How to get an Irish driving licence

The Driver Theory Test

Everything starts here. You book through the Driver Theory Test website and you need a PPSN and photo ID. The test is taken on a computer at a test centre, in English or Irish.

Category B is 40 questions in 45 minutes with a pass mark of 35. Categories C and D are 100 questions in 120 minutes with a pass mark of 74.

The certificate is valid for two years — long enough to get a learner permit. There is a fee; check the current amount when you book.

The eyesight report

An optician or doctor fills in an Eyesight Report form. It takes about fifteen minutes and many opticians do it free of charge.

You need it for your first learner permit application. Categories C and D also require a Medical Report.

The learner permit

You apply in person at an NDLS centre, by appointment, bringing your theory certificate, eyesight report, PPSN and proof of identity and address.

A first permit lasts two years. You may only drive accompanied by someone who has held a full licence for at least two years, with L-plates front and rear. Motorways are off limits.

NDLS is the National Driver Licence Service — the body that issues licences. PPSN is the Personal Public Service Number.

EDT — the twelve mandatory lessons

Essential Driver Training is twelve one-hour lessons with an approved driving instructor (ADI). Leaving at least three days between lessons is recommended, so you can practise in between.

Each lesson is recorded in your logbook and in the RSA system. Without all twelve you cannot sit the practical test.

EDT applies to anyone whose first learner permit was issued after April 2011. Exchanging a foreign licence does not require it.

Choosing an instructor

Your instructor must be an ADI — an Approved Driving Instructor. You can check the ADI number against the RSA register; an instructor without one cannot deliver EDT.

Ask up front which car they use (manual or automatic), which test centre area they teach in, and what languages they teach in.

Remember that passing in an automatic gets you an automatic-only licence.

Booking the driving test

You can apply once you have held the learner permit for six months. Waiting lists at busy centres can be long, so apply while you are still working through EDT.

Check that all twelve EDT lessons show in the system before you book, or the application will be rejected.

What the test day requires

A valid learner permit and a roadworthy car: insurance, NCT if the car is old enough to need one, motor tax, working lights, indicators and brake lights, and legal tyres.

L-plates in place. The examiner checks the car before you start and can refuse it.

Belts, wipers, washers and demisters all have to work — these are exactly what you get asked about.

The driving test itself

It opens with rules-of-the-road questions and technical checks (“show me where you would check the brake fluid”), then an eyesight check: read a parked car’s registration plate.

Then roughly 30–40 minutes of driving: junctions, roundabouts, lane discipline, parking, a turnabout, reversing around a corner, a hill start. The examiner speaks and does not gesture.

Faults are graded 1 (minor), 2 (serious) and 3 (dangerous). More than nine grade 1s under one heading, or a single grade 2 or 3, means a fail.

The full licence

Passing gets you a Certificate of Competency. You take that to the NDLS and apply for the full licence; the certificate is valid for two years.

For your first two years you are a novice driver: N-plates are compulsory and your penalty-point limit is halved, seven instead of twelve.

Licences are normally issued for ten years, less depending on your age and category.