Cardiff · Wales
Cardiff (Llanishen) driving test centre
46.5% of car practical tests taken at Cardiff (Llanishen) passed in 2025-26, from 16,401 tests. Pass rates, local road types and how we prepare you for this centre.
Cardiff (Llanishen) pass rates
Pass rate 2025-26
46.5%
7,634 passes
National average
50%
-3.5 points here
Tests conducted
16,401
about 1,367 a month
Best published year
57.7%
2022-23
16,401 car practical tests were taken at Cardiff (Llanishen) in 2025-26. 46.5% passed, 3.5 percentage points below the national average of 50%. That is down from 52.3% in 2019-20.
Over the published years the rate has moved between 46.5% in 2025-26 and 57.7% in 2022-23, so a single year's figure is a weak guide on its own. In 2025-26 the rate was 48.1% for male candidates and 44.7% for female candidates. That works out at roughly 1,367 tests a month, which is what waiting times at Cardiff (Llanishen) depend on more than the pass rate does.
- Cardiff (Llanishen)
- National average
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate | National | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 16,401 | 7,634 | 46.5% | 50% | 48.1% | 44.7% |
| 2024-25 | 14,852 | 7,615 | 51.3% | 48.7% | 52.2% | 50% |
| 2023-24 | 16,178 | 8,159 | 50.4% | 47.9% | 51.2% | 49.5% |
| 2022-23 | 15,160 | 8,744 | 57.7% | 48.4% | 59.4% | 55.6% |
| 2021-22 | 10,305 | 5,879 | 57% | 48.9% | 59.8% | 54.3% |
| 2019-20 | 9,463 | 4,952 | 52.3% | 45.9% | 56.6% | 48.5% |
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 Cardiff (Llanishen) 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 Cardiff (Llanishen)
Tests from Cardiff (Llanishen) run mostly on suburban roads, a48 links and bus lanes. Those road types sit close together, so several of them can appear in the first ten minutes.
Busy suburban junctions and fast A-road sections.
Cardiff (Llanishen) covers learners in and around Cardiff, and it is where most of our Cardiff course students sit the test. If you are choosing between centres, practise the road types listed above rather than picking on pass-rate figures alone.
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
Suburban roads
A48 links
Bus lanes
- Busy suburban junctions and fast A-road sections.
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 Cardiff (Llanishen)
Reading the plate before the lane
A cyclist in a mandatory lane has priority you cannot take, and an examiner will mark the encroachment even if nothing was coming.
How we prepare you for this centre
Time on the real roads
We plan the final sessions around Cardiff (Llanishen) itself, so the suburban roads you meet on test day are ones you have already driven.
A full mock test
A full-length mock from the Cardiff (Llanishen) area, scored on the DVSA sheet so you see exactly where the marks went.
Manoeuvres in real locations
All four test manoeuvres, practised in the kind of streets examiners around Cardiff (Llanishen) actually use.
The paperwork and the routine
We walk the whole sequence — arrival, documents, eyesight check, independent drive — so nothing on the day is new.
Courses that suit test-centre prep
Cardiff (Llanishen) test centre FAQs
What are the test routes like at Cardiff (Llanishen)?
The DVSA stopped publishing official routes, and examiners vary them. In practice, routes from Cardiff (Llanishen) draw on suburban roads, a48 links, bus lanes, so those are the conditions to rehearse rather than a fixed sequence of streets.
What do learners most often fail on at Cardiff (Llanishen)?
reading the plate before the lane — all of which come directly from the road types on the local network.
Can I take an intensive course and test at Cardiff (Llanishen)?
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 Cardiff (Llanishen) or a nearby centre serving Cardiff.
How do I book a practical test at Cardiff (Llanishen)?
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 Cardiff (Llanishen)?
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.