Your Licence Exchanges Only if the Minister Has Made an Order About Your Country
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of El Salvador on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
116 exceptions recorded across 45 countries · none match El Salvador to Ireland · Driving and licence exchange
Ireland does not recognise foreign driving licences in general. Section 23A of the Road Traffic Act 1961 lets the Minister declare by order that licences issued by a particular state are recognised for the purpose of exchange, and a licence that is not covered by such an order cannot be exchanged at all - the holder sits the Irish theory test and the Irish driving test like a new driver. The general order is the Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) Order 2007, which covers every Member State and twelve named others: Australia, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Iceland, the Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Norway, South Africa, South Korea and Switzerland. Later orders add states one at a time, and Canada arrives not as a country but as a stack of provinces.
At a glance
- Whether a foreign licence exchanges
- Only if an order under section 23A of the Road Traffic Act 1961 covers the state that issued it
The definition of a recognised driving licence in the Licensing of Drivers Regulations points at that section.
- The general order
- Every Member State, and twelve other states named in its Schedule
Article 2(1) and the Schedule to S.I. No. 527 of 2007.
- Which states those are
- Australia, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Iceland, the Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Norway, South Africa, South Korea and Switzerland
The Schedule as printed. Australia has since been covered by its own order as well.
- If your state is not covered
- The licence cannot be exchanged, and there is no exemption from the tests
Section 23A is the only power to recognise, and recognition is what exchange requires.
- A licence you yourself got by exchange
- Outside the order, unless the original state is also covered
Article 2(2) of the 2007 Order shuts that door explicitly.
- Where the full list of orders is
- In the editorial notes to section 23A of the revised Road Traffic Act 1961
The Law Reform Commission lists each order made under the section, which no single instrument does.
Requirements
- A licence from a state covered by an order under section 23A
- Otherwise: the Irish theory test and the Irish driving test
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of El Salvador
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«23A. — (1) The Minister may by order declare that F66 [ , for the purposes of an application for an Irish driving licence, ] a licence or permit permitting a person to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle, not being a licence or permit issued to a person to enable that person to learn or provisionally to drive such a vehicle, issued by the competent authority of a state other than the State, shall be recognised for the purpose of exchange of that licence or permit for a driving licence, in respect of any one or more of the categories in respect of which the licence or permit is held, and subject to such restrictions, if any, as may be specified in the order.»The power, and the shape of the whole regime: recognition is granted state by state, for named categories, and subject to such restrictions as the order specifies.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Administrative consolidations of Irish Acts, prepared by the Law Reform Commission under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975. Each revised Act prints the date it is updated to, the latest Act and statutory instrument considered in its preparation, and annotations after every section recording which instrument inserted, substituted or deleted each passage, with the commencement date and the commencing order.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The Commission states on every page that it assumes no responsibility and gives no guarantees as to accuracy or completeness; a revised Act is an administrative consolidation, not an official text, and where it differs from the Acts it consolidates the Acts prevail. Its revision date is a cut-off: an amendment commenced after it is not in the text. The editorial apparatus is inside the sentences - F-markers, square brackets and ellipses sit between words - so a quotation cannot be taken across one, and the annotations and editorial notes are the Commission's own writing rather than anything enacted. Coverage is partial: there is no revised text of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 or of the Aliens Act 1935, and the Commission revises Acts only, never statutory instruments.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«“recognised driving licence” means a licence or permit issued by the competent authority of a state (other than the State) to which an order under section 23A (inserted by section 8 of the Road Traffic Act 2006 ) of the Act applies;»The licensing regulations never list a state. They define the term by pointing back at the section 23A orders.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The electronic Irish Statute Book: every Act of the Oireachtas since 1922 and every statutory instrument, each at a stable ELI address built from year, type and number. A full Act or instrument is served at the /print path; the /html path returns only the arrangement of sections. The site also carries a legislation directory page per Act listing every instrument made under it, which is the only published index of the orders that make up a scheme.
