You must:
You must bring one of the following forms of identity with you to your driver theory test:
Your car must:
There are 15 driving licence categories. These cover different categories of vehicle.
| Category | Vehicle type | Minimum age* |
|---|---|---|
| AM | Mopeds and Light quadricycles. | 16 years |
| A1 | Motorcycles with an engine capacity not exceeding 125 cubic centimetres, with a power rating not exceeding 11 kW and with a power to weight ratio not exceeding 0.1 kW/kg. Motor tricycles with a power rating not exceeding 15 kW. | 16 years |
| A2 | Motorcycles with a power rating not exceeding 35 kW, with a power to weight ratio not exceeding 0.2 kW/kg and not derived from a vehicle of more than double its power. | 18 years |
| A | Motorcycles and Motor tricycles. | 24 years or 20 with progressive access
21 motor tricycles |
| B |
Vehicles (other than motorcycles, mopeds, work vehicles or land tractors) having a MAM1 not exceeding 3,500 kg, designed and constructed for the carriage of no more than eight passengers in addition to the driver. The vehicle may tow a trailer (a) where the MAM1 of the trailer is not greater than 750 kg or (b) where the MAM1 of the trailer exceeds 750kg the combined MAM1 of the towing vehicle and the trailer is not greater than 3,500 kg. Quadricycles (other than those covered by AM) are also covered by this category. |
17 years |
| BE | Combination of drawing vehicles in category B and trailer where the MAM1 of the trailer is not greater than 3,500 kg. | 17 years |
| W | Work vehicles and land tractor with or without a trailer. | 16 years |
| C | Vehicles (other than work vehicles or land tractors) having a MAM1exceeding 3,500 kg, designed and constructed for the carriage of no more than eight passengers in addition to the driver and where the MAM1 of the trailer is not greater than 750 kg. | 21 years or 18 with CPC |
| CE | Combination of drawing vehicles in category C and trailer where the MAM1 of the trailer is greater than 750 kg. | 21 years or 18 with CPC |
| C1 | Vehicles in category C having a MAM1 weight not exceeding 7,500 kg, designed and constructed for the carriage of no more than eight passengers in addition to the driver and where the MAM1 of the trailer is not greater than 750 kg. | 18 years |
| C1E |
Combination of drawing vehicles in category C1 and trailer where the MAM1 of the trailer is greater than 750 kg and where the MAM1 of the drawing vehicle and trailer combined does not exceed 12,000 kg. Combination of drawing vehicles in category B with trailer where the MAM1 of the trailer is greater than 3,500 kg and where the MAM1 of the drawing vehicle and trailer combined does not exceed 12,000 kg. |
18 years |
| D | Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of more than eight passengers in addition to the driver and where the MAM1 of the trailer is not greater than 750 kg. | 24 years or 21 years with CPC |
| DE | Combination of drawing vehicles in category D and trailer where the MAM1 of the trailer is greater than 750 kg. | 24 years or 21 years with CPC |
| D1 | Vehicles in category D designed and constructed for the carriage of not more than sixteen passengers in addition to the driver with a maximum length not exceeding 8 metres and where the MAM1 of the trailer is not greater than 750 kg. | 21 years |
| D1E | Combination of drawing vehicles in category D1 and trailer where the MAM1 of the trailer is greater than 750 kg. | 21 years |
This refers to minimum age at which you can hold a learner permit in that category.
"Passenger accommodation" means seating accommodation for passengers in addition to the driver.
1 Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM1). Manufacturers generally refer to it as gross vehicle weight (g.v.w.) and it is usually displayed on a metal plate attached to the vehicle by the manufacturer.
Tricycle: Where a person had an entitlement to the category B full licence prior to 19 January 2013 that also covered them to ride tricycles. They still retain that entitlement. All first full licences issued for the category B from 19 January 2013 would not have this entitlement and therefore they must take out the appropriate bike category to ride a trike. The appropriate bike category will depend on the CC of the tricycle.
Moped: Where a person was issued the category B full licence prior to 21 October 2006 which also covered them to ride mopeds and therefore are entitled to the moped category AM provided the category B licence has not expired for more than 10 years.
You can learn to drive in an automatic or manual car. Either way you will develop good driving skills, safe driver behaviour and road safety awareness.
However, if you pass your test in an automatic car, you are limited to driving automatic cars. This restriction will appear on your driving licence as category code 78.
If you later want to drive a manual car, you will have to apply for another learner permit and pass the driving test again in a manual car.
You're on your way to becoming a safe, qualified driver of a car or light van in the Republic of Ireland.
But first, a few key points:
You must:
Make sure you have the right form of identity to bring with you to your driver theory test. Otherwise you won't be able to take the test and will lose your test fee.
Only the following forms of identity are acceptable:
You must be normally resident in Ireland to apply for a learner permit or driving licence.
If you want to apply for a learner permit or driving licence, you must be able to prove that you were born in or have nationality of the European Union, European Economic Area or Switzerland or were granted residency status in Ireland.
You must: