Driving test centre

Athlone results: 46.3% (3,469)

Test centre in County Westmeath, with every figure from the CSO tables the Road Safety Authority publishes.
Car test pass rate, September 2025 to August 202646.3%6.1 points below the national 52.4%
  • 3,469car tests
  • 53 of 57car rank
  • 10weeks to invite (August 2026)
Take a free mock theory testSource: Road Safety Authority, published by the Central Statistics Office, PxStat ROA30, PxStat ROA36, CC BY 4.0, checked on 2026-09-16.

The car test pass rate at Athlone in Ireland was 46.3% over September 2025 to August 2026, from 3,469 car tests, against the national 52.4%. Source: Road Safety Authority, published by the Central Statistics Office, checked on 16 September 2026.

Car tests

How Athlone compares

Athlone finished 6.1 points below the national car rate of 52.4%, with 46.3% across 3,469 tests. That puts the centre among the five lowest rates of 57 centres with at least 500 car tests, at 5th lowest. Compared with the County Westmeath car rate of 48.7%, the figure here is 2.4 points lower.

Source: Road Safety Authority, published by the Central Statistics Office, PxStat ROA30, CC BY 4.0, checked on 2026-09-16.
Car tests

Car driving test pass rate at Athlone, month by month

Athlone rose 3.5 points between the first and last six months, from 44.5% to 48.0%. Monthly rates ran from 38.2% in October 2025 to 54.2% in June 2026.

Above the national car rate of 52.4%Below it

  1. Sep 202443.8%340 tests
  2. Oct 202444.7%288 tests
  3. Nov 202450.6%294 tests
  4. Dec 202446.0%201 tests
  5. Jan 202547.8%280 tests
  6. Feb 202542.3%160 tests
  7. Mar 202550.0%48 tests
  8. Apr 202557.7%186 tests
  9. May 202547.5%325 tests
  10. Jun 202548.0%316 tests
  11. Jul 202537.0%358 tests
  12. Aug 202532.9%162 tests
  13. Sep 202544.5%426 tests
  14. Oct 202538.2%213 tests
  15. Nov 202544.6%341 tests
  16. Dec 202540.1%181 tests
  17. Jan 202646.8%281 tests
  18. Feb 202650.0%270 tests
  19. Mar 202646.0%373 tests
  20. Apr 202647.2%252 tests
  21. May 202646.0%160 tests
  22. Jun 202654.2%376 tests
  23. Jul 202645.2%358 tests
  24. Aug 202647.6%238 tests
Show the monthly figures
MonthCar testsPass rate
September 202434043.8%
October 202428844.7%
November 202429450.6%
December 202420146.0%
January 202528047.8%
February 202516042.3%
March 20254850.0%
April 202518657.7%
May 202532547.5%
June 202531648.0%
July 202535837.0%
August 202516232.9%
September 202542644.5%
October 202521338.2%
November 202534144.6%
December 202518140.1%
January 202628146.8%
February 202627050.0%
March 202637346.0%
April 202625247.2%
May 202616046.0%
June 202637654.2%
July 202635845.2%
August 202623847.6%
Source: Road Safety Authority, published by the Central Statistics Office, PxStat ROA30, CC BY 4.0, checked on 2026-09-16.
Trend

Athlone pass rates by year

Athlone's car rate rose 0.9 points from 45.4% in September 2024 to August 2025 to 46.3% in the latest period. 3,469 car tests were delivered in the latest period, compared with 2,958 previously.

YearAll testsPass rate, all testsCar tests hereCar pass rate hereCar no showsCar tests not conductedCar pass rate nationally
20212,52462.2%2,13059.8%2416653.3%
20222,27555.8%1,89552.0%4117750.2%
20233,77749.9%3,21746.1%6825750.6%
20243,80550.7%3,17945.5%8625949.0%
20253,55249.2%2,99644.1%8122251.8%
2026 (8 months)2,71153.0%2,30848.1%7822452.3%
Source: Road Safety Authority, published by the Central Statistics Office, PxStat ROA30, CC BY 4.0, checked on 2026-09-16.
Every licence

Athlone by licence category

Athlone also delivered 631 tests in other licence categories, led by articulated truck (CE) with 190. Its 63.9% pass rate was 2.8 points below the national figure for that category. The remaining 7 categories are listed in the table below.

CategoryTestsPass rate hereNationally
Category B (Car or light van)3,46946.3%52.4%
Category CE (Articulated Truck)19063.9%66.7%
Category D (Bus)12374.1%65.7%
CPC Practical Test (Bus)102100.0%98.7%
Category C (Truck)9570.9%74.4%
CPC Practical Test (Truck/Artic)63100.0%98.7%
Category BE (Car with Trailer)5683.8%85.4%
Category C1 (Small truck / large van)1not published76.5%
Category C1E (Small truck / large van with trailer)1not published92.6%
Source: Road Safety Authority, published by the Central Statistics Office, PxStat ROA30, CC BY 4.0, checked on 2026-09-16.
Waiting and capacity

Athlone waiting times and capacity

Athlone's estimated invitation wait was 10 weeks at the end of August 2026, close to the national 11.6 weeks. 297 test slots were listed here in August 2026, with 97.0% filled.

  • 10 weeksEstimated wait for a test invitation, August 2026
  • 3Driver testers assigned
  • 297Test slots in the latest month
  • 97.0%Slots used
Source: Road Safety Authority, published by the Central Statistics Office, PxStat ROA36, PxStat ROA34, PxStat ROA38, CC BY 4.0, checked on 2026-09-16.
  • 828Applicants waiting at the end of August 2026, all test categories
  • 369Applicants scheduled for a test at the end of August 2026, all test categories
  • 646Applicants waiting at the end of August 2026, Category B (Car or light van)
  • 300Applicants scheduled for a test at the end of August 2026, Category B (Car or light van)
Source: Road Safety Authority, published by the Central Statistics Office, PxStat ROA32, CC BY 4.0, checked on 2026-09-16.
Read with care

Athlone: no shows and tests not conducted

Athlone's 46.3% pass rate uses the 3,469 car tests delivered, with 1,605 passes. Of 3,876 recorded outcomes, 113 were no shows and 294 were not conducted or abandoned.

3,469 car tests is enough for the car figure to be stable from month to month, but it still reflects who sat the test here, how much they had practised and the local roads, not only how strict a tester is.

How to read a centre's figures beside the national picture, and what the test checks, is in the driving test pass rates guide.

Source: Road Safety Authority, published by the Central Statistics Office, PxStat ROA30, CC BY 4.0, checked on 2026-09-16.
County Westmeath

Athlone and County Westmeath

Athlone's car rate was 4.4 points below Mullingar, which recorded 50.7% on 3,992 tests. That difference describes past results; it does not show why the rates differ.

  1. 1Mullingar3,992 car tests50.7%
  2. 2Athlone3,469 car tests46.3%
Source: Road Safety Authority, published by the Central Statistics Office, PxStat ROA30, PxStat ROA36, CC BY 4.0, checked on 2026-09-16.
Across the county line

Driving test centres in the counties next to Westmeath

County Westmeath borders Longford, Cavan, Meath, Offaly and Roscommon. If a test centre over the county line is closer to where you live or learn, these are the car driving test pass rates there for September 2025 to August 2026.

County Longford58.2% on 2,144 car tests

County Cavan53.6% on 3,721 car tests

County Meath55.9% on 11,277 car tests

County Offaly51.7% on 5,801 car tests

County Roscommon56.0% on 2,323 car tests

Source: Road Safety Authority, published by the Central Statistics Office, PxStat ROA30, CC BY 4.0, checked on 2026-09-16.