Question 1

If I pass my driving test in an automatic in Ireland, what happens to my licence?

Accepted Answer

Your licence is issued with code 78, which restricts you to vehicles with automatic transmission in that category. It is not an RSA policy but Irish law: S.I. 537/2006 lists code 78 among the codes the certificate of competency carries onto the licence. Inside the automatic world nothing is restricted — every automatic, hybrid, EV and dual-clutch car in category B is fine.

Question 2

How do I remove code 78 and drive a manual?

Accepted Answer

You apply for a fresh category B learner permit without code 78, sit and pass the full category B driving test again in a manual car, then apply for a new full licence. The NDLS quotes 35 euro for the permit, the test is 85 euro and the licence 65 euro, so roughly 185 euro in State fees plus manual lessons. While you are driving a manual on that permit you are treated as a learner again: L plates and always accompanied, even though you already hold a full licence.

Question 3

Is it easier to pass the driving test in an automatic in Ireland?

Accepted Answer

Nobody can honestly say. The RSA does not publish driving test pass rates broken down by transmission, so any Irish figure quoted for this is either invented or a British figure. In Britain, where the DVSA does publish it, the automatic pass rate runs several points below the manual one, most likely because the automatic group contains more candidates who chose it for medical, age or anxiety reasons.

Question 4

Can a parent with an automatic-only licence supervise a learner driving a manual?

Accepted Answer

No. Irish law requires the accompanying driver to hold a full licence in the category for at least two years which, unless the vehicle has automatic transmission, does not have code 78 on it (S.I. 719/2007). So a parent restricted to automatics can only sit with a learner in an automatic car. Most families do not know this before they choose.

Question 5

Is the EU getting rid of the automatic retest?

Accepted Answer

It is adding a second way out of it, but not yet. Directive (EU) 2025/2205 provides that code 78 shall not be recorded, or shall be removed, where the person completes a dedicated training of at least seven hours in a manual car instead of sitting a second test. Member States must adopt the measures by 26 November 2028 and apply them from 26 November 2029, and Ireland has not said which route it will offer. Until then the second test is the only way out.

In Ireland this is a legal choice before it is a learning choice