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Land Transport Rule: COVID-19 Response 2021

Published: | Category: COVID-19 , Land transport rules | Audience: General

This Rule has no effect after 31 May 2022.

When Alert Level 4 restrictions were imposed in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, it became impractical or unreasonable for people to do tasks ordinarily required to enable vehicles to undergo periodic in-service inspection and certification, or to enable driver licences, endorsements and driver identification cards to be renewed. The objective of this Rule is to allow for vehicles to continue to be operated lawfully, and for drivers to continue to be licensed and to use endorsements and identification cards, during this time and subsequently.

The Rule provides for the following documents to be extended until 30 November 2021:

  • Warrants of Fitness (WoFs) and Certificates of Fitness (CoFs) that expired on or after 21 July 2021.
  • Other vehicle certifications issued under the Vehicle Standards Compliance Rule which expired on or after 21 July 2021, including alternative fuel inspection certificates, permits authorising use of vehicles with conditions, and heavy vehicle specialist certifications of towing connections and log bolster attachments.
    Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Standards Compliance 2002

The Rule provides for the following documents to be extended until 31 May 2022:

  • Driver licences that expired on or after 21 July 2021.
  • Endorsements (including drivers with passenger endorsements and dangerous good endorsements held by some truck drivers) that expired on or after 21 July 2021.

This does not apply to revoked or suspended documents, and Waka Kotahi can continue to revoke or suspend for safety reasons during this period.

The Rule was notified in the Gazette on 14 September 2021 and came into force on 15 September 2021.

If you have any further questions, contact Waka Kotahi by emailing rules@nzta.govt.nz

Rule versions

  • The ‘Current rule’ provides the most up-to-date version of the rule and any amendments made to it. We recommend using this as your reference point if you want to read the most current information.
  • The ‘Original rule’ shows the very first version of the rule, as it was when first introduced.
  • ‘Amendments’ provides links to all changes made to the rule over time. These are useful if you want to research the history of the rule.

Note: Each link also includes access to consultation materials, such as summaries of submissions and frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to each version and amendment.

Questions and answers

Questions and answers are provided to accompany a new rule or amendment when they are signed. These and other consultation documents on this page have not been updated to take into account any later rule amendments and are retained for historic interest only.

Publication details

  • Author:
  • Published: 15 September 2021