Last updated 5 October 2026. nctalerts.ie is run by Avlas Digital, a sole trader in Ireland (registered business name No. 793798, Companies Registration Office), Park House, The Square, Claremorris, Co. Mayo, F12 HE97, Ireland (“we”). By buying alerts you agree to these terms.
What you buy
€9.99 buys 7 days of alerts for one vehicle at up to 5 NCT centres of your choice. When an appointment that fits your filters becomes available at one of those centres, we tell you: the centre, the day, the time and where to book. Alerts go by email, and as push notifications on any device where you turn them on. Filters are the deadline you choose and, optionally, an earliest date, a time-of-day window, days of the week and quiet hours. There is no cap on the number of alerts. It is a single payment; nothing renews. You can change centres and filters at any time from your account.
How quickly
During the day (7am to 11pm) an alert normally goes out within about a minute of the date appearing; overnight, within a few minutes. Push notifications typically arrive a second or two after the email is sent. These are typical figures, not a guarantee: the timing depends on the NCTS website and on the networks in between.
What an alert is, and is not
An alert tells you that a date was available when we saw it. It does not hold or reserve anything. The same date is visible to every motorist looking at that centre, and to everyone else we alert for it, at the same time. Popular dates are often gone within a minute or two, so treat an alert as the start of a race, not a ticket. We do not book appointments and we do not guarantee you will get one. NCTS may change its website or the way it releases appointments at any time, which can delay or interrupt alerts. Dates shown on this site reflect the moment we saw them and may be out of date seconds later. Always confirm on ncts.ie.
Starting at once, and the cooling-off period
This is a digital service that starts the moment your payment lands. By paying you ask us to begin straight away and acknowledge that, once the service has started, you lose the 14-day right to cancel that applies to distance contracts under the European Union (Consumer Information, Cancellation and Other Rights) Regulations 2013. Payment is not refundable because you changed your mind or found an appointment yourself; the guarantee below is the exception.
The guarantee
We promise a minimum number of alerts for the dates you ask for, and refund the full price to the card you paid with if we send you fewer. An alert, for the guarantee, means one occasion on which we found a new appointment at one of your centres on or before your deadline. It counts whether or not your optional filters (earliest date, time of day, weekdays, quiet hours) let the message through, because the appointment was there for you.
The promise is sized by the window you ask us to cover, counted in days from the day you pay to your deadline, both included: 7 days or more: 3 alerts; 5 to 6 days: 2 alerts; 3 to 4 days: 1 alert; under 3 days: no guarantee. The number that applies to your dates is shown beside the Pay button before you pay and repeated on the payment page and in your first email. If you narrow the deadline after paying, the promise is recalculated for the narrower window and lowered where that gives a smaller number; widening the deadline later does not raise it again. A window the website sets for you, such as the day before the earliest date your centres show, counts the same as one you set yourself.
The count is settled at whichever comes first: your deadline or the end of the plan. When your deadline day is over (once the last of your centres has closed for the day) and we have sent fewer alerts than promised, the plan ends there, the refund is made the same day and you get an email confirming it. When the promise was met, or no promise applied, alerts carry on to the end of your 7 days for dates up to the plan’s last day, and we tell you. When the plan ends with fewer alerts than promised, the refund is made that day. A refund appears on your statement within 5 to 10 working days depending on your bank.
The guarantee applies to plans paid for through this site. If you stop alerts yourself before we have found a single appointment for you, the plan ends there and the full price is refunded at once, with an email confirming it; this also applies to a one-click stop from an email footer. If you stop alerts after at least one appointment has been found, the payment stays and the guarantee no longer applies, because we can no longer count what you would have received; the screen tells you which case you are in before you confirm. A stopped plan whose paid days have not run out can be switched back on for free, without the guarantee. Each payment starts a fresh count. Restarting a plan for another 7 days carries its own guarantee, sized by the window at that payment. If we extend your plan because availability could not be checked (below), the count runs to the new end date.
If availability cannot be checked
The service depends on the public NCTS website. If we are unable to check availability for 24 hours or more during your 7 days, your plan is paused and continues for the time lost once checking resumes; you get an email when that happens. If it does not resume within your plan, write to hello@nctalerts.ie and we refund the unused days. Shorter interruptions are part of watching a website we do not control and are not refunded.
Your account
You sign in with a one-time code sent to your email address; there is no password. Keep that inbox secure, because anyone who can read it can open your account. Signing in keeps you signed in on that device for up to 180 days unless you sign out. Push notifications are tied to the device and browser where you turn them on; removing the device from your account, clearing site data or revoking the permission stops them. Email alerts can only be switched off while at least one push device is registered.
Your part
Use the registration of a vehicle you own or are responsible for, and an email address you control. One purchase covers one vehicle. Do not use the service to resell appointments, and do not try to access it other than through this website.
The map and the data on this site
The availability shown on the map and the centre pages is a database we compile and maintain, and it is protected as such under Irish and EU law. It is there for you to read in your browser. Collecting it by automated means (scripts, bots, scrapers, repeated programmatic requests), copying it into another website, app, feed or dataset, or presenting it as your own is not permitted without our written agreement. We may serve reduced or delayed data to, or withhold service from, any connection that appears to be collecting it, and we may pursue infringers. If you would like to use the data legitimately, write to hello@nctalerts.ie.
Independence
We are not NCTS, Applus+ or the Road Safety Authority and have no connection to them. NCT and ncts.ie are their names. Bookings, payments for the test and everything to do with the test itself are between you and NCTS.
Liability
Our total liability to you is limited to the amount you paid us. Nothing here limits rights you have under Irish consumer law. Irish law applies.