S.I. No. 527/2025 - Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2025

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 7th November, 2025.

I, SEAN CANNEY, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 5 (1), 35 (1) and 42 (inserted by the Road Traffic Act 2006 (No. 23 of 2006)) of the Road Traffic Act 1961 (No. 24 of 1961) and the National Roads and Road Traffic (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2002 ( S.I. No. 298 of 2002 ) (as adapted by the Transport, Tourism and Sport (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2020 ( S.I. No. 351 of 2020 )), and the Transport (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2025 ( S.I. No. 144 of 2025 ), hereby make the following regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2025.

(2) These Regulations come into operation on 1 November 2026.

2. The Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 537 of 2006 ) are amended—

(a) in Regulation 17—

(i) by substituting for paragraph (2) the following:

“(2) A learner permit shall be granted—

(a) for a period of 2 years beginning on the day on which the permit is granted, or

(b) for a period of two years together with the unexpired period of a learner permit previously granted to the applicant.”,

and

(ii) by substituting for paragraph (4) the following:

“(4) A one year learner permit shall be granted -

(a) for a period of one year beginning on the day on which the permit is granted, or

(b) for a period of two years together with the unexpired period of a learner permit previously granted to the applicant.”,

(b) by substituting for Regulation 19 the following:

“Application for learner permit.

19. (1) (a) A person shall not apply for a learner permit to drive vehicles of a category where that person has held a learner permit in respect of vehicles in that category for a period of 4 years or more unless, within the period of 2 years ending on the date of application, that person underwent a driving test in relation to vehicles of that category and produces evidence to that effect to the licensing authority.

(b) A person to whom subparagraph (a) relates and who has not produced evidence to the effect that he or she underwent a driving test, may subsequently apply for a learner permit in respect of that category (other than category A, A1, A2, AM, B or W) where such application is accompanied by evidence that a driving test has been arranged for that person in respect of a vehicle in that category. Notwithstanding Regulation 17(2), a learner permit granted in accordance with this subparagraph has effect for a period of one year.

(c) A person to whom subparagraph (a) relates and who has held a learner permit to drive vehicles of category A, A1, A2, AM, B or W for a period of 3, 5 or 6 years at the expiry date of the then current learner permit held by him or her, any subsequent learner permit granted shall, notwithstanding Regulation 17(4), be issued for a period of one year only.

(d) Where a person has held a learner permit for driving vehicles of category A, A1, A2, AM, B or W for a period of 7 years or more at the expiry date of the then current learner permit held by the person, the application shall be regarded as an application for a first learner permit.

(2) A person shall not apply for a first learner permit in respect of vehicles in—

(a) category C1, C, D1 or D, unless the person holds a driving licence in respect of vehicles in category B,

(b) category BE, CE, C1E, DE or D1E, unless the person holds a driving licence in respect of the drawing vehicle appropriate to the category which is the subject of the application,

(c) any category in respect of which the person holds a recognised driving licence, or

(d) category A, unless the person holds for not less than 2 years a driving licence in respect of category A2 or has attained the age of 24 years.

(3) An application for a learner permit in respect of a category of vehicles is regarded as an application for a first learner permit in respect of that category, unless the applicant held a learner permit in that category at some point in time within the period of 2 years preceding the date of application that was not revoked under Regulation 21A(2).”,

(c) in Regulation 20(5)(d), by substituting “or a learner permit within the period of 2 years” for “or a provisional licence within the period of 5 years”,

and

(d) by inserting after Regulation 27 the following:

“Certain limitation on learner permit holder applying for certificate of competency.

27A. A person who is granted a learner permit for a vehicle in category A, A1, AM, W, B by a licensing authority and has not previously held, within the period of 2 years prior to the granting, such a permit in that category, is not entitled to make an application for a certificate of competency to an issuing authority within the period of 6 months from the day the permit comes into force.”,

3. The Road Traffic (Licensing of Learner Drivers) (Certificates of Competency) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. No. 725 of 2007 ) are revoked.

GIVEN under my hand,

4 November 2025

SEÁN CANNEY,

Minister of State at the Department of Transport.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations amend the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 537 of 2006 ) to —

• amend the standard period for which a learner permit is granted from 2 years only to a period of 2 years or 2 years together with the unexpired period of a learner permit previously granted to the applicant.

• limit the number of times an applicant can renew their learner permit in categories AM, A, A1, A2, B or W without having provided evidence to the licencing authority that they underwent a driving test in relation to vehicles of that category.

• limit the number of years an applicant can hold a learner permit in those categories to a maximum of 7 years, where any subsequent application in those categories shall be regarded as an application for a first learner permit.

• reduce the time in which an expired learner permit may be renewed, from 5 years to 2 years.

• remove the illness concession, where a learner who did not sit a test because of ill health may still renew their permit.

• provide that a person who is granted a learner permit for a vehicle in category A, A1, AM, W, or B by a licensing authority and has not previously held, within the period of 2 years prior to the granting, such a permit in that category, is not entitled to make an application to an issuing authority for a certificate of competency within the period of 6 months from the day the permit comes into force.