Short answer: a taxi licence in Ireland costs 340 euro for the driver: 90 euro for the SPSV Driver Entry Test and 250 euro for the SPSV driver licence, valid up to five years. Putting your own car on the road is a separate vehicle licence: 125 euro plus a 45 euro suitability test for a wheelchair accessible taxi, then 150 euro (or 75 euro) a year to renew. New standard saloon taxi licences are not issued at all.
People searching this usually mean one of those two things: the cost of becoming a licensed driver, or the cost of putting a car on the road as a taxi. They are separate licences with separate fees. Figures below are from the NTA Official Manual 8.1 and nationaltransport.ie as of October 2026.
Part 1: becoming a licensed SPSV driver
Check one thing before you pay any of it: you need a driving licence (Irish, EU, EEA or another recognised state) that you have held for at least 12 months without endorsement, plus tax clearance and Garda vetting. The NTA lists these on its driver licence page. If your licence is newer than that, hold off on the 250 euro fee: it is non-refundable and the Garda application cannot succeed yet. The order of the steps, from the test to the Garda form, is in how to get an SPSV licence.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SPSV Driver Entry Test | 90 euro per sitting | Same fee for a full test or a single-module resit. |
| Safeguarding and Disability Awareness course | Free | Online, mandatory for new applicants. |
| SPSV driver licence fee (NTA) | 250 euro | Non-refundable. Pay only after passing the test. |
| Tax clearance | Free | Through Revenue; must be in the same name as your driving licence. |
| NDLS driver licence history | Free | Needed for the Garda application. |
| Passport photos (three) | About 10 to 15 euro | Roughly 10 cm by 7 cm. |
| Renewal (up to five years later) | 250 euro on time; 300 up to 30 days late; 400 up to 12 months late | No test needed for renewal. |
Minimum realistic total for the driver licence: about 350 euro if you pass first time. The NTA reports that candidates average close to three attempts, which puts the typical spend nearer 530 euro. That gap is the whole reason to prepare properly; a few evenings of practice costs nothing, and a mock exam on the real clock tells you whether you are at 75% before you hand over the 90 euro.
Part 2: putting a vehicle on the road
The NTA currently issues new vehicle licences only for these categories. The suitability test (the NTA calls it the Initial Suitability Inspection) is 45 euro where it applies; the suitability test checklist covers what is checked.
| Licence | Licence fee | Suitability test | Vehicle age at first licensing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheelchair accessible taxi | 125 euro | 45 euro | Under 6 years |
| Wheelchair accessible hackney | 125 euro | 45 euro | Under 6 years |
| Limousine | 1,000 euro | 45 euro | No limit |
| Local area hackney | 50 euro | None | Under 10 years |
There is no route to a brand-new standard saloon taxi licence. An existing taxi licence cannot be sold or transferred either: the Manual says it passes to someone else only when the holder dies, to a successor nominated in advance. So the “taxi plate” ads you see are rentals of a licensed car, not a licence changing hands; the driver licence vs vehicle licence guide explains the difference. Wheelchair accessible vehicles cost more to buy, but the state grant scheme (WAV grant, run through the NTA in annual rounds) offsets a large part of that. The 2026 amounts, from 3,500 to 15,000 euro by vehicle age, and the round dates are in the WAV grant guide.
Yearly running fees
- Licence Renewal Assessment: 150 euro (taxi, hackney, limousine, local area hackney) or 75 euro (wheelchair accessible taxi or hackney). Licences run 12 months, or 6 months once the car is over 10 years old.
- Late renewal of a vehicle licence: 500 euro flat, up to 24 months after expiry. After that the licence is gone.
- NCT: annual for a taxi, at the standard NCTS fee.
- SPSV insurance: the single biggest cost. Quotes vary widely with experience, age and claims history; budget several thousand euro a year for a first policy. What the policy must say and what moves the quote is in taxi insurance in Ireland.
- Motor tax, plus airport permit charges if you work Dublin Airport.
Taxi licence renewal fees
Two renewals, two clocks. The driver licence is renewed every five years through the Garda with form PSV 18, from three months before expiry. The vehicle licence is renewed every year (every six months once the car is over 10 years old) at an NTA Licence Renewal Assessment, bookable 60 days before expiry.
| Renewal | On time | Late |
|---|---|---|
| SPSV driver licence (5 years) | 250 euro | 300 euro up to 30 days after expiry; 400 euro from 30 days to 12 months. After 12 months: no renewal, new test and application. |
| Taxi, hackney, limousine or local area hackney vehicle licence | 150 euro a year | 500 euro, up to 24 months after expiry |
| Wheelchair accessible taxi or hackney vehicle licence | 75 euro a year | 500 euro, up to 24 months after expiry |
No test is needed for a normal driver licence renewal, but tax clearance, the NDLS driver history, three photographs and Garda vetting are. The documents, the timing and what happens if you let it lapse are in the SPSV licence renewal guide.
Start-up equipment for a taxi
Roof sign, branding (the door decals and rear stickers), taximeter with printer, cashless payment terminal, and the taximeter calibration and verification. The Manual lists these in Chapter 9 as start-up costs; the amounts depend on supplier. Recalibration is needed again whenever the National Maximum Taxi Fare changes.
What a failed test really costs
The 90 euro is the small part. A failed module means another booking, typically a few weeks away, during which you cannot apply for the driver licence and therefore cannot earn. If you have already lined up a rental car or a dispatch operator, that delay is the expensive part. The pass mark is 75% in each module; our mock exam shows you where you stand before you pay the NTA.