Guides/Theory test

EDT and Reduced EDT: 12 Lessons, or 6 with a Foreign Licence

Updated 24 September 2026 · 5 min read

EDT lessons (Essential Driver Training) are 12 one-hour sessions that every learner on a car permit in Ireland completes with an RSA Approved Driving Instructor before the driving test. Reduced EDT cuts that to 6 sessions for people who already hold a full driving licence from a country that has no licence exchange agreement with Ireland.

How standard EDT works

• It applies to learner permits for a car or light van (category B). Motorcyclists do IBT instead, a separate 16-hour course.
• The course is 12 individual lessons of 1 hour each, with an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI).
• At every lesson the ADI checks your learner permit and records the session with a stamp and signature in your EDT logbook.
• You bring the completed logbook to the driving test. For a car test, all 12 sessions must be done before you can sit it.

You can also name a sponsor: an experienced licence holder who can come to your EDT sessions and support you as you prepare for the test. It is optional, but the lessons alone will not get you test-ready. Citizens Information, quoting RSA guidance, says to practise as much as possible on all types of road.

What EDT costs

There is no set price. Each instructor charges what they like for EDT, so the total for 12 lessons varies a lot between areas and schools. Ask for the full package price and what a lesson includes before you pay, and compare two or three ADIs.

Reduced EDT: 6 lessons

Reduced EDT is for drivers who hold a full licence from a country Ireland does not exchange licences with. You cannot swap that licence, so you go through the full Irish process: theory test, learner permit, then lessons and the driving test. The difference is at the lesson stage, where you only need 6 EDT sessions instead of 12. The RSA publishes a separate Reduced EDT handbook.

The same group can also have an exception to the rule that you wait 6 months on your first learner permit before the driving test. Check the terms with the RSA when you apply for the test.

If you can exchange, you skip EDT altogether

Licences from EU and EEA countries, and from a list of recognised states, can be exchanged for an Irish licence for €65 without lessons or tests. The recognised states are Australia, Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Saskatchewan only), Georgia, Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey, Moldova, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan and the UK. Not every category can be exchanged in every case.

Ukrainian licences can no longer be exchanged, though you can drive on one while under temporary protection. A foreign learner permit cannot be used in Ireland or exchanged at all.

How long you can drive on a foreign licence

With a licence from outside the EU, the EEA and the recognised states, you can drive here as a visitor for up to 12 months if you also carry an international driving permit. If you plan to stay longer than 12 months, you must apply for an Irish licence, which means the route above with Reduced EDT. Start the theory test early so the 12 months do not run out mid-way.