Ireland's vehicle windscreens will no longer display discs; IMID to replace them

Discs will no longer appear on vehicle windscreens in Ireland. The government plans to digitize car tax, insurance and National Car Test (NCT) discs at the same time.  

The records of "Car Tax, Insurance and National Car Test (NCT)" were to be displayed on the winscreen as separate discs. Although no formal plans have been announced, car documentation is believed to be paperless from early 2026.

Transport department officials say proposals to phase out paper-based roadworthiness discs for commercial vehicles (CVRT) are in progress. The current paper-based system is considered obsolete, 

Irish Motor Insurance Database (  IMID)

The successful rollout of a digitized system depends on the reliability of the Irish Motor Insurance Database (IMID).

“Paper motor tax discs, paper insurance and NCT/CVRT discs impose significant administrative and cost burden. This will be replaced by the rollout of automatic number plate recognition and the establishment of an Irish motor insurance database. The UK removed paper-based tax discs 10 years ago.

By removing the paper discs people cannot get away with fake certificates. Although the department envisages going paperless from 1 January 2026, the Garda need to prepare for a modernized system with the necessary technology and resources. However insurers are already at an advanced stage of providing insurance details electronically to the Gardaí and the Department of Transport. A cost savings and environmental impact assessment has not been completed. Removing the discs would eliminate some costs for insurers. 

Although it is not clear when exactly the digitalized system will be implemented, it is hoped that by the beginning of 2026, all vehicles in the country will be able to get rid of printed paper discs. In that case, 2025 will be the last year to issue such paper discs.

Similarly insurance details are no longer required while paying motor tax. These changes are due to the fact that the department will now get the records from the database. Previously, these insurance details also had to be entered in Ireland while paying tax. This change is also part of the new digitalization.