How-to · for ADIs in Ireland · 2026

What an instructor covers in a mock test, and how to mark it like the tester.

Run the RSA test in the RSA's order, mark it on the RSA's headings, say nothing until the engine is off. Then teach from the sheet.

8 min readRSA guidelines, read 20 Oct 2026

In 30 seconds

1Run it in the tester's order: desk, questions, hand signals, three checks, then about 8 km with the reverse, turnabout and hill start.
2Mark it on the tester's headings. One grade 3, six under a heading or nine overall is a fail.
3Directions only. No coaching until the engine is off.
4Debrief three things, book the next lesson before they get out of the car.

Mark a mock The test in order

From the RSA's test pages and its Driver Tester Marking Guidelines, read 20 October 2026.

What the tester does

The test, in the order it happens.

8 kmof driving, about 40 minutes

3technical checks, bonnet open

9grade 2 faults is a fail. One grade 3 is too

55%pass nationally. 42% at the hardest centre, 71% at the easiest

Learners lose faults at the desk and in the car park before the car moves. A mock starts there.

DocumentsLearner permit, and since 9 March 2026 the insurance certificate for the car. No certificate, no test. In your car that is your tuition certificate: keep it in the car.

Rules of the Road and road signsA handful of questions at the desk. Three or more wrong, hand signals included, is a grade 2.

Hand signalsStill examined. Slow down, stop, right, left. Thirty seconds to practise.

Three technical checksFrom ten: steering, horn, brakes, tyres, lights, reflectors, indicators, oil, coolant, washer fluid. Opening and closing the bonnet is part of it.

The preambleDoor, mirrors, seat, belt, head restraint. Watched, and marked.

The driveAbout 8 km in mixed traffic: left and right turns, a roundabout, traffic lights. Directions come early and clearly. Faults are recorded against the last direction given.

Reverse around a cornerAlways to the left. Kerb distance, control, and a look round throughout.

TurnaboutForward, back, forward. Both ways looked at every change. Slow beats tidy.

Hill startNo roll-back. Handbrake, bite, mirrors, blind spot, signal, go.

The resultPass: a Certificate of Competency. Fail: the marked sheet and a retest in about ten weeks. The tester points at the faults and does not discuss them. You will.

What the tester writes

The sheet, and the four ways to fail.

The RSA gives testers three bands. The bottom third is never written down.

—

Not recordedA touch wide on a bend, a mirror a beat late. Your mock should not count these either.

Grade 2: seriousWrong position, no proper observation, a signal missed. Survivable alone, fatal in numbers.

Grade 3: dangerousOr total disregard of a traffic control. One ends the test.

A fail is any one of these:

grade 3 fault

of the same grade 2 for a single aspectThe right mirror missed before four right turns.

grade 2s under one headingPosition faults in six different places add up.

grade 2s overall

Two rules from the guidelines that change how you mark. No double marking: a kerb clipped on a left turn is one fault under Position, not a second under Steering. Off route is not a fault if the learner misses a turn safely.

Two taps a fault

Mark a mock.

The tester's sheet. Pick the heading, then tap G2 or G3 on the aspect: moving off, blind spot, a roundabout. That is how the real sheet is laid out, and it is what makes the four-of-the-same-fault rule count. Finish when the engine is off: the faults in order, three things drafted, and the sheet emailed to you and to the learner.

Marking from the car? The marker has its own page, which keeps the sheet on your phone between junctions.

Running it properly

Five rules of a real mock.

Their centre, their routes, their time of day.A test at 9:10 on a Tuesday gets a mock on a weekday morning on those roads.

Start at the desk.Documents, questions, hand signals, the three checks, the preamble. The learner who fumbles the bonnet catch in the mock does not fumble it on the day.

Directions only, early."At the roundabout, second exit, straight ahead." Then silence. If you have to intervene, the mock is over: drive back and start the debrief.

Mark as it happens.A fault written down ten minutes later is a fault you have already softened.

Engine off, one question."How do you think that went?" Their answer tells you what they noticed. Then the sheet.

Observation fails them

Not looking, or looking without seeing: moving off, junctions, roundabouts, lane changes. The blind-spot check must be a visible turn of the head, every time.

Progress surprises them

Hanging back at a gap, crawling to a green light, sitting at a roundabout. Learners think slow is safe. The sheet calls it undue hesitancy.

Position and mirrors add up

A little wide, a little close to parked cars, the mirror after the signal. None is a fail. Six under one heading is.

The part that teaches

The debrief: the sheet, three things, the next lesson.

