FAQ

You must have received your learner permit before you can take driving lessons. The receipt you are given in the NDLS centre is not acceptable as you must have your permit with you while driving. The learner permit usually arrives within 10 working days, so you may book a lesson ahead of time for when you receive the permit. If the permit does not arrive on time, you can postpone the lesson.

For your first lesson, all you need to bring is your learner permit. On your first EDT lesson your instructor will give you an EDT logbook, this should also be brought to all future lessons (although there is no need to cancel your lesson if you forget this on one occasion). Your permit should be brought to every lesson as it is a legal requirement to have it with you while you are driving.

EDT stands for Essential Driver Training. This is a mandatory set of 12 driving lessons which must be taken by anyone who received their first learner permit on or after 04/04/2011, before you can be assigned a test date by the RSA. Each lesson should be recorded in the logbook, and then uploaded to the RSA website by the instructor.
Studies show that young drivers and inexperienced drivers are more likely to die or be seriously injured in collisions, and EDT is one of several measures introduced by the RSA to help improve critical driving knowledge, skills and behaviours of new drivers. If the issue date of your first B category (Car) learner permit is on or after 4 April 2011, in order to be able to sit your full driving test, you must first complete all EDT sessions. If you are not required to complete EDT, you may still choose to take an EDT course, as it can help increase your chances of passing the driving test and will help make you a better safer driver.

A reduced EDT programme, consisting of 6 lessons rather than 12, is available to anyone who holds a full license from another country that does not have a valid license exchange agreement with Ireland. You can read more about this here.

You can sign into the RSA "MyEDT" system online to see a record of all lessons that have been uploaded for you. We recommend all students to check this occasionally throughout their EDT lessons, and also after their last lesson. Bear in mind lessons are not usually uploaded straight away after the lesson, it is usually done at the end of the day, however if it has been 48h or more since the lesson and it has not been uploaded then it is worth getting in touch with the instructor just to check. When logging in to MyEDT, note that the details must be entered exactly as they appear on your learner permit (for example, the surname "O'Driscoll" may be recorded on the permit as "O Driscoll" - in this case you should enter it with a space instead of an apostrophe). Click here to access MyEDT

When booking EDT lessons, it is vital to space them apart enough to get good practise (~3 hours) with a sponsor between each lesson, and to give yourself time to reflect on what you have learned. We do not generally recommend/conduct more than one per week on average (with some limited exceptions, e.g. some drivers with full foreign licenses), and we reserve the right to cancel/change online booking requests if you have booked many EDT lessons over a short space of time. In this case we will contact you first to discuss which bookings to change/cancel. The website booking form will sometimes detect & prevent bookings which are too close together (i.e. many bookings over a short space of time, or in the same day) however all bookings will also be reviewed by the instructor before approval - who may recommend spacing lessons further apart depending on an individual student's needs. It is also worth noting that confirmed bookings are still conditional on all Terms of Service (including the requirement for adequate practise between EDT lessons - see the below question for more information) as well as our COVID-19 policy.
Students should also note that practise with a sponsor is an essential part of EDT lessons, and the syllabus assumes at least 3 hours of practise with a sponsor between lessons. It is a common misconception that 12 EDT lessons is enough to prepare for the test - this is simply not true and on average it will take much more than this (around 30+ hours of driving) to get to the required standard for the driving test.

No, you are free to change to a different school/instructor at any time. There are obvious benefits to using one instructor/school if you can, as they will already be familiar with your driving - however if you feel that you would do better with a different instructor/school then you can absolutely change at any time.

If you come to us from another driving school, we will be able to continue your lessons with the same logbook provided that your previous instructor has uploaded their lessons (which they should do anyway). Your logbook belongs to you, not to the instructor/school, and you are free to take it elsewhere if you wish.
If you are coming to us from another driving school/instructor, or in addition to another instructor, please note that our Terms of Service apply to all lessons booked/taken with us. Different driving instructors may have different Terms of Service.

Practise between lessons is essential and should start as soon as you begin EDT lessons. There is a common misconception that the required 12 lessons is sufficient to get to test standard, this is simply not true and the EDT syllabus clearly states that students should practise for at least 3 hours with a sponsor between each EDT lesson. On average it will take around 40-50 hours of driving to get to the required standard for the driving test. The instructor will advise students, after each EDT lesson, what practise is needed before the next lesson. Some students may not be able to find a sponsor to practise with, in these cases it is possible to do extra lessons if needed. If a student presents for an EDT lesson that they do not have a sufficient baseline of skills & knowledge for, the lesson will not proceed. In this case the student will be given the option of using that lesson as an extra practise lesson, or simply cancelling the lesson. This is consistent with the advice I received when I queried this with an ADI examiner (someone who tests driving instructors) - below is part of the email I received:
In relation to your point about a learner presenting for an EDT session they are not ready for. Like all sessions an ADI must satisfy him/herself that it is indeed safe to proceed with the proposed EDT session, and if not, it should under no circumstances be provided. If the base line is less than what is required to undergo the next EDT session then it should not proceed but rather the ADI should be addressing the knowledge / skills and behaviour needed to prepare them to move onto the next EDT session (The lesson may be used as a practise lesson) So, it is not that the book should not be stamped but rather that the EDT session should not proceed.

