Scotland · DVSA car test centre
Islay Island driving test centre
Argyll and Bute Council Offices Jamieson Street, Bowmore, Isle of Islay, PA43 7HL
Tests here: car.
Waiting times to September 2026 and pass rates for 2025–26, from DVSA statistics published .
Median wait, September 2026
–
No figure a year ago
Pass rate, 2025–26
–
Not published
Wait rank in Great Britain
–
Weeks to 10% of slots free
–
GB 19.7 weeks
DVSA didn't publish a waiting time for Islay Island for September 2026. The last one, for May 2026, was 22 weeks.
Waiting time over the last two years
Median weeks between booking a test and taking it, for tests taken each month.
- Islay Island
- Scotland
- Great Britain
Show these figures as a table
| Month | Islay Island | Scotland | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | – | 15.1 | 11.6 |
| August 2026 | – | 16.0 | 11.1 |
| July 2026 | – | 15.6 | 11.1 |
| June 2026 | – | 14.4 | 10.7 |
| May 2026 | 22.0 | 13.6 | 9.7 |
| April 2026 | – | 13.0 | 9.1 |
| March 2026 | 16.3 | 14.7 | 9.0 |
| February 2026 | – | 14.9 | 10.4 |
| January 2026 | – | 15.0 | 10.1 |
| December 2025 | – | 13.3 | 10.1 |
| November 2025 | 3.7 | 13.7 | 10.4 |
| October 2025 | – | 14.4 | 11.6 |
| September 2025 | – | 15.0 | 12.4 |
| August 2025 | – | 13.7 | 11.7 |
| July 2025 | 19.7 | 13.6 | 12.0 |
| June 2025 | – | 12.9 | 11.0 |
| May 2025 | – | 13.1 | 11.3 |
| April 2025 | 18.1 | 11.9 | 10.6 |
| March 2025 | – | 11.3 | 10.4 |
| February 2025 | – | 12.0 | 11.4 |
| January 2025 | – | 11.1 | 11.0 |
| December 2024 | – | 10.0 | 10.4 |
| November 2024 | – | 9.6 | 9.9 |
| October 2024 | 4.4 | 8.9 | 9.7 |
If your test is booked here
Since 9 June 2026 a car test can only be moved to one of the three centres DVSA lists as nearest by road (or back to the centre where you first booked), and you get two changes in total. For a test booked at Islay Island, those three are below. DVSA lists these as the centres a test booked here can be moved to.
| Centre | Driving distance (DVSA) | Median wait | vs Islay Island | Pass rate 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lochgilpheadabout 59 miles by road | about 59 mi | 23.1 weeks | – | 56.4% |
| Brodick (Isle of Arran)about 66 miles by road | about 66 mi | 23.9 weeks | – | 67.3% |
| Campbeltownabout 73 miles by road | about 73 mi | 25.7 weeks | – | 71.6% |
From DVSA's list of centres you can move your test to, which it says may change. The change service shows your actual options.
Pass rates
DVSA hasn't published pass rates for Islay Island for 2025–26.
- Islay Island
- Great Britain average
-
First attempts83.3%32.8 points above Great Britain (50.5%)
-
First attempt with zero faults0.0%2.9 points below Great Britain (2.9%)
Show these figures as a table
| Measure | Islay Island | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| First attempts | 83.3% | 50.5% |
| First attempt with zero faults | 0.0% | 2.9% |
Pass rate by year
- Islay Island
- Great Britain
Show these figures as a table
| Year | Islay Island | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | 74.6% | 45.9% |
| 2020–21 | – | 49.8% |
| 2021–22 | 72.0% | 48.9% |
| 2022–23 | 70.0% | 48.4% |
| 2023–24 | – | 47.9% |
| 2024–25 | – | 48.7% |
| 2025–26 | – | 50.0% |
Years run April to March; ’20 is 2020–21.
The nearest theory test centre
The closest theory test centre DVSA publishes figures for is Bowmore (Isle of Islay) (Ground Floor, Islay Gaelic Centre, Gartnatra, PA43 7LN), 0.9 mi away. In 2025–26, 49.2% of its 59 car theory tests were passes, 4.4 points above the Great Britain rate (44.8%). You can sit the theory test at any centre.
Nearby centres
You can book a new test at any centre in Great Britain, but once it's booked a car test can only be moved to the three centres DVSA names for that centre. Distances here are straight-line.
| Centre | 24 months | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbeltown | 35 mi | 25.7 weeks | 71.6% | |
| Lochgilphead | 38 mi | 23.1 weeks | 56.4% | |
| Brodick (Isle of Arran) | 46 mi | 23.9 weeks | 67.3% | |
| Rothesay | 48 mi | 21.7 weeks | 52.0% |
- This centre
- Shorter wait
- Other nearby
Reading these figures
- The waiting time is a median for tests taken that month: half of candidates booked closer to their test date, half further ahead. It is not the earliest date you could book today, which can be sooner when tests are cancelled or extra ones are added.
- DVSA marks figures from April 2025 onwards as provisional; they can be revised at the quarterly update.
- DVSA left out the median wait for 16 of the last 24 months at this centre (gaps in the chart), usually because too few tests were taken or the centre was closed.
- DVSA publishes no pass rate for Islay Island for 2025–26. It removes centres where only one examiner conducted tests, and new centres appear only after a full year.
- Pass rates are published once a year; the latest cover April 2025 to March 2026. Waiting times are monthly, to September 2026.
- The figures cover DVSA car tests only, not tests run by delegated examiners (such as some fleet and emergency service tests).
To book or move a test, use the official services: book your driving test or change your driving test on GOV.UK. DVSA explains when new tests are released. We have no link with DVSA and no access to its booking system.
Sources
DVSA, Driving test and theory test data: cars: tables DRT122F (waiting times), DRT121G (regional and national), DRT122A to DRT122E (pass rates), DRT122B (cancellations) and DRT112A (theory tests). Address and coordinates from GOV.UK's Find a driving test centre. Open Government Licence v3.0. Checked 3 November 2026.