Minister Eamon Ryan TD and Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton TD have announced that there will be an additional extension to driving licences.

The extension will apply to different groups of licence holders including those who benefited from extensions in 2020. The change will apply as follows-

Any licence holder, who has not already renewed, and whose licence expired between 1 March 2020 and 31 May 2020 will have a new expiry date of 1 July 2021.

Any licence holder, who has not already renewed, and whose licence expired between 1 June 2020 and 31 August 2020 will have thirteen months (which includes the previous extension) added to their expiry date. By way of example a licence which expired on 31 August 2020 will have a new expiry date of 30 September 2021.

Any licence holder, who has not already renewed and whose licence expiry date is between 1 September 2020 and 30 June 2021 will have an extra ten months added to their expiry date. By way of example a licence which expires on 30 June 2021 will have a new expiry date of 30 April 2022.

There is no further extension to learner permits at this point.

You do not need to do anything to avail of the extension of the expiry date as your driver record will be automatically updated. A new driving licence will not be issued to you. You can check the expiry date and earliest renewal date of your current licence on expiry date calculator here.

NOTE: You can only apply for a renewal of your driving licence / learner permit if it is within 3 months of the expiry date of your current licence / permit.

Click here to view full press release.

Click here to view FAQs on Extension of Validity of Driving Licences and Learner Permits.

Under Covid-19 Level 5 Government restrictions effective from 6 January 2021 you can attend an appointment at an NDLS centre provided you are an essential worker involved in the provision of essential services or essential retail outlets. You can find details on what is included in the list of essential workers and retail outlets on www.gov.ie.

If you have an appointment and you are an essential worker you are exempt from level 5 travel restrictions and should attend as normal. It may be useful to show proof of your appointment (text or email confirmation of booking) if stopped by An Garda Síochána. You can book an appointment here

We would ask that if you are not involved in the provision of essential services or essential retail outlets and you have an appointment at an NDLS centre during the current Level 5 restriction period that you cancel your appointment here so it can be booked by an essential worker. Please do not call or email the NDLS to cancel your appointment.

For FAQ’s on Covid-19 Safety Measures in NDLS Centres here.