By practising as much as possible, and starting the practise early, you will get much more value from your EDT lessons. While we appreciate that insurance for learners can be expensive, the cost of extra practise lessons adds up quite quickly and insurance is often still a cheaper and more cost-effective option.

No - currently we only have a manual driving school car. Please ignore any indication to the contrary on Google (see below). For experienced students using their own car, we can provide automatic lessons - but please note the use of your own car is subject to prior agreement with the instructor and Terms & Conditions.
Our listing on Google does occasionally show automatic lessons under the list of services we offer - this is because Google updates the list of services automatically based on search data. Apart from occasionally removing it when we notice it re-appear, we are not aware of any way to prevent this.
For automatic lessons in Carlow Town, you can try PassNGo

Yes, you can use your own car but there are certain requirements as outlined in our terms of service. Firstly the instructor must agree to use your car for the lesson - generally we will use the school car for the first lesson at a minimum until we are more familiar with the student's driving, after that we will discuss this individually with the student. Additionally, the car you use must be legal, roadworthy, and appropriately insured (for example, free accompanied driver insurance from Aviva ONLY covers lessons with an Aviva instructor). Under no circumstances will we conduct lessons in a car that is not fully roadworthy (e.g. worn tyres, any blown bulbs, worn brakes, etc.) or that is not displaying valid tax/insurance/NCT discs. Note that valid discs must be displayed - if you have taxed/insured the car, but are waiting for the disc to arrive, this is not acceptable.

No, and this should not be necessary. During the lessons you will be taught to drive in a wide variety of road and traffic conditions (including some of the more challenging/complicated junctions in the town, etc.), and will cover all the manoeuvres required on the driving test. This should give you all the skills and knowledge needed to pass the test. However, we do not specifically cover driving test routes. This is in line with the code of conduct for driving instructors which states: "ADIs should avoid using test routes for driving lessons". It also states that "RSA Examiners report that familiarity often adversely affects a candidate’s performance during the test". Of course this does not mean we avoid all roads/areas on the test routes, or that you will not practise some of the more challenging junctions etc. It simply means we will not deliberately follow a full official test route during a lesson, or ensure that you have driven on every road/estate/etc. used on test routes - rather the focus will be on giving you the skills & knowledge to drive safely in any situation. The same applies to students doing "mock tests" - the route covered will be broadly similar in length/difficulty to an official test route, and there may be some overlap with the official test routes, but we do not specifically cover them.

Students often place too much emphasis on trying to learn off test routes, instead you should focus on developing the necessary skills/knowledge to be able to drive well in any situation that you may encounter during your test. Test routes may also change over time, and you may need to deviate from the official routes on the day of your test (e.g. due to roadworks or an accident). If a student is only confident that they can drive safely on roads they have specifically covered on a lesson, they should consider why this is and address this before taking the test.

While this question may surprise many people, it unfortunately does come up often enough to warrant putting it in this FAQ section - the answer is no. EDT lessons must be completed before being signed, stamped, and uploaded. While we understand students' desire to get through the process & get their license as quickly as possible, it is important to actually do the required lessons (as well as practise with a sponsor) to give you the skills & knowledge to drive safely after getting your license.

This website was created and written by, and is maintained by, Conor O'Driscoll - the instructor. I decided to include this question, and wrote this answer. So please trust this answer and do not request this in person, the answer will be a polite but firm "no".

If you have lost/misplaced your permit, you cannot take driving lessons until your new permit has arrived as it is a requirement to have your permit with you while driving.

If you have lost/misplaced your EDT logbook, we can issue you a new one at a cost of €4 (this is how much the RSA charges us per logbook - we do not charge anything extra). Simply contact us at 0873337343 (by text if possible) to let us know. The RSA also states that the loss of your previous logbook should be reported to the Gardaí - simply fill out this form and return it to the RSA once completed & stamped by the Gardaí.

Unfortunately not, our school car is small with a particularly small boot so does not fit an e-scooter. For both safety & cleanliness reasons, we do not accept e-scooters on the back seats.

You can see a full list of our prices here.

We accept payment by cash or card, which is taken at the time of the lesson. We currently take payment on a lesson-by-lesson basis rather than taking upfront payments for multiple lessons. We do offer a discount where your final (12th) EDT lesson is free (this is only applicable where all 12 lessons are done with us). We find this approach to be easier to manage, and you still get a discounted rate if you do all your lessons with us. Full details are available on our prices page.

