Cardiff (Llanishen) driving test centre
Thornbury House, Unit 11 Lambourne Crescent, Cardiff Business Park, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, CF14 5GF
A swap only works when one of you moves forward and the other moves back, so the date somebody cannot use is worth as much as the date somebody wants. DVSA will exchange the two bookings over the phone, free. What they will not do is put the two of you in touch, and that is the part this page is for. Not ready for your Cardiff (Llanishen) date? How to postpone it without losing the fee.
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Cardiff (Llanishen) in numbers
46.5% of car tests at Cardiff (Llanishen) end in a pass, 3.5 points below the national average of 50%. Within Wales it ranks 20th of 21. It is also one of the busiest centres in the country, putting roughly 315 car tests through every week, which means a lot of learners holding a Cardiff (Llanishen) slot at any one time. The rate has moved noticeably too: down 4.8 points on the year before (51.3%).
Pass rate
Below average- Passed here
- 46.5%16,401 tests, Apr 2025 to Mar 2026
- National average
- 50%same period
- On last year
- -4.8points down (51.3% the year before)
Waiting time
Shorter than most- Median wait
- 7.7 weeks4.7 weeks shorter than the national median of 12.4
- Still free to book
- 34.1%of the next 24 weeks
- Already taken
- 3,290of 4,994 slots in that window
Centres you can swap with from Cardiff (Llanishen)
GOV.UK allows a swap with a learner booked at the same centre as you, at one of your three nearest, or at a centre you first booked at. Three nearest is measured by driving distance avoiding motorways, and DVSA publishes the list. A swap moves both learners, so the condition has to hold from each side, and the centres below are the ones that work in both directions from Cardiff (Llanishen). Anywhere else is refused on the call.
| Centre | Distance | Wait, weeks | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barry | about 13 miles | 9.1 | 57% +10.5 |
| Llantrisant | about 14 miles | 6.4 | 54% +7.5 |
| Newport (Gwent) | about 15 miles | 6.7 | 48.9% +2.4 |
The four rules, applied here
You both need a change left
Two changes per car test, and a swap spends one of them. How changing a test works.
10 working days' notice
To whichever of the two tests is first. Monday to Saturday count; Sundays and public holidays do not.
Centres near each other
Cardiff (Llanishen)'s own three nearest are Barry, Llantrisant, Newport (Gwent).
Same test type
Weekday with weekday; evening and weekend tests only with each other.
Getting to Cardiff (Llanishen), and what to take
Straight from DVSA's own list of test centres. Worth reading the week before rather than the morning of.
Where it is
Thornbury House, Unit 11 Lambourne Crescent
Cardiff Business Park
Cardiff
South Glamorgan
CF14 5GF
- There are car parking spaces available at the centre
- Toilets
- You cannot get into the test centre in a wheelchair - the examiner will meet you at your vehicle
What to take
- Your UK driving licence. No photocard means a valid passport and your paper licence.
- Your theory test pass certificate if you have it. If it is lost the examiner can look the pass up.
- A car. Most people use their instructor's.
Driving around Cardiff (Llanishen) before test day
Nobody can give you the examiner's route. DVSA stopped publishing routes in 2010, and four tests in five are led by a sat nav the examiner sets up, so there is no sequence to learn. The roads are a different matter: which roundabout, which multi-lane junction, where the limit changes. Instructors film those, and watching them is the cheapest practice available.
Find Cardiff (Llanishen) route videos
The roundabouts around Cardiff (Llanishen)
Every named roundabout with three or more exits within three miles of the centre, nearest first, read off OpenStreetMap. DVSA stopped publishing test routes in 2010, so this is not a route and nobody can tell you which of these you will be sent round. It is the ground the test is driven on, and these are the junctions worth having met before the morning rather than on it.
| Roundabout | Exits | From the centre | Roads that meet there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thornhill Road | 5 | 1.0 miles | Beulah Road, Caerphilly Road (A469), Excalibur Drive, Thornhill Road (A469), Tŷ Glas Road (B4562) |
| Gabalfa Interchange | 3 | 1.3 miles | North Road, Whitchurch Road (A469) |
| Llanedeyrn Interchange | 3 | 2.2 miles | A48 (A48), Southern Way (A4232) |
| Coryton Roundabout | 6 | 2.2 miles | Longwood Drive, M4 (M4), Merthyr Road (A4054), Northern Avenue, Pendwyallt Road (A4054) |
| Pontprennau Interchange | 3 | 2.6 miles | Capel Edeyrn, Pentwyn Link Road (A4232) |
| Llantrisant Road | 3 | 2.7 miles | Danescourt Way, Llantrisant Road (A4119), Waterhall Road |
| Pentwyn Link Road | 3 | 2.8 miles | Heol Pontprennau, Pentwyn Link Road (A4232) |
| Pentwyn Interchange | 3 | 3.0 miles | Cardiff Gate, Maes-Y-Bryn Road, Pentwyn Link Road (A4232) |
| Clare Street | 3 | 3.0 miles | Clare Street (A4119), Lower Cathedral Road (A4119), Neville Street |
Swaps at Cardiff (Llanishen), month by month
Most people know the month they need rather than the date. Each of these says how much of that month can still be swapped into under the ten working day rule, and which centres a Cardiff (Llanishen) booking can move to. DVSA releases slots in a rolling 24-week window, so these are the months anybody can be holding a test in.
