Irvine driving test centre
Century Court, 11 Riverside Way, Riverside Business Park, Irvine, Ayrshire and Arran, KA11 5DJ
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 Irvine date? How to postpone it without losing the fee.
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No test booked yet? There is nothing to swap until you have one. Book on GOV.UK, then come back.
Irvine in numbers
55.7% of car tests at Irvine end in a pass, 5.7 points above the national average of 50%. Within Scotland it ranks 46th of 74. It runs roughly 95 car tests a week, so there is a steady population of learners holding a slot here. The rate has moved noticeably too: up 6.5 points on the year before (49.2%).
Pass rate
Above average- Passed here
- 55.7%4,941 tests, Apr 2025 to Mar 2026
- National average
- 50%same period
- On last year
- +6.5points up (49.2% the year before)
Waiting time
Longer than most- Median wait
- 17.6 weeks5.2 weeks longer than the national median of 12.4
- Still free to book
- 4.4%of the next 24 weeks
- Already taken
- 1,142of 1,194 slots in that window
Centres you can swap with from Irvine
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 Irvine. Anywhere else is refused on the call.
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
Irvine's own three nearest are Ayr, Cumnock, Paisley.
Same test type
Weekday with weekday; evening and weekend tests only with each other.
Getting to Irvine, 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
Century Court, 11 Riverside Way
Riverside Business Park
Irvine
Ayrshire and Arran
KA11 5DJ
- Car parking at the centre
- Toilets
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 Irvine 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 Irvine route videos
The roundabouts around Irvine
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newmoor Interchange | 3 | 0.5 miles | Annick Road (B7081), B7081 (B7081), Long Drive (B7080) |
| Oldhall Roundabout | 3 | 0.8 miles | Long Drive (B7080), Meadowhead Road, Moss Drive (B7080) |
| Newhouse Interchange | 3 | 0.8 miles | Moss Drive (A737), Moss Drive (B7080) |
| Towerlands Roundabout | 3 | 1.0 miles | Arkwright Way, Long Drive (B7080), Towerlands Road |
| Merryvale Roundabout | 4 | 1.2 miles | A71 (A71), A737 (A737), Ayr Road (A737), Riverway |
| Corsehill Mount Roundabout | 3 | 1.3 miles | A71 (A71), B730 (B730) |
| Stanecastle Roundabout | 5 | 1.5 miles | Crompton Way, Long Drive (A736), Long Drive (B7080), Manson Road (A736), Middleton Road (B769), Stanecastle Road |
| Marress Roundabout | 4 | 1.6 miles | Fullerton Street (A737), Marress Road (A737), Waterside |
| Victoria Roundabout | 4 | 1.7 miles | Cochrane Street, Dublin Quay, Harbour Road |
| Portland Roundabout | 4 | 1.7 miles | Beach Drive, Harbour Road, Marine Drive, Portland Road |
| Meadowhead Roundabout | 4 | 1.8 miles | Auchengate, Irvine Bypass (A78), Troon Bypass (A78) |
| Littlestane Roundabout | 3 | 2.0 miles | Littlestane Road, Lochilbo Road, Stotfield Road |
Swaps at Irvine, 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 Irvine 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?
- 1.6 mm across the central three quarters of the tread, around the whole tyre
- 3 mm across the central three quarters
- 2.5 mm around the edges
- 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
Why do the stop and give way signs have shapes no other sign uses?
- So they can be recognised even when the face is hidden, for example by snow or dirt
- So they can be seen from further away at night
- So they fit on narrow footways
- Because they are the oldest signs
Show the answer
So they can be recognised even when the face is hidden, for example by snow or dirt. The octagon and the upside-down triangle can be recognised from their shape alone, even from behind or when the face is covered.
-
Warning lights
An amber warning light comes on. What does amber generally mean?
- The car needs fuel
- Have it checked soon; you can usually drive on carefully
- Something is switched on
- Stop immediately in the road
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 Irvine: questions
Can I swap a test at Irvine 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 Irvine the list is Ayr, Cumnock. Anywhere else is refused on the call.
What is the pass rate at Irvine?
55.7% of car tests at Irvine ended in a pass between April 2025 and March 2026, from 4,941 tests. The national average over the same period was 50%, so Irvine is 5.7 points above it, ranking 102nd 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 Irvine?
Of the centres you can legally move a Irvine test to, Cumnock has the highest pass rate at 67.4%, against 55.7% 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 Irvine?
17.6 weeks. That is the median wait between booking and taking a test for people who sat one at Irvine in September 2026, from DVSA's own monthly figures, so half of them waited longer. The national median that month was 12.4 weeks. 4.4% 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 Irvine?
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 95 car tests a week at Irvine, so the pool holding a slot is reasonable. 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 Irvine 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 Irvine?
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 Irvine 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.