Standing:
Cannot be cited for: This site publishes Acts **as enacted** and statutory instruments **as made**, and nothing else. It is not the law in force and does not claim to be: the Immigration Act 2004 (Visas) Order 2014 has been amended more than twenty times and the text served at its address is the 2014 original, with no marker to say so. Section 819(4) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is served in words replaced in 2008. For an Act the Law Reform Commission has revised, the revised text is the one to read; for the Taxes Consolidation Act and for every statutory instrument there is no revised text anywhere, and the current wording has to be assembled from the amending instruments by hand. The directory page for an Act is reachable; the equivalent page for a statutory instrument returned an error when tried.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«2. (1) It is declared that a licence or permit permitting a person to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle, not being a licence or permit issued to a person to enable that person to learn or provisionally to drive such a vehicle, issued by the competent authority of a Member State (other than the State) or another state mentioned in the Schedule is recognised for the purpose of exchange of that licence or permit for a driving licence, in respect of any one or more of the categories in respect of which the licence or permit is held that corresponds to a category mentioned in the Table to Regulation 6 of the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 537 of 2006 ), subject to Commission Decision No. 2000/275 of 21 March 2000»About this source
The electronic Irish Statute Book: every Act of the Oireachtas since 1922 and every statutory instrument, each at a stable ELI address built from year, type and number. A full Act or instrument is served at the /print path; the /html path returns only the arrangement of sections. The site also carries a legislation directory page per Act listing every instrument made under it, which is the only published index of the orders that make up a scheme.
Standing:
Cannot be cited for: This site publishes Acts **as enacted** and statutory instruments **as made**, and nothing else. It is not the law in force and does not claim to be: the Immigration Act 2004 (Visas) Order 2014 has been amended more than twenty times and the text served at its address is the 2014 original, with no marker to say so. Section 819(4) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is served in words replaced in 2008. For an Act the Law Reform Commission has revised, the revised text is the one to read; for the Taxes Consolidation Act and for every statutory instrument there is no revised text anywhere, and the current wording has to be assembled from the amending instruments by hand. The directory page for an Act is reachable; the equivalent page for a statutory instrument returned an error when tried.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«SCHEDULE Other states State Australia Gibraltar Guernsey Iceland Isle of Man Japan Jersey Liechtenstein Norway South Africa South Korea Switzerland»The Schedule as printed, with its own heading rows. Of the countries this site covers, not one appears in it: the Americas are reached, if at all, province by province.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The electronic Irish Statute Book: every Act of the Oireachtas since 1922 and every statutory instrument, each at a stable ELI address built from year, type and number. A full Act or instrument is served at the /print path; the /html path returns only the arrangement of sections. The site also carries a legislation directory page per Act listing every instrument made under it, which is the only published index of the orders that make up a scheme.
Standing:
Cannot be cited for: This site publishes Acts **as enacted** and statutory instruments **as made**, and nothing else. It is not the law in force and does not claim to be: the Immigration Act 2004 (Visas) Order 2014 has been amended more than twenty times and the text served at its address is the 2014 original, with no marker to say so. Section 819(4) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is served in words replaced in 2008. For an Act the Law Reform Commission has revised, the revised text is the one to read; for the Taxes Consolidation Act and for every statutory instrument there is no revised text anywhere, and the current wording has to be assembled from the amending instruments by hand. The directory page for an Act is reachable; the equivalent page for a statutory instrument returned an error when tried.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«E294 Power pursuant to section exercised (27.04.2026) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (Moldova) Order 2026 (S.I. No. 172 of 2026), in operation as per art. 1(2). E295 Power pursuant to section exercised (25.06.2024) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (Georgia) Order 2024 (S.I. No. 317 of 2024). E296 Power pursuant to section exercised (12.05.2023) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences New Zealand and Taiwan) (Amendment) Order 2023 (S.I. No. 247 of 2023). E297 Power pursuant to section exercised (4.04.2023) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (Australia) Order 2023 (S.I. No. 158 of 2023). E298 Power pursuant to section exercised (27.07.2022) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (Ukraine) (Revocation) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 391 of 2022). E299 Power pursuant to section exercised (24.11.2021) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (New Brunswick) Order 2021 (S.I. No. 615 of 2021). E300 Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2020 at 11 p.m.) