Becoming an RSA Approved Driving Instructor takes three tests, Garda vetting and about €800 in official fees. This page walks through every stage in order — what each one involves, what it costs, and the deadlines that catch people out. Then you can practise Stage 1 free.
No card needed. Try a section without even making an account.An Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) is someone on the Road Safety Authority's official register of driving instructors. In Ireland you cannot legally charge for driving instruction unless you are on that register, or hold a temporary trainee licence while you qualify.
The register exists per licence category. An ADI approved for category B (cars) may not instruct on motorcycles or trucks without qualifying separately for those categories — and you can only instruct in a category you have personally held a full licence in for at least two years.
Qualifying is deliberately demanding. There are three separate tests, and they test three different things: what you know, how you drive, and whether you can teach. Plenty of excellent drivers fail Stage 3, because driving well and explaining it to a nervous seventeen-year-old are not the same skill.
Check these before you spend anything. The two-year licence rule in particular is not waivable, and it is the one that most often means "not yet".
You must hold a current, full, valid driving licence for at least two years in every category you want to teach. Not a learner permit, and not two years of driving — two years of holding the full licence.
You must be normally resident in Ireland and have a valid address and PPS number. Both are checked on the application form.
You need a tax clearance access number from Revenue. The application asks for it directly, so sort it before you start rather than stalling the form halfway through.
The same standard that applies to holding your licence. Nothing additional is required beyond being fit to drive in the categories you're applying for.
You must satisfy the ADI Registrar of your good repute, assessed through Garda vetting. A conviction does not automatically disqualify you: the Registrar weighs its relevance and seriousness, how long ago it was, any pattern, changed circumstances and evidence of rehabilitation.
For Stages 2 and 3 you supply the car. It must be roadworthy, taxed, insured, and NCT'd where applicable, and meet the minimum standard for the category. From 9 March 2026 you must also produce a valid Certificate of Motor Insurance showing the examiner is covered to drive it.
Eight steps in a fixed order. You cannot sit Stage 2 before passing Stage 1, and you cannot register before passing all three.
Confirm you meet the eligibility rules above and decide which licence categories you want to instruct in. That choice shapes everything after it, including part of your Stage 1 paper.
Submit the ADI application form with your personal and contact details, PPSN, tax clearance access number, driver number, the categories you want, and your preferred test centres for Stages 2 and 3. It's a digital form, submitted directly to the RSA.
Have your tax clearance access number and driver number to hand before you start — the form asks for both and there's no saving halfway through.
Click here to apply now → Opens the RSA's application form guidance in a new tab.
After submitting the form you attend an in-person validation meeting with an RSA officer and complete the vetting form there. The RSA then works with the Garda National Vetting Bureau on the disclosure.
The RSA advises a minimum of six to eight weeks for this, and you can't book Stage 1 until it's done. So start studying now rather than waiting for clearance — the waiting and the studying are meant to happen at the same time.
You must declare any past or current convictions on the form. Failing to disclose can delay or refuse the application, which is a worse outcome than the conviction itself would have been.
100 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, across five sections. Each section has its own pass mark and you must reach all five — a strong overall score with one weak section is still a fail. Full detail below.
A longer, harder driving test than the learner one: 60 to 100 minutes depending on the categories you're applying for. It assesses your own driving to instructor standard.
After passing Stage 2 you can apply for a six-month trainee licence and start teaching for money while you prepare for Stage 3. It has real conditions: an RSA-approved sponsor, at least 20% of your lessons directly supervised, 20 hours of practical training with a mentor before you apply, and no EDT or IBT delivery. One licence only, and it can't be extended.
Two phases of 30 minutes each. The examiner plays a learner: first a complete beginner, then a pupil at driving-test level. This is the stage that tests teaching rather than driving, and it's where most candidates come unstuck. Results within 10 working days.
Pass all three and the RSA sends you the registration application. Once registered you receive your ADI permit, which you must carry with your licence whenever you're instructing.
The deadline that catches people out. Each stage must be completed within six months of the previous one, and all three parts must be finished within two years. Pass Stage 1 and then drift for seven months and you are starting again — and paying again. Plan Stage 2 before you sit Stage 1.
100 questions, 90 minutes, multiple choice with four answers each, sat at a theory test centre. Book it through the driver theory test service once the RSA has issued your eligibility number.
The five sections:
Roughly 80 core questions across the first four, plus 20 on the categories you applied to teach. Every section carries its own pass mark and all five must be met.
Bring original photo ID — a copy is refused and you lose the fee.
60 to 100 minutes, depending on how many categories you're qualifying in. Substantially longer and more comprehensive than the learner test.
It looks at your driving competence, road awareness, safety and technical knowledge — to the standard someone teaching it should hold, not merely a safe standard. The RSA publishes the assessment form and marking guidelines; read them, because they tell you exactly what is being watched.
