Driving straight after passing your test with a certificate??

sarahxgx

I just passed my test today and want to drive to Dublin tomorrow.
My licence will take about a week to come in the post.
Do I have to wait for it in order to legally drive, or can I just carry around my certificate saying I passed, (which to me seems like the same thing as a licence.)
thanks

challengemaster

You have to wait for the license.

The certificate is just proof that you have passed your test, it is not a replacement for a license.

Permabear

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Zapho

challengemaster wrote: »

You have to wait for the license.

The certificate is just proof that you have passed your test, it is not a replacement for a license.

Challengemaster is 100% right here. You're not licensed to drive unless you currently possess a license. C'mon, a week isn't a long time to wait!

sarahxgx

See i have to go to mullingar to apply for a licence which is about an hour away from me, such an inconvenience. so i was going to do that next week, seeing as its the weekend and they wont be open.

Permabear

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challengemaster

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

Even still, tis best practice to just sit it out and keep the L plates and accompanying driver for the week.

Permabear

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**Timbuk2**

I used to think it was the case that once you applied for your full licence, you could drive away!

The girl at the MTO gave me a receipt that said Full Licence Application (or something similar) and just said to keep it with you while you're driver, which I misinterpreted to mean that I could drive alone.

challengemaster

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

I used to think it was the case that once you applied for your full licence, you could drive away!

The girl at the MTO gave me a receipt that said Full Licence Application (or something similar) and just said to keep it with you while you're driver, which I misinterpreted to mean that I could drive alone.

Technically no, and even still driving with the receipt/cert wouldn't be legal... but you'd really have to catch a garda on a bad day for them to do you over it.

**Timbuk2**

Yea I know now that it's illegal, it's just at the time I thought it wasn't. Or I possibly thought it might have been, but I had it in my head that they would ask you to produce the licence within 10 days to a garda station, and I assumed that I would have the licence within 10 days and thus would be ok, but of course the date of the 'incident' could be sooner than the date of issue!

Edit: It was over a year ago now so I can't really remember if I drove much - I don't think I drove on my own in the 2 'licenceless' days, but I did get my dad to bring me onto the motorway for the first time

DazMarz

I was told that I should be fine with the letter the council gave me after I applied, and sure enough it was grand when I got pulled by the Gards. But then again, if you catch a Garda on a bad day, they can fling very book they can find at you and you could find yourself in a sticky spot. But it'd be so so unlucky.

fred252

i asked the tester who passed me this question and he said it was OK to drive with the cert of completion. not that i expect him to be an authority on the law

Alanstrainor

fred252 wrote: »

i asked the tester who passed me this question and he said it was OK to drive with the cert of completion. not that i expect him to be an authority on the law

This was the same when I passed my test a number of years ago, however it's technically not true.

As as been said though, you'd have to find a Gard in particularly bad form to actually enforce this rule. However there is always a risk involved.

Apply asap is the only solution imo!