The drive is data. The debrief is the lesson. In the car, engine off, sheet between you.

The verdict first, in the RSA's words."A pass with five grade 2s." "A fail: two under observation and a grade 3 at the junction." The sheet decides, not you.

Three things, not thirteen.The heading with most marks, the one nearest a fail rule, the one easiest to fix. A learner can hold three.

Show, then do.Where it happened, what the tester would have seen, what to do instead. If there is time, drive back and do it once.

Book the next lesson before they get out."I'll text you" ends with nothing. Put the next lesson and the second mock in the diary while the sheet is fresh.

WhatsApp · the same evening

Hi [name], today's mock on the sheet: [pass / fail], [N] grade 2s, [none / one] grade 3.

The three things to practise before [next lesson]:
1. [Observation] – [a full look right and left, head turned, before you move at every junction]
2. [Progress] – [take the gap at the roundabout when it's there; you waited through three safe ones]
3. [Mirrors] – [mirror, then signal, then move. You signalled first twice]

Everything else was fine. Next lesson [day, time]; second mock [date]. [Your name]

When, how many, how much

Two mocks, three weeks apart.

First: three to four weeks out

Early enough to fix what it finds. A first mock in the last week finds things there is no time for.

Second: the last week

This one should be clean. If it is not, on the headings rather than nerves, say so and move the test. The RSA's fee is €85 and the next slot is ten weeks away.

Two hours, priced as such

Forty minutes of driving, the rest is the desk and the debrief. Price lists put a pre-test €5 to €10 above the hour, and with the test-day car at €130 to €185. The going rates by area.

From 1 November 2026 a learner on a second permit needs a test sat within two years to get a third. Expect more learners arriving with a date already fixed. The new permit rules and your diary.

Keeping the record

The mock, the note and the test date, in one place.

A pre-test is its own lesson

In Pamio it never reaches the RSA log, so twelve EDT lessons stay twelve. The test date sits in the same diary as the lessons.

The sheet becomes the note

Paste the copied sheet and the three things into the learner's lesson note. Share it and it reaches them on their own page, with the next reminder carrying the news.

The next slot fills itself

Pam books pre-tests into the hours you open, answers "another mock Thursday?" while you teach, and reminds the learner the evening before.

Run the mock. Pamio keeps the rest. Pre-tests out of the RSA log, the note on the learner's page, the test date in the diary, the slots filled on WhatsApp while you teach.

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Questions instructors ask

Good to know.

What is a mock driving test?

A pre-test lesson run exactly as the RSA runs the test: the same sequence, the learner's own test routes, the instructor silent and marking on the tester's headings. The debrief at the end is the lesson.

How long does a mock test take?

Book two hours. The drive is about 40 minutes over roughly 8 km, the desk and the checks take ten, and a proper debrief takes the rest.

How is the Irish driving test marked?

Faults are recorded under headings such as position, observation, mirrors, signals and progress. Grade 2 is serious, grade 3 is dangerous. One grade 3, four of the same aspect, six under one heading or nine overall is a fail. Minor slips are not recorded.

How many mock tests before the test?

Two. One three to four weeks out, to find what needs fixing while there is time. One in the last week, which should be clean.

What do I charge for a mock test?

Most price lists put a pre-test lesson €5 to €10 above the ordinary hour, and a pre-test with the car for the test at €130 to €185. The going rates by area are in our article on what to charge.

Should I talk during a mock test?

Only to give directions, early and clearly, as the tester does. No coaching. If you have to take the wheel or the brake, the mock is over and that is the first line of the debrief.

What should a learner bring?

What they will bring on the day: the learner permit and, since 9 March 2026, the certificate of insurance for the car. Check both at the start.

Does a mock test count as an EDT lesson?

No. EDT is the twelve-lesson syllabus logged with the RSA. A pre-test lesson is separate and is never logged.

Where does Pamio come in?

Nothing on this page needs it. Pamio is the booking assistant we make: pre-test lessons are their own type and stay out of the RSA log, the note you write after a mock reaches the learner on their own page, the test date sits in the diary, and Pam books the pre-tests while you teach.

Sources, read on 20 October 2026: the RSA's Preparing for your test and What you will be tested on; the RSA's Driver Tester Marking Guidelines (the grades, the fail rules, the headings, no double marking, off-route not marked when safe); Citizens Information's Driving tests page (edited 25 February 2026); the CSO's monthly pass figures as reported by testcentres.ie (August 2026). The RSA's documents are the authority; if anything here and there differ, the RSA is right.