Twenty-two towns, two test centres, and the Cooley peninsula sitting on its own off the east coast. The Drogheda and Dundalk centres both sit in the low-fifties, below the national average, and examiners mark the same basics on every route.
Pass-rate and review figures are for RSA School of Motoring across the whole brand network, not Louth-specific.
Coastal east-coast county with the Cooley Peninsula and Slieve Foye rising in the north-east, the Boyne valley flattening out to the south, and rolling farmland and dual-carriageway commuter belt running between Drogheda and Dundalk.
The choice of test centre in Louth is the choice of driving environment. Drogheda is a port town with the Boyne running through it; the test centre approach reads like a town-centre exercise. Dundalk sits closer to the border; its centre's approach mixes town streets with inland-side roundabouts.
Five routes out: south to Dublin, north to the border at Newry, west on the N52 and the N53, and east onto the Cooley peninsula.
Your Louth Approved Driving Instructor lives in your half of the county and works the centre you'll test at. We don't ask the Drogheda instructor to drive to Carlingford for a Cooley pickup. EDT, automatic and pretest with car hire all run in both catchments.
Drogheda gives you town-centre traffic on the south side of the Boyne, with the local roads, junctions and approach roads around the centre.
Your Louth pretest with car hire for Drogheda runs the approach into the centre on the south side of the Boyne, where most of the centre's local routes start.
Dundalk runs you through the streets and roundabouts on the approach into the town, with mixed town and inland traffic.
If your home is closer to Dundalk than Drogheda, your Louth pretest works the routes around that centre instead. Same dual-controlled car, different centre, different practice loops.
The EDT lesson sequence in Louth depends on which test centre you'll sit at. Drogheda-bound learners spend the later lessons working the south Boyne approach. Dundalk-bound learners work the inland-side routes around that centre. Same twelve hours of structured training, different roads in the back half.
Most Louth learners decide on the centre by lesson four or five. Earlier than that, the EDT covers the universal skills (observations, road position, junction reading, parking) that do not change between Drogheda and Dundalk. The decision can wait until the local-specific lessons start.
The dual-carriageway corridor running the length of Louth shapes one EDT lesson in particular. Many Louth learners commute south after they pass, so the dual-carriageway competence in EDT lesson eight (driving in challenging environments) lands earlier in the sequence here than it does in inland counties where that road type is rarer.
The full EDT programme is twelve hours regardless of where you sit it. For Louth pricing across packages, see the price list.
south on the N1 corridor to Dublin
north on the N1 corridor to the border at Newry
west on the N52 to Ardee and Mullingar
west on the N53 to Castleblayney
east on the R173 onto the Cooley Peninsula
Annagassan sits where the Glyde meets the sea on a single road in. Lessons here...
Ardee sits between Drogheda and Dundalk with two castles in the centre. Lessons...
Ballymascanlan is the gate to Cooley where the R173 begins. Lessons turn here...
Baltray sits between the Boyne estuary and the championship dunes. Lessons run...
Blackrock sits five kilometres south of Dundalk on the bay. Lessons here drive...
Carlingford sits between Slieve Foye and the lough on the only road in. Lessons...
Castlebellingham splits off the R132 ring at the castle gates. Lessons cover...
Clogherhead sits between the headland and Port Oriel pier. Lessons run the R166...
Collon is built around an N2 crossroads in the Boyne valley, with Mellifont...
Drogheda has its own test centre on the Donore Road and the Bull Ring junction...
Dromiskin sits off the R132 ring road with a round tower at its centre. Lessons...
Dundalk's test centre sits off the Carrickmacross Road on the western edge. The...
Dunleer is a long Main Street running north-south on the R132. Side parking and...
Greenore is the eastern end of Cooley with a working port and a golf-course...
Gyles Quay is a strand and a slipway off the R173. Lessons run the lough road...
Knockbridge sits on the R178 west of Dundalk with the Castletown river under the...
Omeath sits on the border under the Cooley mountains with the Calvary shrine...
Stonetown is a crossroads on the R171 between Knockbridge and Tallanstown....
Tallanstown sits on the R171 west of Dundalk near the Louth Hall ruins. The R178...
Termonfeckin sits between Drogheda and the coast on the R166. The village street...
Tinure is a rural crossroads on the R168 near Monasterboice's high crosses and...
Tullyallen sits on the western edge of Drogheda where the N51 Slane road meets...
We run separate Approved Driving Instructor lists for the Drogheda catchment and the Dundalk catchment. Your instructor lives in your half of Louth and knows the centre's local roads. We do not dispatch a single instructor across the whole county.
Pretest practice in Louth means practice at the centre you booked, not a generic Louth centre. The Drogheda pretest car works the south-Boyne approach. The Dundalk pretest car works the inland-side routes. We hand you the keys to the right car for the right centre.
Coverage extends to Carlingford, Greenore and the villages along the Cooley peninsula. Most schools price the peninsula as an extra. We treat it as part of the standard Louth catchment with the same pickup terms as Drogheda or Dundalk.
Louth has two driving test centres. One in Drogheda, one in Dundalk. Your pretest works the approach roads, town-centre traffic, junctions and roundabouts around whichever centre you book. Confirm your test centre booking on the official RSA system before your test date.
Either works. Most learners pick the centre nearest home. Drogheda's approach is town-centre traffic on the south side of the Boyne. Dundalk's approach mixes town streets with the roundabouts on the inland side. Once you pick, your pretest practice is at that centre, not the other one.
Yes, but the smarter move is to do the later EDT lessons at the centre you plan to test at. Early EDT covers universal skills that don't change between centres. The pretest practice should match your test booking.
Yes. Coverage extends to Carlingford, Greenore and the villages along the Cooley peninsula. Pickup terms are the same as the rest of the Louth catchment.
Louth manual lessons start from €49.00 per lesson with the 12-lesson EDT package (€587.95 total). Single manual lessons cost €53.27. Full Louth pricing is on the price list.
Yes. Your Louth pretest and your driving test happen in the same dual-controlled car. We arrange the booking and the meet-up at whichever Louth centre you have booked.
Louth's two test centres mean two slightly different EDT plans. Tell us where you're sitting and we'll match you with an instructor in that catchment. View the Louth lesson packages or call to talk through the choice.
Two centres, two catchments, one school covering both.Check availability and get discounted lesson pricing near you.