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (United Kingdom) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 683 of 2020), in operation as per art. 2. E301 Power pursuant to section exercised (10.03.2020) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (Alberta) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 74 of 2020). E302 Power pursuant to section exercised (30.05.2019) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (Saskatchewan) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 238 of 2019). E303 Power pursuant to section exercised (13.01.2016) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (Newfoundland and Labrador) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 14 of 2016). E304 Power pursuant to section exercised (13.01.2016) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (Newfoundland and Labrador) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 14 of 2016). E305 Power pursuant to section exercised (2.04.2015) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (Manitoba) Order 2014 (S.I. No. 118 of 2015). E306 Power pursuant to section exercised (16.09.2014) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (Ontario) Order 2014 (S.I. No. 413 of 2014). E307 Power pursuant to section exercised (12.08.2010) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences - New Zealand and Taiwan) Order 2010 (S.I. No. 402 of 2010). E308 The section heading is taken from the amending provision in the absence of one included in the amendment. E309 Power pursuant to section exercised (18.07.2007) by Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 527 of 2007).»The Commission's own index of orders made under the section. It is the only consolidated list of which states are recognised, and it is an editorial note rather than law.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Administrative consolidations of Irish Acts, prepared by the Law Reform Commission under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975. Each revised Act prints the date it is updated to, the latest Act and statutory instrument considered in its preparation, and annotations after every section recording which instrument inserted, substituted or deleted each passage, with the commencement date and the commencing order.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The Commission states on every page that it assumes no responsibility and gives no guarantees as to accuracy or completeness; a revised Act is an administrative consolidation, not an official text, and where it differs from the Acts it consolidates the Acts prevail. Its revision date is a cut-off: an amendment commenced after it is not in the text. The editorial apparatus is inside the sentences - F-markers, square brackets and ellipses sit between words - so a quotation cannot be taken across one, and the annotations and editorial notes are the Commission's own writing rather than anything enacted. Coverage is partial: there is no revised text of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 or of the Aliens Act 1935, and the Commission revises Acts only, never statutory instruments.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
How long a visitor may drive here on a foreign licence is a different question governed by different instruments, and those were not read. Nothing on this record says you may not drive on arrival; it says the licence will not convert.
An order may recognise a licence and still restrict what the Irish licence lets you drive. Several of them grant only an automatic-transmission entitlement unless the issuing authority confirms a manual test was passed.
- consolidatesRoad Traffic Act 1961, revised
Revised Acts, Law Reform Commission · consolidated to 2026-09-04
About this source
Administrative consolidations of Irish Acts, prepared by the Law Reform Commission under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975. Each revised Act prints the date it is updated to, the latest Act and statutory instrument considered in its preparation, and annotations after every section recording which instrument inserted, substituted or deleted each passage, with the commencement date and the commencing order.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The Commission states on every page that it assumes no responsibility and gives no guarantees as to accuracy or completeness; a revised Act is an administrative consolidation, not an official text, and where it differs from the Acts it consolidates the Acts prevail. Its revision date is a cut-off: an amendment commenced after it is not in the text. The editorial apparatus is inside the sentences - F-markers, square brackets and ellipses sit between words - so a quotation cannot be taken across one, and the annotations and editorial notes are the Commission's own writing rather than anything enacted. Coverage is partial: there is no revised text of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 or of the Aliens Act 1935, and the Commission revises Acts only, never statutory instruments.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- publishesRoad Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) Order 2007
Irish Statute Book, Office of the Attorney General
About this source
The electronic Irish Statute Book: every Act of the Oireachtas since 1922 and every statutory instrument, each at a stable ELI address built from year, type and number. A full Act or instrument is served at the /print path; the /html path returns only the arrangement of sections. The site also carries a legislation directory page per Act listing every instrument made under it, which is the only published index of the orders that make up a scheme.
Standing:
Cannot be cited for: This site publishes Acts **as enacted** and statutory instruments **as made**, and nothing else. It is not the law in force and does not claim to be: the Immigration Act 2004 (Visas) Order 2014 has been amended more than twenty times and the text served at its address is the 2014 original, with no marker to say so. Section 819(4) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is served in words replaced in 2008. For an Act the Law Reform Commission has revised, the revised text is the one to read; for the Taxes Consolidation Act and for every statutory instrument there is no revised text anywhere, and the current wording has to be assembled from the amending instruments by hand. The directory page for an Act is reachable; the equivalent page for a statutory instrument returned an error when tried.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source