Conditions of a learner licence | NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi

To keep you safe while you are first learning to drive, there are some conditions you must follow while on your learner licence:

You can only drive a car when you have a supervisor sitting beside you.
Your car must display learner (L) plates(external link) front and rear.
You may carry passengers but your supervisor has to agree as they will be responsible for them.
You face severe penalties if you drive outside your licence conditions.

Did you know

If you're not following your licence conditions, the police can:

stop you from driving until you can meet your licence conditions
make you drive straight home,
take your keys,
clamp your vehicle, or have it moved to a place where it's not a traffic hazard.

Vehicles you can drive on the road

When you have your car learner licence you can drive:

Most ‘light’ vehicles – cars, vans and utes
Mopeds (but not motorcycles) can be driven on a car learner licence. There are some special conditions:
- between 10pm and 5am you cannot drive
- you can't carry a passenger when riding a moped.

See the full list of vehicles you can drive on a car licence

Alcohol limits

If you're under 20 years old, you must not drive if you have had any alcohol.

If you're 20 or older, you must not drive if you have more than:

50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, or
250 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath.

Find out more about the impact alcohol can have on your driving.

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