About Barry
Barry is a DVSA driving test centre serving Barry and the surrounding Vale of Glamorgan area. The centre address is Business Support Centre, Hood Road, Innovation Quarter, The Waterfront, Barry, CF62 5QN. In 2025/26 it recorded a car practical test pass rate of 61%, against a national average of 50.0%. The figures on this page are drawn from the official DVSA driving test statistics (gov.uk).
Is Barry an easy or hard test centre?
At 61%, Barry’s pass rate is well above the national average. That puts it in the top quarter of all 293 DVSA car test centres by pass rate – one of the easier test centres in the UK. A lower pass rate does not mean the test itself is different; it usually reflects the local road network and traffic conditions examiners route candidates through. Intensive, structured tuition matched to those specific local roads and junctions is the single biggest lever a learner has over their own result here.
Where Barry sits in the UK table
Set against its neighbours, Barry is a useful case study: Bangor (61%), Abergavenny (61%) and Brecon (62%) are its closest comparators, and Barry is the weakest of that local group. The Barry driving test centre pass rate is 61% for 2025/26, the 33rd highest of the 293 UK test centres tracked by GetMyPass – 11 points above the national average of 50%.
Percentile-wise the centre lands in the top quarter of the national table, meaning 61 of every 100 tests taken here in 2025/26 ended in a pass. A ranking is a description of local conditions – Vale of Glamorgan traffic, junction design and route complexity – not a handicap or a head start, so the sensible response is to train on the exact roads the examiners use around Barry.
Waiting times are the other number to plan around at Barry: DVSA figures for May 2026 put the national median wait for a car practical test at 9.7 weeks, with the 10% availability measure at 21.8 weeks (GOV.UK, published 18 June 2026), while the DVSA’s December 2024 regional update put Wales among the shortest-waiting regions at around 13 weeks. GetMyPass builds intensive courses for learners testing at Barry so they reach test standard in as little as a week and can take an earlier slot with confidence instead of pushing the date back.
Nearby test centres compared
Here are the 2025/26 pass rates for Barry and its nearest DVSA alternatives at a glance.
| Test centre | Pass rate 2025/26 | vs national average (50%) |
|---|---|---|
| Barry (this centre) | 61% | +11 pts |
| Bangor | 61% | +11 pts |
| Abergavenny | 61% | +11 pts |
| Brecon | 62% | +12 pts |
Test routes around Barry
Barry’s routes combine the B4267 Port Road coastal stretch and the elevated approach roads around Barry Island with the residential grid of Cadoxton and Palmerstown, giving experience of coastal conditions, steep gradients and busy town-centre junctions. A key local feature examiners often route candidates past is B4267 Port Road: The Port Road’s undulating alignment, sea-wind crosswinds and regular pedestrian crossings serving the seafront produce the attentive, adaptive driving that distinguishes test-ready candidates.
Booking your test at Barry in 2026
Practical driving tests at Barry are booked directly with the DVSA at gov.uk – test booking is self-book only, and since 12 May 2026 third-party scanning or slot-finding apps are banned under DVSA rules. Once booked, you can change your test date up to 2 times, and you need to give at least 10 working days’ notice to do so. Test fees are set by the DVSA at £62 on weekdays or £75 for an evening, weekend or bank holiday slot, and are paid by the learner, not GetMyPass. What GetMyPass does is get you test-ready fast and help you watch for genuine early availability – we never book or arrange your test for you, and the DVSA examiner alone decides who passes – we simply help you maximise your chances.
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FAQs
What is the pass rate at Barry?
The figure GetMyPass holds for Barry is a 61% car practical test pass rate in 2025/26, measured against the 50% national average. On that number it sits at #33 of the 293 DVSA car test centres with published data, making it one of the easier test centres in the UK. The DVSA refreshes these statistics every year, so treat the rate as a snapshot of local difficulty rather than a fixed fact about the centre. What actually moves your own odds is preparation on the road network examiners test on – the junctions, roundabouts and traffic patterns around Barry. That is the gap structured local tuition closes, and it is exactly where a GetMyPass intensive course concentrates your hours before test day.
How do I book a driving test at Barry?
Booking is something you do yourself rather than through GetMyPass: driving tests at Barry are booked directly with the DVSA at gov.uk, and since 12 May 2026 the DVSA has banned third-party scanning and slot-finding apps, making self-booking the only route. Choose Barry as your preferred centre when you apply. A booked test can be moved up to 2 times, and each change needs at least 10 working days’ notice. Fees are set nationally – £62 on weekdays, £75 for evening, weekend or bank holiday slots – and you pay the DVSA directly. What we handle is different: a GetMyPass course times your training so you reach test standard before your date arrives, with honest guidance on realistic waiting times around Barry.
Can GetMyPass help me pass faster at Barry?
GetMyPass can compress the journey, though nobody can promise the result. Our intensive courses around Barry are planned against the road network examiners at Barry actually use – the junctions, roundabouts and traffic conditions that decide most tests here. Training runs day by day with one instructor from first lesson to test day, which keeps progress compounding instead of resetting each week. Since Barry is one of the easier test centres in the UK, the course leans into the situations local learners find hardest. The DVSA examiner alone decides who passes, and we make no guarantees about the outcome; what we control is how ready you are when you walk in, and readiness is what a GetMyPass course is engineered to maximise.
Where is Barry located?
Students booking with GetMyPass sit their test at Barry itself, which serves Barry and the wider Vale of Glamorgan area. The centre address is Business Support Centre, Hood Road, Innovation Quarter, The Waterfront, Barry, CF62 5QN. Plan the journey in advance: know where you will park, how long the drive takes at that time of day, and where you will wait before the test starts. Candidates travelling from further afield should build in a generous buffer, because rushing in at the last minute is a poor way to start a test. On the day itself, your GetMyPass instructor meets you ahead of the appointment and confirms the route to the centre in advance, so finding the site is never left to chance.