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Driving on a foreign licence in Ireland. If you have a driving licence issued by an EU or EEA member state you can drive in Ireland as long as your existing licence is valid. If you wish to exchange your driving licence for an equivalent Irish driving licence when it expires, you must do so within 10 years of your driving licence expiring. Driving Licence Extensions Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton TD announced on the 2 July 2021 details of a further 10-month extension to the validity period of Driving Licences in response to the level 5 restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- first-time learner permit or full licence
- renewing your driving licence or learner permit
- updating personal details
- replacement of a lost/stolen or damaged licence or permit
- exchanging your foreign licence for an Irish licence
Applying online is a simple, straightforward process, no need to book an appointment or attend an NDLS centre. Save time and do it the smart way Apply Online today.
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All you need is your Public Services Card and your verified MyGovID for safe, secure access to your online application.
- Already have a verified MyGovID account? Apply Now
- If you haven’t got a verified MyGovID account but have a Public Services Card? You’re almost there. You can set up your verified MyGovID account using your public services card at www.mygovid.ie.
- Don’t yet have a Public Services Card? You can book a Public Service Card (PSC) appointment by phoning your local Intreo office. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 pandemic online PSC appointments are not available at www.mywelfare.ie
- If you are unable to fully complete your application today, you can save it and return within 20 days to complete.
For further details see our Applying Online FAQ’s here.
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Introduction
Driving offences in Ireland are set out in the RoadTraffic Acts 1961 - 2018.
Penalties on conviction for a driving offence vary and are determinedprincipally by the severity of the offence and the number of offences you havecommitted in the past. They can include monetary fines, endorsement of yourdriving licence withpenalty points, disqualification from driving and, in the most severecases, imprisonment.
This document outlines the rules governing the disqualification of drivinglicence holders in Ireland. It includes information on:
- The operation of disqualification orders
- The various types of disqualification orders; and
- How to apply for the restoration of your licence after being disqualified
The disqualification of drivers and the enforcement of the variousprovisions is a sharedresponsibility of the Road Safety Authority (RSA),the Departmentof Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS), the Courts Service and An Garda Síochána.
You can read more about different types of driving offences and theirassociated penalties in ourdedicated document. You can also access detailed information on penaltypoints for driving offences.
Operation of disqualification orders
In general, there are 2 ways you can be disqualified from driving.Either:
- You get too many penalty points (endorsements) on your licence or learner permit within a set period of time; or
- You are convicted of a driving offence for which the penalty imposed requires you to be disqualified from driving
Disqualification through penalty points
A penaltypoint is essentially a formal reprimand by the Gardaí endorsed on yourdriving licence record that shows you are guilty of a specific driving offence.Penalty points are recorded on your driving licence when:
- You are convicted in court of a driving offence that attracts penalty points; or
- You pay a fixed charge notice that was issued to you for an offence that also carries penalty points
If you get 12 penalty points in any 3 year period you are automaticallydisqualified from driving for 6 months.
Similarly, learnerpermit drivers and new drivers who are within two years of receiving theirfirst full licence are disqualified if they get 7 penalty points.
If you exceed your penalty point threshold, you will receive a letter fromeither the Courts Service or the RSA indicating the date on which your periodof disqualification will begin and requesting that you surrender your licencewithin 14 days of that date (for more see, ‘Surrendering your licence’below).
Disqualification through conviction
Not all driving offences resulting in an automatic disqualification requireyou to attend court. In most cases, a Garda will issue you with a fixedcharge notice setting out the fine payable and you have the option ofpaying the fixed charge and accepting the associated period of disqualificationor allowing the matter to proceed to court.
For example, if you hold a valid licence or learner permit at the time ofcommitting adrink driving offence and your alcohol level is below a certain limit, youmay be issued with a fixed charge. If you pay the fine stated on the noticewithin 28 days, the disqualification order associated with the offence will beimposed but you will not have to go to court.
However, the Gardaí do havethe power to arrest you for some offences, such as drink driving ordangerous driving, and a small number of very serious offences result in automaticsummons to court without the option of paying a fixed charge.
You can find out more about how criminal trials work in ourdedicated document. You can also read detailed information about criminallegal aid and access free legal advice from Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC)across the country.
Surrendering your licence
Depending on the type of disqualification order made by the court (for more,see 'Types of disqualification orders'), you will be required to surrender yourlicence to the National DriverLicence Service (NDLS) within 10 or 14 days of the order commencing.
