Stage 3: the instruction test.
You teach a lesson; the RSA examiner role-plays your pupil. Driving is assumed — teaching is what’s marked.
Stage 3 is the teaching exam: two half-hour phases where the RSA examiner role-plays your pupil, at beginner then test-standard level. €200 per attempt, results within 10 working days — marked on lesson planning, level-matching, fault correction and feedback. Since March 2026 you must also show the examiner is insured to drive your car.
€200
per attempt
0
phases (beginner + test-standard)
0
working days to results
€50
optional trainee licence
How the test runs.
Around an hour in your own car: a short pre-lesson brief, then two half-hour lessons to two very different pupils — both played by the examiner.
Teach a beginner
The examiner role-plays a novice — hesitant, error-prone, easily overloaded. You deliver roughly thirty minutes of instruction pitched at that level: establish what they know, agree a simple objective, build the skill step by step, and keep them safe while they struggle. Clear, directive teaching is expected here.
Coach a test-standard pupil
The examiner switches to a pupil approaching test standard. The trap is over-instruction: this phase rewards a coaching style — independent driving, targeted questions, prompted self-assessment and precise correction of the faults that remain. Matching your instruction to the pupil’s level is itself a marked competency.
The 2026 insurance rule.
Since 9 March 2026 you must show that the RSA examiner is insured to drive your car during the test — open-driving or equivalent cover. Arrange it with your insurer well before the date, and bring the proof; without it the test is reported not to proceed. Confirm the current requirement at rsa.ie.
What the examiner marks.
The assessed competencies, per the RSA’s published areas.
Lesson planning with clear objectives
Setting the learning climate — rapport, encouraging language
Matching instruction to the pupil’s ability level
Fault identification, analysis and correction
Feedback, encouragement and the lesson wrap-up
The standard is the same one you will be held to for the rest of your career: the check test re-assesses these competencies periodically through your career, and its 16-competency self-review is a useful Stage 3 mirror.
Booking, timing and practice.
The logistics that decide whether the 24-month window feels roomy or tight.
Book early.
Stage 3 appointments are reported to take six to twelve weeks to come up — request a date as soon as your Stage 2 pass lands rather than racing the deadline later.
Mind the clock.
All stages must be completed within 24 months of passing Stage 1, and each stage within six months of the previous one — run out and you start again at Stage 1.
Use the trainee licence window.
The optional €50 trainee instructor licence (six months, once only) lets you teach real pupils under a sponsoring ADI while you wait — the best Stage 3 practice there is.
Practise on people.
A friend role-playing a confused beginner is the closest thing to the exam. Structure each session with the free lesson-plan guides and rehearse the wrap-up every time.
Test your teaching instincts.
Four Stage 3 moments — pick what the marked competencies actually reward, then see the reasoning.
Stage 3 starts in Stage 1.
The pedagogy questions in the theory exam are this test in written form — questioning technique, lesson structure, fault analysis. Drill them early and Stage 3 becomes revision.
Quick questions
A published list — cockpit drill, junctions, emergency stop, reversing, running commentary, EDT content and more. You won’t know which until the day.
Yes — the trainee instructor licence (€50, six months, once only) lets you teach under a sponsoring ADI after Stage 2, with 20% of lessons supervised.
Your own, roadworthy and suitable for instruction — and since March 2026, with cover in place for the examiner to drive it. Confirm the current vehicle requirements at rsa.ie.
Results are reported within 10 working days. A failed attempt means booking again at €200 — and watching the 24-month clock, which does not pause for retakes.
Real people. A friend role-playing a confused beginner is the closest thing to the exam — structure it with the lesson-plan guides.
Same competency standard, different pupil: Stage 3 uses an examiner role-playing a learner; the check test observes a normal lesson with your real pupil, periodically for the rest of your career.
Teaching is a skill you can drill.
133 pedagogy questions in the bank, six lesson-plan guides in the library — start free.
No card required · Not affiliated with the RSA