Rothesay driving test centre
The pass rate, how long you'll wait for a test, and the other centres nearby.
The wait at Rothesay has grown. Over the last 12 months the typical wait averaged about 4½ months, up from about 2½ months in the 12 months before.
Quick answers
- Where is it? C/O Dept of Employment, 9 King Street, PA20 0DG. Directions
- What's the pass rate? 52%, compared with the 50% national average.
- How long is the wait? If you book now, expect about 5 months. Check gov.uk for the real earliest date.
- Is it hard to pass? Hard to say: it ran 125 tests in the 12 months to March 2026, just under the 500 a centre needs to be in our ranking.
- What's nearby? None within half an hour. The nearest is Dunoon, about a 49 minute drive away.
Waiting times
Before the pandemic, from May 2019 to February 2020, the typical wait here averaged about 2½ months.
| Year | Rothesay | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2½ months | 1½ months |
| 2020 | 6½ months | 2½ months |
| 2021 | 4 months | 4 months |
| 2022 | 3 months | 2½ months |
| 2023 | 2½ months | 2½ months |
| 2024 | 3½ months | 2 months |
| 2025 | 2½ months | 2½ months |
| 2026 | 5 months | 2½ months |
2019 starts in June and 2026 runs to September.
See how waits have changed across Britain in our report on driving test waiting times.
Other test centres nearby
No other test centre is within half an hour's drive of Rothesay. The nearest is Dunoon, about a 49 minute drive away. Its pass rate is 72% and its typical wait about 5 months.
| Test centre | Driving time | Pass rate | Typical wait | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Manual | Automatic | |||
| Dunoon 28 miles by road | 49 minutes | 71.5% | - | - | 5 months |
Driving times are without traffic.
Pass rate over the years
In the 12 months to March 2026, Rothesay's pass rate was 52%, compared with 50% across Great Britain. It has been above Britain's pass rate for the last nine years.
26% of tests here were in automatic cars, compared with 29% across Great Britain. That's 33 automatic tests, too few to give a reliable automatic pass rate.
Men had a higher pass rate than women here: 53%, compared with 51%. That's a similar gap to Great Britain's, where men's pass rate was 51% and women's 49%.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 to 2026 | 125 | 52.0% | 50.0% |
| 2023 to 2024 | 127 | 59.1% | 47.9% |
| 2022 to 2023 | 78 | 80.8% | 48.3% |
| 2021 to 2022 | 95 | 70.5% | 48.9% |
| 2019 to 2020 | 110 | 61.8% | 45.9% |
Each year runs from April to March.
Compare every centre in our report on driving test pass rates.
Before your test
In the weeks before your test, ask your instructor to take you round the roads near the centre, and practise the faults learners make most often. If you're still looking for an instructor, see who teaches in Largs.
Frequently asked questions
What's the pass rate for automatic cars at Rothesay?
There were only 33 tests in automatic cars here in the 12 months to March 2026: too few for the pass rate to mean much.
How can I get a test sooner at Rothesay?
Check gov.uk often: tests other people cancel come back up there.
How busy is Rothesay test centre?
It ran 125 car tests in the 12 months to March 2026. Only 11 of Britain's 311 test centres ran fewer.
Can I move my test from Rothesay to another centre?
Yes. You can move it to any centre with a free date, on gov.uk. Before you do, check your instructor can take you there, and bear in mind it's harder to pass on roads you don't know. The nearest other centre is Dunoon, about a 49 minute drive away.
Figures from DVSA: pass rates for the 12 months to March 2026, waits for September 2026, published 14 October 2026. Driving times by road, from OpenRouteService. How we worked these out.