Getting your car learner licence

• How to apply for a learner licence
• Conditions
• 'L' plates

Before you learn to drive on the road, you must get a learner licence.

How to apply for a learner licence

Go to your local driver licensing agent. You'll need to do the following:

• Fill out an application form. (You'll be asked if you want your licence to identify you as an organ donor)
• Produce identification that shows your identity and age
• Produce evidence of your address, to ensure we send your licence to the right place
• Pay for the theory test ($39.70) and the learner licence application ($39.30)
• Pass an eyesight check (or present an eyesight certificate)
• Provide a signature and have your photograph taken
• Pass a theory test. (There are 35 questions - you must answer at least 32 questions correctly to pass the test.)

When you pass the test you'll be given a temporary licence, valid for 21 days, to use until you receive your learner licence in the mail.

Your learner licence should arrive within two to three weeks.

Learner licence conditions

1. You must not drive on your own. A supervisor must be sitting in the front passenger seat beside you when you're driving. Your supervisor must hold (and have held for at least two years) a current full New Zealand driver licence.
2. You must display 'L' (learner) plates on the front and rear of the vehicle.
3. You must have your learner licence with you when you're driving.

• If you're under 20 years old, the legal alcohol limit is 30 mg/100 ml of blood. This is effectively a zero limit - one drink means you can be charged with drink driving.
• If you're over 20 years, the legal alcohol limit is 80 mg/100 ml of blood. Your driving, however, may be affected well before you reach the legal alcohol limit.

For more information on penalties, read:

• Our 'enforcement' factsheets
• Information on penalties and offences in the legal section of this website.

'L' (learner) plates

If you're driving with a learner licence, you must display 'L' plates on your vehicle. (This requirement applies to drivers of cars, motorbikes, mopeds and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).)

If you're driving a Class 1 vehicle (eg, a car, van or ute), you must display an 'L' plate on both the front and rear of the vehicle.

The 'L' plate must be clearly visible to other road users and must not restrict your front or rear vision.

The 'L' plate must be at least as large as the dimensions shown above.

'L' plates are available from:

• the Automobile Association (AA)
• Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ)
• Vehicle Identification New Zealand (VINZ)
• On Road New Zealand.

About your learner licence >

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Last updated: 30 September 2005