Three quick questions
One each on the car safety questions, road signs and warning lights: the parts of the test you can learn off the page. Have a guess, then open the answer.
-
Show me, tell me
Tell me: what is the legal minimum tread depth for a car tyre?
- 2.5 mm around the edges
- 3 mm across the central three quarters
- 1.6 mm across the central three quarters of the tread, around the whole tyre
- 1.0 mm across the whole tread
Show the answer
1.6 mm across the central three quarters of the tread, around the whole tyre. DVSA's answer: no cuts or bulges, and 1.6 mm of tread across the central three quarters of the breadth and around the entire circumference.
-
Road signs
A direction sign with a green background points along which kind of road?
- A local road
- A motorway
- A primary route
- A tourist route
Show the answer
A primary route. Green backgrounds are primary routes, blue are motorways, white are other roads, and brown point to tourist attractions.
-
Warning lights
An amber warning light comes on. What does amber generally mean?
- Stop immediately in the road
- Something is switched on
- Have it checked soon; you can usually drive on carefully
- The car needs fuel
Show the answer
Have it checked soon; you can usually drive on carefully. Amber is a fault worth checking soon, such as engine management, ABS or tyre pressure. Read the handbook for your car.
Swapping at Cardiff (Llanishen): questions
Can I swap a test at Cardiff (Llanishen) for one at another centre?
Only if it is the same centre, one of your three nearest, or a centre you first booked at. A swap moves both learners, so it has to work from each side. From Cardiff (Llanishen) the list is Barry, Llantrisant, Newport (Gwent). Anywhere else is refused on the call.
What is the pass rate at Cardiff (Llanishen)?
46.5% of car tests at Cardiff (Llanishen) ended in a pass between April 2025 and March 2026, from 16,401 tests. The national average over the same period was 50%, so Cardiff (Llanishen) is 3.5 points below it, ranking 251st of 314 centres in Great Britain. These are DVSA's own published figures and they describe the centre, not you.
Which nearby centre has a better pass rate than Cardiff (Llanishen)?
Of the centres you can legally move a Cardiff (Llanishen) test to, Barry has the highest pass rate at 57%, against 46.5% here. That is a difference in the centre, not a promise about your test, and a swap has to suit the other learner too.
How long is the wait for a driving test at Cardiff (Llanishen)?
7.7 weeks. That is the median wait between booking and taking a test for people who sat one at Cardiff (Llanishen) in September 2026, from DVSA's own monthly figures, so half of them waited longer. The national median that month was 12.4 weeks. 34.1% of the slots in DVSA's 24-week booking window here were still free to book. A swap sidesteps that queue entirely, because you are moving into a date another learner has already booked.
How long does it take to find a swap at Cardiff (Llanishen)?
That depends on how many learners hold a slot here and whether any of them want the opposite of what you want. DVSA runs about 315 car tests a week at Cardiff (Llanishen), so the pool holding a slot is large. Join the list at the top of this page and we email you when a learner who could swap with you joins. A three-way chain often resolves faster than waiting for a perfect pair.
Does swapping at Cardiff (Llanishen) cost anything?
No. You exchange slots rather than rebooking, so you keep your original booking reference and payment. Matching here is free, and DVSA does the swap on the phone at no charge.
How much notice do I need?
At least 10 full working days before whichever of the two tests comes first. Monday to Saturday count as working days; Sundays and public holidays do not, so the real deadline falls earlier than the calendar suggests.
Can my instructor arrange it for me?
No. Since 12 May 2026 only the candidate can book or manage their own test, and that applies to instructors too. Yours can sit next to you while you make the call.
Is this the same as a cancellation app for Cardiff (Llanishen)?
No. A cancellation app scans the booking service for unclaimed appointments, and since 12 May 2026 learners are not allowed to use services that do that. A swap works the other way round: the date you want is already booked by another learner, the two of you agree to exchange, and you make the call yourself.
Your Cardiff (Llanishen) date is somebody's dream date
Somewhere there is a learner holding the slot you want, who would rather have yours. Join the list and we email you when a learner who could swap with you joins. Free, no card, nothing to pay when it works.