New rules this month: learner permits and e-scooters.

The change is in S.I. No. 527 of 2025, the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2025. They are dated 4 November 2025 and came into operation on 1 November 2026. They work by counting how long you have held a permit in that category.

Regulation 19(1), as replaced by S.I. 527/2025. Citizens Information gives the same rule in permit numbers: a third and a fourth permit need a test taken in the last 2 years, the fourth lasts 1 year, and after 7 years or 4 permits you cannot renew again.

Close to four years on your permit? The test is what keeps you in the system, not the booking. Book your remaining lessons or a mock test with plenty of time before your permit expires.

What most summaries leave out

• An expired permit now has a 2-year limit, not 5. If you have not held a permit in that category in the last 2 years, your application is treated as a first permit (Regulation 19(3)). The note to the regulations says the period was reduced from 5 years to 2. The printed Rules of the Road still uses five years (p. 33).
• There is no illness exception. The note to the regulations says the concession for learners who did not sit a test because of ill health has been removed, and Citizens Information says there is no longer a medical exemption. A November 2025 theory test notice mentions learners who were “medically restricted”. If you think that applies to you, ask the NDLS before relying on it.
• Renewing early should not cost you time. A new permit can run for 2 years together with the unexpired time on your old one (Regulation 17(2)). You can renew up to 3 months before expiry (Citizens Information).
• Starting again brings back the six-month wait. If you are granted a permit in category A, A1, AM, W or B and did not hold one in that category in the previous 2 years, you cannot apply for a driving test for 6 months (Regulation 27A).
• Check the date on your permit. On the permit form in use since 27 April 2026, “Valid from” is the date you first held a permit in that category (S.I. No. 164 of 2026). The NDLS holds the official record.

Trucks, buses and other categories keep a version of the old route. With 4 years or more and no test, you can still apply if you show that a test has been arranged, and you get a one-year permit (Regulation 19(1)(b)).

What did not change: in a car you still need a qualified driver beside you (Rules of the Road, p. 29), you still display L plates (p. 30), and you still cannot use a motorway (p. 32). Passing the test does not change that on the day. Until your full licence is issued, you are still a learner permit holder.

Not settled: the regulations do not define “underwent a driving test”. If your appointment was abandoned or cancelled, ask the NDLS whether it counts.

Also from 1 November: the theory test age

You must now be at least 15 on the day of your theory test. The theory test service says under-15s must cancel or reschedule, and that someone who sat the test at 14 for a tractor permit will have to retake it at 17 to add a car.

What counts as a helmet and high-vis

• Helmet: securely fastened, with a valid CE marking, and meeting EN 1078:2012+A1:2012, the European standard for helmets for pedal cyclists and for users of skateboards and roller skates.
• High-vis: covering at least the front and back of your torso, with a valid CE marking, and meeting EN ISO 20471:2013+A1:2016. Check the label before you buy.

What a €100 fine becomes if you leave it. Under the general rules below, €100 in the first 28 days, €150 in the next 28 days, and €200 after a summons. We worked out the last two from sections 36 and 44 of the Road Traffic Act 2010. The regulations themselves only set the €100.

Until 18 November the existing e-scooter offences stay at €50. The helmet and high-vis requirement already applies. The fixed charge for breaking it starts on 18 November.

Not law yet: registration, insurance and a driving licence for e-scooters. The Department said on 2 September that these remain under consideration, and on 22 September that work on registration is continuing. Citizens Information says you do not currently need any of them.

• Helmet: riding without one, or carrying a passenger without one, is a fixed charge of €80, then €120 in the next 28 days (Rules of the Road, pp. 191 and 270; S.I. No. 227 of 2024, Schedule 5).
• Tabard: learners must display an L, and novices an N, on a yellow fluorescent tabard (pp. 30 and 188).
• Other clothing: the book advises a reflective jacket, protective gloves and footwear above the ankle (p. 191). The book words this as advice, and its fixed charge tables do not list these items.

Road Traffic Act 2010, section 36, section 37 and section 44; Road Traffic Act 2002, section 2; Rules of the Road, pp. 185–186. The book does not mention the step after a summons.

So paying early saves you money, not points. The book’s own example is a learner caught driving unaccompanied: €160 and 2 points if paid within 28 days, €240 and 2 points within the next 28 days, and 4 points if convicted (p. 186).

The 28 days run from the date of the notice, not the day you open it, and not receiving the first notice is no defence once you are summonsed (section 44(10)). Keep your address up to date. Some offences go straight to court with no fixed charge option (p. 185).