If you have an British Driver’s licence or Driver’s CPC card and you wish to continue working in Ireland, please take urgent action now.

Important update for Drivers living and/or working in Ireland with a UK/NI Driver CPC Card

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) wishes to remind any driver with a UK/NI Driver CPC card who is resident and/or working in Ireland to exchange their Driver’s CPC card for an Irish Driver CPC card as soon as possible but no later than 31 December 2020.

As of 1 January 2021, UK/NI issued Driver CPC cards will no longer be recognised and a Driver who holds a UK/NI Driver CPC card will not be able to drive professionally with a UK/NI Driver CPC qualification card. Below are the different situations which will require drivers to exchange their Driver CPC cards.

1. If you are resident in Ireland and drive on a UK/NI driving licence but have completed CPC training in Ireland and hold a Driver’s CPC card issued by the RSA with your UK/NI driver number on it, this card will no longer be valid after 31 December 2020. You should exchange your UK/NI driving licence for an Irish driving licence, click here to apply online, you should then contact the RSA to get your Driver CPC card updated with your new Irish driver number You must return your Driver’s CPC card with the UK/NI driver number on it so that it can be replaced with a Driver’s CPC card recording your Irish driver number, the same expiry date will be on it.
2. If you are resident in Ireland and hold a UK/NI driving licence and a UK/NI Driver’s CPC card, your CPC card will no longer be valid after 31 December 2020. You should exchange your UK/NI driving licence for an Irish driving licence click here to apply online. Once you have your Irish driver number you should contact the RSA to exchange your UK/NI Driver’s CPC card for an Irish Driver CPC card with your new Irish driver number on it. If you have never completed Driver’s CPC training in Ireland and are not on the RSA CPC system you must complete a Driver Registration form and submit it to the Driver Education Section in advance of exchanging your card, (the completed form can be emailed to cpc@rsa.ie please put ‘Exchange of Driver CPC Card’ in the email subject line). You will then be contacted by a member of the (RSA) Driver Education Team who will advise you how and when to return your UK/NI Driver CPC card and apply for an Irish CPC card.
3. If you are resident in the UK/NI but working as a professional driver for an undertaking established in Ireland and are the holder of a UK/NI driving licence and a UK/NI Driver CPC card, you should exchange your Driver CPC card for an Irish Driver CPC card before the 31 December 2020. While you will be able to drive on your UK/NI driving licence you will however not be able to drive for a living without an Irish Driver CPC card. It is likely that up to this point you would have completed Driver CPC training in the UK/NI and the RSA may not have a record of your details on its system therefore you will have to take a number of steps before exchanging your UK/NI Driver CPC card for an Irish card.

You must submit the following documents to the RSA in order to exchange your Driver CPC card–

i                       (i) Driver Registration Form – click here to download.

ii                     (ii) Official confirmation from your Employer on company headed paper (must be registered in the Republic of Ireland) that you are employed by them to drive a bus/truck.

iii                   (iii) Copy of your UK/NI driving licence (front and back).

iv                   (iv) Copy of your UK/NI Driver CPC card.

v                     (v) Email the above documents to cpc@rsa.ie please put ‘Exchange of Driver CPC Card’ in the email subject line.

vi                   (vi) Please note Drivers are required to have a ROI PPS number. You can apply for this on www.welfare.ie

Once the documentation referred to above is received and processed by the RSA, you will be contacted by a member of the (RSA) Driver Education Team who will advise you how and when to return your UK/NI Driver CPC card and apply for an Irish CPC card. Drivers are advised to keep copies of all documents including UK/NI licence and CPC cards before exchanging.

Consequences of not exchanging Driver CPC card or engaging with the RSA by 31 December 2020

1. Please note that it is important that you engage with the RSA as soon as possible as after the 31 December 2020 UK/NI CPC cards will not be recognised and it will not be possible to exchange for an Irish CPC card.
2. The RSA Driver Education Section will not be able to accept any applications to exchange a UK/NI Driver CPC card after the 31 December 2020.
3. In the event a driver does not make an application to exchange their UK/NI Driver CPC card before the 31 December 2020, the driver will be required to ‘re-establish’ their entitlement to a Driver CPC qualification by completing five days of Driver CPC periodic training (or six days if maintaining both bus and truck categories) in an RSA approved Driver CPC Training Organisation before obtaining a new Driver CPC card.

After the Exchange 

After the driver exchanges their UK/NI Driver CPC card for an Irish Driver CPC card, they will be required to maintain their Driver CPC qualification by completing five days of CPC periodic training (or six days if maintaining both bus and truck) in an RSA approved Driver CPC Training Organisation in advance of the expiry date on their Driver CPC card; and thereafter complete one day of Driver CPC training per year on an ongoing basis.

Please see attached link to the RSA website in relation to the exchange of UK/NI Driving Licences and UK/NI CPC cards.

https://rsa.ie/Documents/Professional%20Drivers/Important%20notice%20to%20holders%20of%20UK%20NI%20Driver%20CPC%20cards%20re%20Exchange%20of%20CPC%20card%20due%20to%20Brexit%202020.pdf