales
Abergavenny driving test centre
64.2% of car practical tests taken at Abergavenny passed in 2025-26, from 5,924 tests. Pass rates, local road types and how we prepare you for this centre.
Abergavenny pass rates
Pass rate 2025-26
64.2%
3,805 passes
National average
50%
+14.2 points here
Tests conducted
5,924
about 494 a month
Best published year
64.2%
2025-26
5,924 car practical tests were taken at Abergavenny in 2025-26. 64.2% passed, 14.2 percentage points above the national average of 50%. It is up on 2019-20, when 56.3% passed.
Over the published years the rate has moved between 56.3% in 2019-20 and 64.2% in 2025-26, so a single year's figure is a weak guide on its own. In 2025-26 the rate was 66.1% for male candidates and 62.2% for female candidates. That works out at roughly 494 tests a month, which is what waiting times at Abergavenny depend on more than the pass rate does.
- Abergavenny
- National average
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate | National | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 5,924 | 3,805 | 64.2% | 50% | 66.1% | 62.2% |
| 2024-25 | 4,650 | 2,841 | 61.1% | 48.7% | 62.8% | 59.3% |
| 2023-24 | 5,678 | 3,427 | 60.4% | 47.9% | 63% | 57.5% |
| 2022-23 | 4,941 | 2,999 | 60.7% | 48.4% | 64.2% | 57.2% |
| 2021-22 | 5,226 | 3,157 | 60.4% | 48.9% | 62.6% | 58.3% |
| 2019-20 | 3,546 | 1,997 | 56.3% | 45.9% | 59.1% | 53.9% |
Source: DVSA table DRT122A, car practical driving test pass rates by test centre, published on GOV.UK. Figures are financial years running April to March.
Where Abergavenny test centre is
Arrive ten minutes early and park where you can pull out easily. The waiting room is small at most centres, so your instructor will normally wait in the car park while you take the test.
Driving out of Abergavenny
Instructors who teach out of Abergavenny report the same road mix on most routes: unlit lanes with passing places, sharp unsigned junctions and a short built-up section. Learners who have only driven quiet estate roads tend to find the pace higher than they expect.
Speed for the conditions, rather than the posted limit, is the theme of the whole drive. Blind bends and hidden entrances mean the drive is about reading the road ahead. Abergavenny covers a wide slice of Monmouthshire, and instructors who teach it weekly know which approach roads back up.
Abergavenny takes candidates from across Monmouthshire, so plenty arrive having learned on a different road mix. That usually shows in the first five minutes of the drive.
A marked mock test on these roads is the most useful thing you can do in the week before your slot.
Roads you are likely to meet
Unlit lanes with passing places
Sharp unsigned junctions
A short built-up section
- Speed for the conditions, rather than the posted limit, is the theme of the whole drive.
- Blind bends and hidden entrances mean the drive is about reading the road ahead.
- Abergavenny covers a wide slice of Monmouthshire, and instructors who teach it weekly know which approach roads back up.
Test routes are no longer published by the DVSA, and examiners vary them. Treat this as a guide to the local road types rather than a route list. Book your test and check availability on GOV.UK.
Where marks are lost at Abergavenny
Bends, crests and sightlines
Drive to what you can see stopping in. Cresting a rise at 60 with no forward view reads as a lack of planning, not confidence.
How we prepare you for this centre
Practice where you will be marked
Your instructor works the roads around Abergavenny in the sessions before your test — unlit lanes with passing places included — not generic estate roads.
A marked mock run
Run silently and scored properly — no coaching mid-drive — then debriefed fault by fault.
Manoeuvres to standard
Bay park, parallel park, pull up on the right and forward bay — rehearsed on live roads near the centre rather than an empty car park.
Everything around the drive
Paperwork, show me / tell me questions and the independent drive, run through in advance.
Courses that suit test-centre prep
Abergavenny test centre FAQs
What are the test routes like at Abergavenny?
The DVSA stopped publishing official routes, and examiners vary them. In practice, routes from Abergavenny draw on unlit lanes with passing places, sharp unsigned junctions, a short built-up section, so those are the conditions to rehearse rather than a fixed sequence of streets.
What do learners most often fail on at Abergavenny?
bends, crests and sightlines — all of which come directly from the road types on the local network.
Can I take an intensive course and test at Abergavenny?
Yes. We match you with a DVSA approved instructor who teaches on these roads day to day, and we look for the earliest practical slot at Abergavenny.
How do I book a practical test at Abergavenny?
Practical tests are booked through GOV.UK with your provisional licence and theory certificate numbers. We can check cancellations for you once your course dates are set.
How early should I arrive at Abergavenny?
Ten minutes early is enough. Bring your provisional licence; the eyesight check happens outside before you get in the car, so know which plate you can read.
Should I travel to a different centre instead?
We will not sell you a pass rate. Published DVSA figures reflect who books there as much as the roads, and a centre an hour away that you cannot practise around is a worse bet than the one your instructor drives every week.
Not sure how many hours you need?
Answer four quick questions and we will recommend a course based on your experience, not a sales target.