How many questions are in the SPSV test?

90 in total, in two modules: 54 Industry Knowledge questions and 36 Area Knowledge questions for the county you apply to work in. You get about one minute per question and need 75% in each module: 41 correct out of 54 and 27 out of 36.

Are these the real SPSV test questions?

No one outside the NTA has the real paper; anyone claiming to sell it is guessing. Every question here is written from the Official Manual for Operating in the SPSV Industry, Edition 8.1, the document the examiner uses, and shows the section and page it comes from. If the fact is on that page, it can be asked.

Where can I get SPSV test questions and answers as a PDF?

The NTA does not publish one. The Manual itself is a free PDF on nationaltransport.ie, and it prints eleven sample questions without answers. Our answered version of those samples is on the NTA sample questions page, printable.

Is there a free SPSV test?

Here, yes: Chapter 1 of Industry Knowledge in full, 5 free questions of every Area Knowledge topic for your county, and one full timed mock exam, without an account. The rest is €39 once for six months, with a pass guarantee.

How hard is the SPSV test?

The NTA has said only about a third of candidates pass at the first sitting. The questions themselves are not tricky; the volume is. Fees, deadlines, fixed payment offences and vehicle rules are asked as exact numbers, and Area Knowledge asks for real streets and places in your county.

SPSV Test Questions and Answers: 28 Free Questions (2026)

Updated 21 October 2026 · Source: NTA Official Manual 8.1, with the page under every answer

Below are 28 real practice questions for the NTA SPSV Driver Entry Test, the whole of Chapter 1 of the Manual (the SPSV industry: vehicle categories, who regulates what, the Taxi Regulation Act 2013). Answer them on screen first, then check yourself against the answer key. Every answer names the Manual section and page it comes from, so you can look it up.

The real test has 90 questions: 54 Industry Knowledge and 36 Area Knowledge for your county, about a minute each, 75% to pass in each module. These 28 are the free part of a bank of 400 Industry questions across all eleven chapters and 13,285 Area questions for all 26 counties, plus one free SPSV mock test on the real 54 + 36 minute clock.

Answer key: all 28 questions

The same questions as a list, for reading on the bus, with the Manual section and page under each answer.

1.Which body is the licensing authority for Small Public Service Vehicles (SPSVs) in Ireland?
Answer The National Transport Authority (NTA)
Manual 8.1 §1.1, p. 14
2.When was the National Transport Authority established?
Answer 1 December 2009
Manual 8.1 §1.1, p. 14
3.The Commission for Taxi Regulation became part of the NTA in which year?
Answer 2011
Manual 8.1 §1.1, p. 14
4.Under which legislation does the NTA regulate the SPSV industry?
Answer The Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 and 2016
Manual 8.1 §1.1, p. 14
5.How many categories of SPSV are there?
Answer Six
Manual 8.1 §1.2, p. 18
6.Which of the following is NOT one of the six SPSV categories?
Answer Minibus
Manual 8.1 §1.2, p. 18
7.Who issues SPSV driver licences?
Answer An Garda Síochána, with the support of the NTA
Manual 8.1 §1.3, p. 19
8.Who issues and manages SPSV vehicle licences?
Answer The NTA
Manual 8.1 §1.3, p. 19
9.A person holding a standard SPSV driver licence is licensed to drive:
Answer Any category of SPSV
Manual 8.1 §1.3, p. 19
10.The holder of a local area hackney driver licence may drive:
Answer Only local area hackneys
Manual 8.1 §1.3, p. 19
11.When driving a taxi, where is the driver licensed to pick up passengers?
Answer Only in the county or counties on their licence
Manual 8.1 §1.3, p. 19
12.How many SPSV categories can a single vehicle be licensed in at any one time?
Answer One
Manual 8.1 §1.3, p. 20
13.What is an SPSV dispatch operator?
Answer An individual or organisation that provides a booking service for SPSVs
Manual 8.1 §1.3, p. 20
14.Which organisation works with the NTA compliance team to monitor and enforce SPSV regulations?
Answer An Garda Síochána
Manual 8.1 §1.4, p. 21
15.Which TWO of the following must you have to drive an SPSV for hire? (choose two)
Answer A valid SPSV driver licence in addition to your regular driving licence; A vehicle with a valid SPSV licence
Manual 8.1 §1.5, p. 23
16.How does the NTA check the tax clearance status of an SPSV operator?
Answer The NTA checks it online
Manual 8.1 §1.5, p. 23
17.What is the "driver to vehicle link"?
Answer The NTA record of which licensed SPSV a driver is currently driving
Manual 8.1 §1.5, p. 23
18.After passing the SPSV Driver Entry Test, which free online eLearning modules must a new driver complete?
Answer Safeguarding and Disability Awareness
Manual 8.1 §1.5, p. 24
19.What is the recommended first step if you have a problem with a passenger, before it becomes a complaint to the NTA?
Answer Document the details of the incident at the time
Manual 8.1 §5.10, p. 95
20.The NTA may require a driver to sit the Area Knowledge Test again before renewal if, in the previous three years, it received how many complaints about their area knowledge?
Answer Three or more
Manual 8.1 §1.5, p. 24
21.Under which section of the Taxi Regulation Acts must the NTA keep the national register of licences?
Answer Section 18
Manual 8.1 §1.6, p. 25
22.On which website does the NTA publish the public (online) register of SPSV licences?
Answer www.transportforireland.ie
Manual 8.1 §1.6, p. 26
23.Which of the following does the NTA NOT publish on its public online register?
Answer The address of the licence holder
Manual 8.1 §1.6, p. 26
24.What is the NTA SPSV Information Line number?
Answer 0818 064 000
Manual 8.1 §1.6, p. 26
25.Which of these is a benefit of regulation described in the Manual?
Answer Approved operators are not undercut by people who have not met the standards
Manual 8.1 §1.4, p. 22
26.The Advisory Committee on Small Public Service Vehicles (Taxi Advisory Committee) is appointed by:
Answer The Minister for Transport
Manual 8.1 §1.1, p. 17
27.SPSVs are described in the Manual as the only type of public transport that:
Answer Provides a personalised door-to-door service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
Manual 8.1 §1.2, p. 18
28.An SPSV driver is allowed to do which of the following?
Answer Drive their own licensed SPSV, one owned by someone else, or work as an employed driver
Manual 8.1 §1.3, p. 19

