Under current legislation, holders of a driving licence may apply to renew their licences up to three months before their old licence expires.
EU law requires that a person should be normally resident in a Member State in order for that person to be issued with a driving licence by that Member State. A person may be normally resident in a Member State but residing temporarily outside it for work or study reasons. If a person is normally resident in Ireland but temporarily residing abroad, they are permitted to apply to renew their driving licence by post, without the normal requirement to appear in person at an office of the National Driver Licensing Service.
If a person has taken up permanent residence abroad, we cannot under EU law issue them with an Irish driving licence. If they are living in another EU Member State, or in a non-EU State with which Ireland has an agreement on mutual recognition of driving licences, they should exchange their Irish driving licence for one from the country in which they are now resident. If they are living in a non-EU State with which we do not have an agreement on driving licence exchange, they will be required to obtain a driving licence from that country according to the rules which apply there.