Lessons should be booked online using our booking form.

Yes, you can book multiple lessons if you wish using our booking form as we take all bookings online. Please note that you will need to ensure sufficient time between lessons for practise (at least 3 hours of practise with a sponsor) and reflection. Typically we find 1 lesson per week to be a good frequency. The booking form will often give an error message if lessons are too close together, but we also review all booking requests manually before confirming them.

You can book as many lessons as you wish, but they are all provisional until we have approved them, and it is important to ensure you leave some time between EDT lessons for reflection & practise.

In some cases this may be possible (e.g. for someone with an upcoming test date who has limited availability) however generally we conduct 1-hour lessons (especially for EDT lessons, where it is important to leave time for practise between them). Often there will only be single hours available for booking anyway, as we may have other lessons before/after that time.
While 2-hour lessons may sound appealing to learners wishing to get their license as quickly as possible, in our experience it is much better to do single hours. 2 hours of driving is a long time, especially when you are learning and trying to take in new information. In infrequent cases where we have conducted 2-hour lessons (usually for practise/pre-test lessons), the students themselves have often commented that they found it quite long and would prefer to do 1-hour lessons in future. Driving lessons are expensive - there is no point in paying for time where you are very tired and are likely to make more mistakes & not take in information as well.

Lessons can be cancelled online up to 24 hours in advance - click here to login or create an account. This is the preferrable method of cancelling, we ask that all students use this method where possible. If you need to cancel within 24h, or cannot login online, please text 0873337343. We ask, where possible, that students aim to give at least 48 hours' notice when cancelling a lesson - however we do not charge for missed/cancelled lessons. We ask students to be mindful of the loss of earnings that can result if lessons are cancelled on short notice and we cannot fill the slot in time. However, we understand that from time to time things do come up that result in the student needing to cancel on short notice, or simply forgetting about the lesson. If this happens, we'll simply take the time off. Only if this becomes a particular/repeated issue with one student will we speak to them about it, and may decline to continue lessons with them if it continues.

If you want to change the day/time of a lesson with at least 24 hours' notice, then you can simply cancel your existing lesson online and then book a new one - click here to login or create an account. This is the preferrable method of rescheduling, we ask that all students use this method where possible. If you want to reschedule on short notice (within 24h), or can't find another suitable day/time online, please text 0873337343. This is obviously dependant on availability, it may not always be possible to do a lesson on your desired day/at your desired time. The website is usually kept reasonably up-to-date with our availability.

Our operating hours are subject to change at any time, and we work a flexible pattern (i.e. not the same days/hours every week/month). Currently we do offer some weekend lessons, as well as a small number of morning (finishing before 9am) or evening (starting at/after 5pm) lessons. However these are limited and subject to change - we do not guarantee regular availability on any particular day or time. We generally keep our booking form updated well ahead of time, so you can see what days/times are available.

Yes, we operate a cancellation list where students can sign up to be notified when lessons become available on short notice (generally within the next 7 days). To sign up for the cancellation list, you will first need to register for an account if you do not have one already (click here). Once logged in, you will be able to subscribe to the cancellation list.

The booking form generally shows all our availability. Occasionally new available dates/times may be added, e.g. if a student cancels or the instructor's availability changes - so you can check the booking form every so often to see if any new times have become available. Additionally, if you have already taken at least 1 lesson with us, you can login online (click here) and subscribe to our cancellation list to be notified when lessons become available on short notice.
If you cannot find a suitable time, and have an urgent need for a lesson (e.g. for an upcoming test), please contact us. We will try to facilitate this, but cannot guarantee we will be able to do so.

The usual meeting spot is the Woodies car park. In rare cases where this is not at all possible, we may be able to arrange an alternate meeting point, but this may limit your choice of lesson times and require us to reschedule some lessons you book online (as we may not have time to drive from Woodies to get to your meeting point, and then back to Woodies for the next lesson) Please note that, especially in your first few lessons, it may be necessary for the instructor to drive to/from other locations for safety reasons. This will constitute part of the lesson.

If you are going to be late, please call/text us on 0873337343 to let us know. The instructor will wait at the agreed meeting point for 15 minutes before leaving. For obvious reasons we cannot guarantee, if you are late, that we will be able to do a full hour - as we may have another student scheduled after you. You will still be charged the normal price for the lesson.

The confirmation and reminder messages are sent via an external service and occasionally may not send properly, e.g. due to a service outage/maintenance/etc. If you log in on the student portal (click here) you will be able to see all your bookings. If the booking has not yet been confirmed the words "Pending Confirmation" will appear below it, otherwise it has been confirmed and will go ahead on the date & time shown.

