Forty multiple-choice questions in forty-five minutes, and you need thirty-five of them right. This page covers what the test actually involves, what it costs, what to bring on the day, and what happens after you pass — then you can practise for free.
No card needed. Practise in your browser or add it to your home screen.The Driver Theory Test is the written exam you must pass before you can apply for a first learner permit. It is run for the Road Safety Authority by Prometric Ireland, and it is taken on a computer at a test centre — not online from home.
For a car you book the test as category BW. That one test covers licence categories B, BE and W, which means cars, car-and-trailer and work vehicles including tractors. There is no separate work-vehicle test, and the category cannot be changed at the test centre, so it is worth getting right at the booking screen.
| Test | Time | Questions | To pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| BW — car, tractor, work vehicles | 45 min | 40 | 35 |
| AM — motorcycle, moped | 45 min | 40 | 35 |
| C — truck | 120 min | 100 | 74 |
| D — bus | 120 min | 100 | 74 |
| CD — truck and bus combined | 180 min | 140 | 104 |
Thirty-five out of forty is 87.5%, which is a high bar — you can afford five wrong answers in the whole paper. That is the single most useful thing to know before you start revising, because it rules out the strategy of being broadly familiar with everything and sure of nothing.
On "the real questions"
The RSA does not publish its question bank, and nobody else has a copy of it. Any site or app claiming to give you the actual exam questions is either guessing or lying. What practice can honestly do is make sure the rules are in your head and that reading a question under time pressure feels familiar.
Booking is done at theorytest.ie, which is the official provider — online is fastest, but you can also book by phone or by post. You need an Irish address, and you must book under your full name exactly as it appears on the ID you will bring.
BW for a car. AM for a motorcycle or moped. C or D for truck or bus — and those two require you to already hold a full category B licence.
Card, Revolut, cheque or postal order. Truck or bus is €72, and a combined truck-and-bus test is €84.
A hard copy. A photocopy or a picture on your phone is refused, and you lose the fee. Accepted: Public Services Card with photo, passport (valid or expired up to 12 months), Irish Passport Card, an EU/EEA or Swiss national ID card, an Irish learner permit or driving licence, an Irish Travel Document, or a current Ukrainian driving licence.
The name on it has to match the booking exactly.
That is the published check-in time. Turning up late can cost you the fee, so treat the appointment time as the deadline for being checked in rather than for arriving.
It is marked automatically. Your result appears on screen when you finish and your certificate is issued at the centre — there is no wait for a letter.
Changing or cancelling
Free with seven or more days' notice. Rescheduling three to six days out costs half the fee; cancelling in that window refunds half. Inside two days, or on the day, there is no refund and no reschedule. If something comes up, moving it early is much cheaper than moving it late.
Passing the theory test is not a licence. It is the thing that lets you apply for one, and it comes with a clock attached.
You must use it to apply for a learner permit within two years of the test date. Let it lapse and you sit the test again, and pay again. Passing it very early, before you are ready to start lessons, is how people end up doing it twice.
Through the NDLS, online or at one of its centres. You will need proof of your PPSN, proof of address dated within the last six months, and a completed eyesight report dated within the last month. The permit itself is valid two years.
First-time permit holders for cars, motorcycles and work vehicles cannot sit the driving test until six months after the permit was issued. That wait runs in parallel with your lessons, so it is not usually the thing that holds people up.
Essential Driver Training is twelve one-hour sessions with an Approved Driving Instructor, logged as you go. It is mandatory for car learners. Motorcyclists do Initial Basic Training instead — 16 hours for AM and A1, 18 for A2 and A.
Pass it and you exchange the certificate of competency for a full licence.
The official fees are fixed and public. Driving lessons are not — EDT prices vary by instructor and by county, so the figure below is left out rather than invented.
| Driver Theory Test (BW — car) | €45 |
| Driver Theory Test (AM — motorcycle) | €45 |
| Driver Theory Test (C or D — truck or bus) | €72 |
| Driver Theory Test (CD — combined) | €84 |
| First learner permit (NDLS) | €45 |
| 12 EDT lessons | varies |
| Theory test + first permit | €90 |
A failed theory test means booking and paying for another one. There is no limit on attempts, and the provider advises waiting at least three full business days before re-sitting.