You supply the vehicle. It must be roadworthy, taxed, insured and NCT'd where applicable.
Two phases, 30 minutes each. Your examiner takes the role of a pupil and you teach them.
Phase 1 — a beginner. Cockpit drill, moving off and stopping, approaching junctions, the emergency stop.
Phase 2 — a driving-test-level pupil. More advanced work, with fault identification and correction as it happens.
You're marked on whether the instruction suits the pupil's actual level — pitching a beginner's lesson at an experienced pupil fails as surely as the reverse. Results within 10 working days.
These are the official RSA and theory-test fees only. Instructor training from a private provider is separate and is usually the largest single cost of qualifying.
| Item | When | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 — ADI theory test | Per attempt | €150 |
| Stage 2 — ADI driving test | Per attempt | €200 |
| Stage 3 — instruction ability test | Per attempt | €200 |
| ADI registration | Once, after passing | €250 |
| Clean run, no retakes | — | €800 |
| Trainee instructor licence | Optional, 6 months | €50 |
| Permit renewal | Every 2 years | €250 |
Every retake is a full fee. Failing Stage 1 twice costs the same €300 as passing Stage 1 and Stage 2 together. That is the entire argument for preparing properly rather than sitting it to see how it goes — and why practice that actually marks you the way the exam does is worth the time.
Fees can change. Check rsa.ie before you budget.
We built a Stage 1 trainer that marks you the way the real paper does — section by section, against each section's own pass mark. That matters more than it sounds: score 88% overall with one weak section and the real exam fails you, while most practice apps would tell you you're ready.
This is a progressive web app. There is nothing to download and no store listing to find — you open it in your browser and it runs.
To keep it on your phone, open it and tap Add to Home Screen — Share menu on iPhone, browser menu on Android. It then opens full screen with its own icon, exactly like an installed app, and works without a signal.
There's no fixed duration, but there is a ceiling: all three stages must be completed within two years, and each stage within six months of the one before. Most people take somewhere between six months and a year and a half, depending on how quickly they get test dates and how much training they do before Stage 3.
The first delay is Garda vetting, which the RSA says takes a minimum of six to eight weeks — and you can't book Stage 1 until it clears. That wait is the best time to study, not to sit still.
The official fees come to €800 for a clean run — €150 for Stage 1, €200 each for Stages 2 and 3, and €250 to register. On top of that, instructor training from a private provider is a separate and usually much larger cost, and every retake is another full test fee.
Yes, and in each category you want to teach. It's two years of holding the full licence, not two years of driving on a learner permit. There is no way around this one.
The exam is marked section by section rather than as one score out of 100, and you must reach the pass mark in every section. A high overall score with one section below its mark is a fail.
The RSA does not publish the individual percentages. Irish instructor training providers quote figures in the region of 60% to 75% depending on the section, with teaching ability the lowest and driver testing procedures the highest. Treat those as a guide rather than gospel, and prepare to clear every section comfortably.
Yes, with a trainee instructor licence. Once you've passed Stages 1 and 2 you can apply for one: €50, six months, non-renewable, and you only get one ever. It lets you give paid instruction in your approved category, but not EDT or IBT, and you need an RSA-approved sponsor supervising at least 20% of your lessons.
The RSA doesn't publish an attempt limit, but the timing rules act as one: six months between stages and two years overall. Retakes are charged at the full fee each time, so repeated attempts get expensive quickly — and eat into the two-year window.
Not automatically. Garda vetting is assessed by the ADI Registrar, who considers how relevant and serious the offence is, how long ago it was, whether there's a pattern, whether circumstances have changed, and evidence of rehabilitation. The question being asked is what risk you'd pose to pupils.
You register with the RSA first and receive a unique eligibility number, then book through the driver theory test service at a test centre near you. Bring one original photo ID on the day — a Public Services Card, passport, passport card, EU/EEA national identity card, or Irish learner permit or driving licence. Photocopies are refused and you lose the fee.
Stage 3, by a wide margin, and for a reason worth understanding: Stages 1 and 2 test things you've been doing for years — knowing the rules and driving well. Stage 3 tests teaching, which most candidates have never done. Being an excellent driver is close to no preparation for explaining clutch control to someone who has never sat in a driver's seat.
You register, receive your ADI permit, and carry it with your licence whenever you instruct. The permit runs for two years. To renew you need a check test (bookable any time in the year before expiry), fresh Garda vetting, and a €250 re-registration submitted one to three months before your permit expires. Your first check test is informational rather than a formal assessment; later ones are formal.
It's the first hurdle and the cheapest to get wrong twice. Practise it properly and the €150 only leaves your account once.
