Frequently asked questions

The short answer is: It depends on how you lost your licence and what you lost it for. While both mean you can’t drive, the process for getting back on the road differs significantly between a points-based suspension and a court-ordered criminal disqualification.

1. Demerit Points Suspension

If you accumulate 100 or more demerit points within a two-year period, your license is suspended - for 3 months.

• There is no Stand Down before you can apply for a Limited Licence, or wait time once your suspension period or Limited Licence ends.

2. Excess Breath Alcohol (EBA) or other Criminal Disqualifications

If you are disqualified by a court for an EBA offense or another issue, the rules are stricter.

• The "Stand-Down" Period: The length of the disqualification is set by the Judge (always 28 days minimum).

Important Note: Driving while suspended or disqualified is a serious criminal offense that will mean vehicle impoundment, heavy fines, and further (often much longer) disqualification periods, this offence also means the driver destroys their chance to apply for a Limited Licence.

It’s quick! Your documents will be created immediately following your online application, you supplying us with your supporting documents, our checking your status and driving history, talking to you about things that we pick up or you tell us about that you need to drive for, we then calculate your fees for your docs, once payment is made, we start on your docs in a very specific sequence and start sending them out to you.

If you’re self-employed we produce your director’s affidavit (or sole trader's affidavit) immediately.

If you’re employed, we produce your employer’s affidavit immediately and then your employer takes that document to a lawyer or a JP to get their signature witnessed, which is where delays can come in. If there are delays now, it will delay the process.

Once this affidavit is witnessed (and sent to us for checking), we then creat the rest of your documents and maps for the Police and Court. We serve Police for you and you then file your documents in Court and book in your hearing date. Only you can file as you need to sign your documents in front of the Court staff.

Start the application and get the ball rolling

Toll Gate fees are built into the Land Transport Act as part of the rules around driving fees. $2.80 for a standard Class 1 vehicle is alot less than the $70 enforcement fee that will be issued for a toll gate fee once it is not paid and then gets to the Ministry of Justice, and there is NO WAY to escape it, once it gets there. We saw a driver a while ago with 200 toll gate fees unpaid, all were then overdue and loaded onto his Fines Record with the MOJ and the total was $14,000 instead of $560 for a year of toll gate fees. A complete waste of money by not paying them.

When you’re given a limited licence, you now have your driver’s licence - but ONLY for the precise terms granted in the court order. The second those hours are over each day, you instantly don’t have a drivers licence. It’s as simple as that.

So, if you are caught driving outside the conditions outlined in your court order, even by 5 minutes, the effects are the same as driving while on a suspended or disqualified licence. Your car will be impounded for 28 days (that’s a $650-$900 storage fee), and you’ll get your driver’s licence disqualified for a further 6 months (importantly without the option to reapply for a Limited Licence), you’ll receive a $750 compulsory fine, and an additional criminal conviction for driving while suspended.

No insurance will cover a driver with a suspended licence. However, if you are granted a Limited Licence, you should still be covered by your car insurance policy, as long as you are adhering to the conditions approved within that licence. That being said, always check with your own insurance company that your coverage remains in place.

It depends. Your Limited Licence will allow you to:

• Drive from home to work and return
• Carry out the duties of your employment should they require driving (such as a courier or sales rep)
• Travel to see your children if you need to, and to take them to school etc.

We will customise a Limited Licence, including the terms and conditions that fit your life, and one that is tailored to your circumstances. Click here to request a call back from one of our experts to discuss your circumstances.

Unless the requirement to supervise them is written into your Court Order for your Limited Licence - the answer is a flat NO.

If you’re on a Limited Licence we DO NOT recommend you attempt to supervise a learner driver.
This is because the terms of your Limited Licence are very specific - and designed to ensure you can go to and from work. The moment those hours are over each day, you instantly don’t have a drivers licence. It’s as simple as that.

If you are supervising a learner driver outside those times, then they are an "un-licenced learner driver" who is driving without a licenced driver supervising them. This means they will incur a 50 demerit point infringement immediately. If you are next to them in the vehicle you would likely be charged with driving outside the terms of your court order and that is a criminal offence which will get you a criminal record, an impounded vehicle and about $2,000 in fines, as well as a 6 month disqualification added - and your Limited Licence cancelled.

No - and there are zero exceptions to this, even for immediate family.

The family exemption is narrower than people assume. Not covered by it: siblings, cousins, parents who are not dependants, or mates. Anyone outside the categories it actually covers needs either a supervisor in the front seat or a written NZTA exemption - there is no informal workaround for extended family or friends.

A Restricted Licence holder is only allowed to drive between 10pm and 5am, or carry passengers who aren’t immediate family, if they are supervised by someone who currently holds a Full Licence, held for at least 2 years. That word “currently” is the whole answer here.

While your own licence is suspended, disqualified, or you are driving on a Limited Licence, you do not hold a licence at all. A Limited Licence is not a Full Licence - it is a narrow, court-defined exception that exists only because your Full Licence is currently suspended or disqualified. The moment that happens, you instantly stop counting as a “fully licenced driver” for supervision purposes, family or not, no matter how many years you held a clean Full Licence beforehand.

It makes no difference what the trip is for. Whether it’s dropping you at work, the school run, or anything else, the rule is about who is licensed, not why you’re in the car.