The confirmation and reminder messages are sent via an external service and occasionally may not send properly, e.g. due to a service outage/maintenance/etc. If you log in on the student portal (click here) you will be able to see all your bookings. If the booking is showing up on that page, then it will go ahead on the date & time shown.

The driving test lasts around 40 minutes and examines many different aspects of your driving - you can read our guide to the driving test for more information on this.

The waiting times for the test can vary, but to get an idea of current waiting times you can use the RSA waiting time estimator. You must meet certain criteria (such as completing your EDT lessons) before being eligible to sit the test.

Your instructor will advise you when they think you should apply for the driving test, based on your standard of driving. Ultimately it is your decision when to apply but we would advise you to listen to the instructor's advice and remember that they are aware of the waiting time and your ability to practise. Occasionally students will apply too early because they over-estimate how much they can improve during the waiting period before the test. The best way to increase your chances of passing first time is to start practising with a sponsor as early as possible, and follow the advice of your instructor.

No, and this should not be necessary. During the lessons you will be taught to drive in a wide variety of road and traffic conditions (including some of the more challenging/complicated junctions in the town, etc.), and will cover all the manoeuvres required on the driving test. This should give you all the skills and knowledge needed to pass the test. However, we do not specifically cover driving test routes. This is in line with the code of conduct for driving instructors which states: "ADIs should avoid using test routes for driving lessons". It also states that "RSA Examiners report that familiarity often adversely affects a candidate’s performance during the test". Of course this does not mean we avoid all roads/areas on the test routes, or that you will not practise some of the more challenging junctions etc. It simply means we will not deliberately follow a full official test route during a lesson, or ensure that you have driven on every road/estate/etc. used on test routes - rather the focus will be on giving you the skills & knowledge to drive safely in any situation. The same applies to students doing "mock tests" - the route covered will be broadly similar in length/difficulty to an official test route, and there may be some overlap with the official test routes, but we do not specifically cover them.

Students often place too much emphasis on trying to learn off test routes, instead you should focus on developing the necessary skills/knowledge to be able to drive well in any situation that you may encounter during your test. Test routes may also change over time, and you may need to deviate from the official routes on the day of your test (e.g. due to roadworks or an accident). If a student is only confident that they can drive safely on roads they have specifically covered on a lesson, they should consider why this is and address this before taking the test.

After you pass you test, the tester will issue you with a Certificate of Competency, which you can then exchange for a full driving licence at your local NDLS Centre. The certificate should be submitted to the National Driver Licence Service within two years of the date of issue. Otherwise you will be required to re-sit and pass the test to obtain a full licence. It is important to note that until you get your full licence, you are still driving on your learner permit. This means you are still subject to the same requirements as before you passed your test, including the display of "L" plates and being accompanied by a qualified driver. The receipt you get from the NDLS, stating that you have applied for your licence, is not an acceptable substitute for a full licence.
Remember: passing the driving test is not the end of the learning process. You should continue to drive carefully and build up your experience in different traffic, weather, lighting and road conditions.

If you fail your test, the tester will give you a report detailing aspects of your driving that caused you to fail, as well as some brief verbal feedback. A more detailed report will be emailed to you shortly after the test. Your instructor can review this with you and help you to work through them, and it is important that you address these issues before re-sitting the test. You will also receive a certificate indicating that you failed the test; keep it in a safe place as you may need it to renew your learner permit.
You can apply for a new test again at any time on the RSA website, however you cannot be scheduled for a test appointment within 21 days of failing a driving test. This allows you some time to work on the issues that caused you to fail the test.

No. You do not have to repeat your 12 EDT lessons if you fail, nor are you required to take any additional lessons before taking your test again (though it is a good idea to do so, in order to address the faults that caused you to fail the test).

Yes, we offer rental of our car for the driving test - prices can be viewed on our prices page. Note that the car will only be given to students who have done lessons with us before and have, in the opinion of the instructor, demonstrated a reasonably safe standard of driving. This will usually require multiple lessons to ensure that the student has demonstrated the ability to drive safely in a wide variety of situations. It is important to note that we cannot always guarantee availability of the car and/or instructor on a particular date as there are a number of reasons it may not be available (e.g. mechanical work, or if the instructor is on holidays/has other commitments at that time, or if we have another booking at that time that we cannot reschedule or the student is unwilling to reschedule). Where possible though, we will try to facilitate this. We generally do not advise students who intend to use the school car to put themselves on the cancellation list, or call the RSA to get an urgent test date, without discussing this with the instructor in advance - as this will result in very little notice of the test date.

Yes, you can use your own car provided it is legal, roadworthy and has appropriate insurance in place.

Depending on availability the instructor may be able to accompany you on the day of your test and/or do a warm-up driving lesson beforehand. Simply contact us when you get your test date from the RSA. This is subject to certain conditions outlined in our Terms of Service, for example we need to ensure that students are at a safe driving standard before conducting lessons in a student's car.

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