Your driving history is what Police judge you on
When you apply for a limited licence, Police look at your application before the Judge decides. They've never met you. They don't know you're a good worker, a great parent, or that this was a one-off.
Your history is all they have to go on.
What Police look at
- your traffic history: speeding tickets, demerit points, past suspensions
- any criminal driving convictions
- how recent it all is, and whether there's a pattern
A long, clean run followed by one bad patch reads very differently from a record that's full of the same thing over and over.
Why it matters
The court can only grant a limited licence if it's not a risk to public safety. Police are the ones who weigh that up, and they do it by reading your record. If your history says "keeps offending", that's the story they'll see, whatever you tell them.
Don't hide anything
Police can see your full record. If your application leaves something out, plays it down, or tells it differently from your record, they'll notice. Then they stop trusting everything else you've said.
Leaving things out is the number one reason applications go wrong. Being upfront is always better than being caught out.
What do I do now?
Apply as fast as you can. Every day you wait is another day off the road, and your history won't look any better next week. The sooner your paperwork is done properly, the sooner it's in front of Police and the court.
- Start your application today at limitedlicences.co.nz/apply.
- Tell us how urgent it is. Your job's on the line, your boss needs an answer, you've got kids to get to school: say so. Call us on 0800 437 005 as soon as you've applied.
- We'll put your file first. Urgent applications get priority, so we get your documents back to you as fast as possible.
- Be completely honest about your history. It's the quickest way through, because nothing comes back to bite you later.
Not sure how your record looks?
Old convictions, a messy few years, offences you're not sure count: this is where it gets tricky.
Give us a call on 0800 437 005. We'll tell you straight where you stand, and get started straight away.
Sources
- Land Transport Act 1998, section 105, New Zealand Legislation, https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1998/110/en/latest/ (accessed 29 September 2026)