What the real SPSV test asks

Industry Knowledge, 54 questions. Drawn from all eleven chapters of the Manual: licensing, choosing a vehicle, the suitability inspection, operating rules, fares and the taximeter, customer service, disability awareness, the law and the fixed payment offences. Numbers are quoted exactly, so “about 250 euro” is worth nothing; the options will be 200, 250, 300 and 350.
Area Knowledge, 36 questions. For the county you apply to work in. Since the October 2025 rewrite: main streets, districts, one-way streets, routes between towns, motorway junctions and notable places by category (hotels, hospitals, stations, Garda stations). Rural counties get street-level questions about their main towns, not just Dublin.
Pass mark 75% in each module, 41 of 54 and 27 of 36. Pass one module and fail the other and you repeat only the failed module within 12 months, though the resit fee is the same 90 euro.

The other ten Industry chapters

Chapter 1 is open to everyone. The rest of the bank, by chapter:

Chapter 1: The SPSV industry, 28 questions (free).
Chapter 2: SPSV driver licensing, 38 questions.
Chapter 3: Choosing a vehicle, 31 questions.
Chapter 4: Vehicle licensing, 53 questions.
Chapter 5: Working as an SPSV operator, 57 questions.
Chapter 6: Finding your way around, 24 questions.
Chapter 7: Fares, 33 questions.
Chapter 8: Delivering customer satisfaction, 40 questions.
Chapter 9: Your SPSV business, 27 questions.
Chapter 10: Staying safe, 37 questions.
Chapter 11: The test, vehicle age rules, local area hackneys, dispatch operators, 32 questions.

Area Knowledge questions for your county

5 free questions of every Area topic for each county, with the place on a map. Pick yours:

Official samples and other free sources

The NTA prints eleven sample questions in Chapter 11 of the Manual, without answers. We answered them on the NTA sample questions page, with a printable key. Freenow runs a free study platform for ten counties; what it covers and where it stops is in our review of the FreeNow manual. And the Manual itself is a free PDF: read it, the test is written from it.

SPSV test questions and answers

Answer key: all 28 questions

What the real SPSV test asks

The other ten Industry chapters

Area Knowledge questions for your county

Official samples and other free sources

Quick answers