Seven-month extension announced for expired driving licences

The Government has announced that driving licences which expired any time since March 1 this year will be automatically extended by seven months from their date of expiration.

The measure was announced by Minister Eamon Ryan and Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton yesterday (Monday).

In a statement, the Government said it was taking this step due to the disruption which Covid-19 has caused to licensing services delivered by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

"This now means that anyone, whose driving licence is or has expired between 1 March and 31 August 2020, will have its validity extended by seven months in total," said the statement.

"This, in effect, means that a person whose driving licence expired on 10 March, 2020, will have the life of this licence extended to 10 October, 2020, while a person whose licence expires on 15 August, 2020, will have a new expiry date of 15 March, 2021.

"This latest extension will go a long way in allaying concerns that many drivers may be facing with delays in renewing their licence," said Minister of State Naughton.

It was stated that RSA, which operates the National Driver Licence Service on behalf of the Department, also hopes to extend its online services over the coming months, subject to the appropriate legislation and technical solutions being in place.

In addition, the Ministers confirmed that the exemption from having a current medical report for those aged 70 years and over, without specific medical conditions, is being extended.

The exemption is being put in place until Dec 31, 2020, and means that no medical report is required for over 70s unless they have one of the conditions specifically listed in the licence renewal application form.