Foreign driving licences in Ireland

You can exchange a driving licence issued by an EU member state or an EEA member state (Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland) for an Irish driving licence.

You can also exchange a driving licence issued by certain recognised states for an Irish driving licence. See ‘Recognised states below’.

You can drive on your Ukrainian driving licence while in Ireland under temporary protection. You can no longer exchange your Ukrainian licence for an Irish licence. Read more in our page on coming to Ireland from Ukraine.

If your driving licence was issued by a country that is not recognised for driving licence exchange, you cannot exchange your licence for an Irish licence. You must go through the full driver licensing procedure starting with the driver theory test. However, when you have your learner permit, you will only need to take 6 essential driver training (EDT) lessons instead of the usual 12 lessons.

You can exchange your licence if it was issued by an EU or EEA country. If you want to exchange your EU or EEA licence, you must do so within 10 years of its expiry date. You can also exchange a UK licence.

If it was issued by a country that is outside the EU or EEA, you can apply to exchange it for an Irish licence if your licence was issued by:

• Australia
• Canada (but not from all provinces – see note below)
• Georgia
• Gibraltar
• Guernsey
• Isle of Man
• Japan
• Jersey
• South Africa
• Republic of Korea (South Korea)
• Switzerland
• New Zealand
• Northern Ireland
• Taiwan
• UK

Note: You can exchange a Canadian licence that was issued by the following provinces:

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Ontario
• Saskatchewan

Not all categories of licences can be exchanged in every case. You can read more about the specific exchange rules governing each country and territory listed above on the NDLS website.

You must exchange your licence within 1 year of its expiration date.

Licences that were previously exchanged

If your original licence was issued in a non-recognised country, and you exchanged it for a licence in a recognised country, you cannot exchange your licence for an Irish licence.

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 want 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.

UK licences

If you hold a UK driving licence, you can drive in Ireland if you live in the UK and are visiting Ireland. You can no longer drive on your UK licence if you live in Ireland. A UK driving licence is regarded as a licence from a recognised state for exchange purposes. See ‘recognised states’ below. You can also read more on the NDLS website.

Recognised states

If your licence was issued by one of the countries or territories listed in ‘recognised states’ above, you can drive in Ireland for up to 1 year when visiting, providing your licence is valid.

If you become normally resident in Ireland, you should exchange your driving licence or begin the process of applying for an Irish driving licence. You are normally a resident in Ireland if, because of personal and occupational ties, you usually live here for at least 185 days in each calendar year.

Ukrainian licence

You can drive on your Ukrainian driving licence while in Ireland under temporary protection. You can no longer exchange it for an Irish driving licence. If you have already exchanged your Ukrainian driving licence for an Irish licence, you can request to have it returned to you, or continue to drive on your Irish licence for one year from the date it was issued.

You can read more about this in our page on coming to Ireland from Ukraine.

Other licenses

If your licence was issued in a country that is not in the EU, EEA or the list of recognised states, and you hold a national driving licence and an international driving permit from your own country, you may drive in Ireland for the duration of your temporary visit (up to 12 months).

If your stay in Ireland will be more than 12 months, you can apply for an Irish driving licence but you will need to go through the full driver licensing procedure. You can read what you need to do in our page on Steps learning to drive.

You can only exchange a full driving licence. Foreign learner permits cannot be used to drive in Ireland or be exchanged for an Irish learner permit.

The fee for exchanging a foreign driving permit for an Irish driving licence is €55. (free if you are 70 or over).

Any required eyesight tests or medical examinations are not free of charge.

You can apply to exchange your licence online or in person at a National Driving Licencing Service (NDLS) centre.

You may need to include a medical report with your application. The NDLS has information on when a medical report is needed.

Applying online

You can apply to exchange your licence online. You will need the following:

• A Public Services Card and verified MyGovID
• Your current licence or most recent driving licence
• Proof of your address dated within the last 6 months, if your address is different to the one you provided when you got your Public Services Card
• Proof that you are normally resident in Ireland if you are not an EU or EEA citizen
• A medical report form if required dated within one month
• A completed eyesight report if applying to exchange a licence issued by a recognised state
• Application fee of €55 (unless you are 70 or over)
• Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) for professional drivers, if needed

You must post your licence to the NDLS after you have completed the online form.

Sometimes, the NDLS may need to contact the country that issued your driving licence. If so, it might take a little longer before they can give you a driving licence in Ireland.

Applying in person

You can apply in person to one of the of the NDLS centres. You must make an appointment. You should bring the following with you to your appointment:

• Current or most recent driving licence. Failure to submit your foreign driving licence will result in your application for exchange being rejected.
• Proof of your PPS number
• Photo ID
• Proof of your address dated within the last 6 months, if your address is different to the one you provided when you got your Public Services Card
• Proof that you are normally resident in Ireland if you are not an EU or EEA citizen
• Medical report if required dated within one month
• A completed eyesight report if applying to exchange a licence issued by a recognised state
• Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) if needed
• Application fee of €55 (unless you are 70 or over)

Sometimes, the NDLS may need to contact the country that issued your driving licence. If so, it might take a little longer before they can give you a driving licence in Ireland.

Read the FAQs about exchanging a foreign driving licence on the NDLS website.

The National Driver Licence Service has information about foreign driving licences.

Professional (CPC) truck or bus driver

You can get information about becoming a professional (CPC) truck or bus driver. Find out more, if you already have a bus or truck licence from another EU country or outside the EU.