Short answer: to be an Uber driver in Ireland, or drive for Bolt or FreeNow, you need an SPSV driver licence first and a car with an NTA taxi or limousine licence. Ireland has no private-car ride-hailing. The route starts with the NTA’s SPSV Driver Entry Test (90 euro), then a 250 euro licence fee and a Garda application. The apps come last.
This surprises a lot of people who drove for Uber in London, Warsaw or Lagos. Here the apps are booking services for licensed taxis and limousines, so every driver on them went through the same test and vetting as a rank driver.
What each app asks for
Uber’s own requirements page for Ireland lists a valid driving licence, a valid SPSV licence, a vehicle limousine or taxi licence, an insurance certificate covering SPSV use and a profile photo. Bolt asks for your driving licence (Irish and EU licences are accepted, except Swedish ones, it says), your Garda paper SPSV licence and the vehicle’s SPSV disc; for its Green category the car must be electric or hybrid and licensed by the NTA. FreeNow works with accredited taxi drivers. Different apps, same starting point.
Why the apps cannot take you without it
Under the Taxi Regulation Acts, anyone who takes bookings for taxis or hackneys is a dispatch operator and needs a licence from the NTA. Running one without it carries a penalty of up to 50,000 euro. Appendix C of the NTA Manual says a dispatch operator must make sure each driver holds a current SPSV driver licence and each vehicle is licensed and insured as an SPSV, and it keeps those records for the NTA. When the NTA’s Advisory Committee reviewed the apps in December 2025, its first recommendation was to keep the model in which all drivers and vehicles are licensed.
One licence covers the lot. The NTA’s driver licensing page says a regular SPSV driver licence lets you drive every category: taxi, hackney and limousine. If you switch from Uber to Bolt next year, nothing changes on your licence.
Getting the SPSV driver licence
The NTA lists five conditions. You need a pass certificate from the SPSV Driver Entry Test, the free online Safeguarding and Disability Awareness course, tax affairs up to date, Garda confirmation that you are a suitable person, and a driving licence from Ireland, the EU, the EEA or another recognised state that you have held for at least 12 months without endorsement.
- Book the SPSV Driver Entry Test on 0818 064 000 (90 euro). It has two modules on the same day: 54 Industry Knowledge questions from the NTA Manual and 36 Area Knowledge questions for the county you pick. You need 75% in each.
- Do the 30-minute safeguarding course. The NTA emails the link after you pass.
- Pay the 250 euro licence fee.
- Hand form PSV15 and your documents in at your local Garda station.
Every step, the documents and the Garda wait are in how to become a taxi driver in Ireland. The step that stops most people is the first one. A failed module means another 90 euro and a new slot, so check your level with a free mock exam before you book.
Pick your county before you pick an app
The county you choose for the Area Knowledge module goes on your driver display card. When driving a taxi you may stand or ply for hire only in that county. App bookings are pre-booked, but ranks and street hails are only open to you in your own county, so choose the county you will actually drive in. For Dublin that means one-way streets, pedestrianised streets and the city districts; our Dublin practice covers them.
The car: rent one or license your own
The app needs a licensed vehicle, and your driver licence is not one. Many new drivers rent a licensed taxi from a fleet or a licence holder. The other route is your own car, but the NTA only issues new vehicle licences for wheelchair accessible taxis and hackneys, local area hackneys and limousines. The two routes are compared in driver licence vs vehicle licence, and the rules for renting are in renting a taxi in Ireland.
Whichever car you drive, link yourself to it with the NTA before your first fare: in the SPSV+ app, on SPSV Online Services, by text to 51444 or on 0818 064 000. Regulation 51 of the 2015 SPSV Regulations requires it, and driving without the link is a criminal offence. You do it again every time you change car.
Fixed fares on the apps
Apps can quote a fixed price for a taxi trip. The NTA’s position, recorded in the minutes of its Advisory Committee meeting on 11 December 2025, is that fixed price fares are permitted under legislation, provided they do not exceed the maximum fares order. The taximeter maximum is still the ceiling. The fare rules themselves are examined in chapter 7 of the Manual; our fares practice drills them.
Where to start
Do the free practice questions for your county tonight. If you score 75% on a mock exam, book the NTA test. Do that before you download a driver app.