Both are close enough to matter if you are planning around them.
You can currently sit the theory test from age 14. From 1 November 2026 you must be at least 15 on the day of the appointment, and anyone under 15 holding a booking on or after that date has to cancel or move it.
To renew a third or fourth permit you will need to have actually taken a driving test in the previous two years — applying for one is no longer enough. A permit that has been expired for two years or more cannot be renewed, and restarting means sitting the theory test again.
The default limit on rural local roads dropped from 80 km/h to 60 km/h. The other defaults are unchanged: 50 built-up, 80 regional, 100 national primary, 120 motorway.
The last documented revision of the theory test itself was July 2024 and the current official revision material is the May 2024 edition — both predate that change, and there is no published statement either way about whether the question bank has caught up. Learn the 60 km/h rural default regardless: it is the law on the road, which is where it counts.
The car test is available with a voiceover in over twenty languages, chosen when you book. The written test can also be taken in Irish for categories A, B, C and D, although there is no Irish voiceover.
Other support is available and some of it has to be arranged ahead of time. An automated reader and the self-service dyslexia support (voiceover plus an on-screen lexicon) are at every centre and need no notice — you just select them at booking. An in-person reader, in-person dyslexia support or an Irish Sign Language interpreter must be arranged in advance, and arranging one can take up to twenty business days, so book early. Extra time, a separate room, a recorder and ear defenders are all available on request.
Exactly how much extra time is granted is not published, so ask when you arrange it rather than planning around a number you read somewhere.
Study areas to work through, mock papers under exam conditions, and flashcards for the signs. No card, no account needed to start.
This is a progressive web app. There is nothing to download and no listing to find — open it in your browser, and if you want it on your home screen, use Add to Home Screen from the share menu. It then opens full screen like any other app.
Your progress follows your account, so a phone and a laptop stay in step.
For the car test (BW) and the motorcycle test (AM): 35 out of 40, in 45 minutes. For truck or bus, 74 out of 100 in 120 minutes. For the combined truck-and-bus test, 104 out of 140 in 180 minutes.
€45 for the car test (BW) or the motorcycle test (AM). €72 for truck (C) or bus (D). €84 for the combined truck-and-bus test.
Two years from the date of the test. You have to use it to apply for a learner permit inside that window — after it, you sit the test again.
Original photo ID, as a hard copy. A photocopy or a photo on your phone is refused. One of:
The name must match your booking exactly. Wrong or missing ID means losing the fee.
Not to book or sit it — what you need is an Irish address and accepted photo ID. A PPSN is required later, when you apply to the NDLS for your learner permit.
No. It is taken on a computer at a test centre. Anything offering to let you sit the official test from home is not the official test.
There is no limit on attempts, and no waiting period imposed — though the provider advises leaving at least three full business days. You book and pay for a new test.
You can currently sit it from 14. From 1 November 2026 the minimum age is 15 on the day of the appointment, and bookings held by under-15s for dates on or after then have to be cancelled or moved.
Free with seven or more days' notice. Three to six days out, a reschedule costs half the fee and a cancellation refunds half. Inside two days or on the day, neither is possible and the fee is lost.
Yes — the car test has a voiceover in over twenty languages, selected when you book. The written test is also available in Irish for categories A, B, C and D, though there is no Irish voiceover.
Apply to the NDLS for a first learner permit (€45), which needs your PPSN, proof of address from the last six months and an eyesight report from the last month. Then there is a six-month wait before you can sit the driving test, and twelve EDT lessons with an Approved Driving Instructor to complete.
No, and nobody's are. The RSA does not publish its question bank. The questions here are written to cover the same rules and signs the test draws on, so that the material is familiar and the format is not a surprise.
Work through a study area, then sit a full mock under the clock and see where you actually stand.