Upon receiving your licence, the NDLS updates your driver record to reflectthe fact that your licence has been received. If it is not received, noamendment is made. Upon being disqualified from driving, your record will alsobe updated on the NationalVehicle and Driver File (NVDF). The NDLS retain your driving licence untilthe expiration of your period of disqualification, or until the removal of yourdisqualification order, and return it to you.
It is an offence not to surrender your licence, which carries a maximum fineof €1,000 on first conviction and up to €2,000 on a second or furtherconviction.
The penalty for driving while disqualified is a fine of up to €5,000and/or a prison term of 6 months.
Making an appeal
If you are convicted of a driving offence and disqualified from driving, yougenerally have 14 days to appeal the decision to theCircuit Court.
To initiate an appeal,you should lodge a notice of appeal together with a statutory declaration ofservice with the District CourtClerk in the court area where the decision to disqualify you was made. Ifyou decide to appeal the conviction, your disqualification will be suspendedpending the outcome of your appeal.
Types of disqualification orders
There are 3 types of driver disqualification orders in Ireland. Which orderyou receive depends on the nature of the offence which led to yourdisqualification.
1. Consequential disqualification
Consequential disqualification arises as a matter of course if you areconvicted of an offence for which the law mandates automatic disqualification.The court does not have discretion in relation to convictions in this category.
For example, penalties on conviction for dangerous driving causing death arethe same as penalties for manslaughter and also carry a mandatorydisqualification from driving for a minimum of 4 years. Similarly, sinceOctober 2011, all convictions in the District Court for drink driving offencescarry a mandatory disqualification from driving for a minimum of 6 months.
If a consequential disqualification order is made by a court, the drivergenerally has 10 days to surrender their licence. If, however, thedisqualification follows from having too many penalty points, the driver has 14days to surrender their licence.
2. Ancillary Disqualification
An ancillary disqualification is within the discretion of the court to applyand can be imposed as a penalty for any offence under the under the RoadTraffic Act 1961 which does not mandate consequential disqualification. Thecourt will decide how long the disqualification order will last based on theseverity of the offence and the perceived likelihood of the perpetratorre-offending.
For example, if you are convicted of driving without due care and attention,the law does not require that you be disqualified from driving (a consequentialdisqualification). But if you have a record of driving offences, the court maydetermine it proportional to impose an ancillary disqualification order.
If an ancillary disqualification order is made by a court, the drivergenerally has 10 days to surrender their licence.
3. Special Disqualification
The District Court has the discretion to disqualify a driver as aconsequence of an application made to it by a member of An Garda Síochánasubmitting that a person is unfit to driver a motor vehicle by reason of:
- Physical disease;
- Physical or mental disability; or
- Incompetence
Special disqualification orders occur infrequently, with only a handful ofsuch cases being taken each year. If a special disqualification order is madeby a court, the driver generally has 14 days to surrender their licence or makean appeal to the Circuit Court.
Driving Licence Ireland
What happens if I commit a driving offenceabroad?
Penalty points and endorsements on driving licences received in othercountries (including EU/EEA member states) do not transfer between states. Thismeans that if you got penalty points abroad or already have endorsements onyour driving licence before coming to Ireland, these penalty points orendorsements will not transfer over to an Irish driving licence.
If, however, you have been disqualified from driving in another country andthis was in addition to a prison sentence for driving offencesit may not be possible for you to exchangeyour full foreign driving licence for a full driving licence here inIreland.
The situation is different between Ireland and the UK (including NorthernIreland) for drivingdisqualifications for specified offences. This is provided for by Section40 of the Road Traffic Act 2016, which came into operation from 1 August2017.
Under this agreement between Ireland and the UK, if you hold an Irishlicence and you are disqualified from driving for committing a serious offencein the UK, you may also be disqualified from driving in Ireland.
Driving Licence Ireland Categories
The District Court can make an order to disqualify you from driving inIreland for the offence that was committed in the UK. The same rules apply ifyou are driving in Ireland on an UK licence, although the UK authorities candisqualify you without taking separate court action.
How to apply for the restoration ofyour licence
If you have been disqualified from driving, you can apply for yourdriving licence to be restored.
You make the application to theDistrict Court where the order to disqualify you was made. An applicationcosts €55. You must be more than halfway through your disqualification periodbefore you can make an application.
Your driving licence will not be restored if:
- The disqualification is for 2 years or less
- You have been given another disqualification in the past 10 years
The court can reduce the period of disqualification to two-thirds of theoriginal period of disqualification or to 2 years, whichever is the greater.
When a court is considering an application for the restoration of a drivinglicence it will look at the nature of the offence, the character of theapplicant and the conduct of the applicant after conviction.
You can get further information and the forms you need from the DistrictCourt clerk.