So getting in the car does not fix anything for your Restricted-licence family member. You cannot be their supervisor, and you cannot use your own history or relationship to them to get around it. If they need a supervisor while you are suspended or on a Limited Licence, it has to be a different person who currently holds a Full Licence, held for at least 2 years - not you, and not anyone else who is also currently suspended or disqualified.

This question has two answers.

The first answer is No - absolutely not. You are not able to apply to the Court during those 28 days.

You were stopped travelling over 40 km/h over the posted speed limit, the New Zealand Police will check you are not driving during the 28 days and you may not have any idea they have done so.

There is NO provision for any form of Driver Licence able to be obtained during that time in NZ. There is NO legal recourse to obtain a Driver Licence during those 28 days.

Police will immediately impound whatever vehicle you are driving for 28 days (including a $650-$900 impound fee), and arrest you for driving while suspended/ Disqualified, and you will then face a Judge in court where they will sentence you to 6 months Disqualification. This 6 months you would NOT be eligible for a Limited Licence as it was obtained through Driving While Disqualified - and you are therefore not eligible to apply.

The Second answer is this :- Your offence carries a 50 point Demerit Penalty. If you pay the fine you will then be awarded those Demerit Points and if you already have 50 points from previous offences then you will incur a 90 day Drivers Licence Suspension. The date of the suspension can start as soon as you are served by Police. Therefore as you already cannot drive right now (because of the 28 Day Roadside Safety Suspension, you would want to be served as soon as possible. Meaning that your 90 day suspension starts ASAP. You would then apply to us and we draft your documents in the 28 day period, and as soon as this ends we would Serve Police, and put you through court to drive for the remaining 60 days of your suspension.

It is sometimes the case that a speeding driver obviously attracts Police attention, gets pulled over, and then the officer finds a list of issues and tickets the driver for each one. For example :

• A Speeding infringement ticket for speed 40km/h over the limit
• An Infringement Ticket for no seatbelt
• An Infringement ticket for no L Plate Displayed

In this example the driver is given a single ticket (in the mail) that contains three offences. Each offence would NORMALLY carry demerit points of 50, 25, 25. However as all of the offences occurred at the same time, only the highest demerit points infringement are logged and the other two are waived. The driver would still have three fines for those offences. But a single 50 point Demerit infringement only. If the driver had 40 points existing they could mistakenly think they were going to have 40 + 50 + 25 + 25 = 140 Demerit points, but that is NOT the case. Their Demerit total would be 90 Demerit Points and the Demerits would not be loaded onto the Driver's Licence until they either [paid the fine or they opted to take the matter to the District Court and lost. If they won the Court hearing then no points would be recorded.

The Police are a large number of employees working hard at what they do and the law around a Limited Licence is very complicated and absolutely precise.

The fact is :-

When your driver's licence is suspended by the NZTA - ALL Demerit Points on it at that moment are wiped. The maximum suspension for Demerits in 3 Months and once you trigger that - all points on your record are erased.

In this example the Police are wrong and, you will only be suspended once.

The short answer is:
At the exact moment you were suspended - your NZ Driver's Licence is frozen.
No endorsements or additional classes can be added to it until you have completed your suspension, disqualification or Limited Licence.

Firstly - it is critical to note that drivers on International Driver's Licences do NOT hold a New Zealand Drivers Licence.

International drivers are however able to drive in NZ on their "home country" drivers licence - normally for 12 months (however during covid it has been extended to Mar 31 2022). Any demerit points they incur on that licence are recorded with the Police and the NZTA under their identity and a record called their "Pseudo Record". The Pseudo Record is not a NZ Drivers Licence and is the only way for the NZTA to track that driver. There is NO way for the driver to drive on NZ roads once they incur 100 Demerit Points. If they do so and they are stopped by Police they will be arrested and charged with DWS. Driving while disqualified and incur the normal penalties for that charge - 6 months added disqualification, fines and vehicle impounded. It is interesting to note that if they were able to - the driver could return to their country of origin and their drivers licence would not be suspended and they could drive there.

The rules around 2L and 4L - Learner Truck Driver supervision are VERY clear. ONLY fully licenced drivers that have held the Class Licence for the Truck they are in are able to supervise the 2L and 4L Driver. Police would ask for the drivers Licence - and see it was 4L, they would then ask the passenger if he is a Class 4 driver that has a Licence. If the passenger is suspended for Demerits OR is Disqualified for EBA then that driver does NOT currently hold a Full Driver's Licence. The passenger is not legally allowed to supervise anyone - and if he said he was supervising then he would be arrested for Driving whilst Disqualified - even if he is not driving but "thinks" he is supervising.

If however the Driver holds a Class 4L and they are in a Class 2 Truck... (this means the Driver holds a Full Class 2 - as you must have a Class to to start your 4L) and the passenger is a Demerit Suspended or otherwise Disqualified driver, (who might normally hold a Class 2, 3, 4, 5) - then he is not supervising. He is merely a passenger which is fine. The driver is allowed to operate the Class 2 Truck on his full Class 2 Licence.

It is important to note - all drivers regardless of Classes held are NOT allowed to supervise anyone driving any Class when they get their Limited Licence - and for the full duration of the Limited Licence.

When hospitals take your blood for an alcohol test or an "Ethanol Serum" test as they refer to it... they provide the result immediately from their lab. That number is written in mmol/L - and is matheatically 21.7% of the BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) figure you would get if you waited two week for the results . Therefore you need to multiply your hospital blood figure in your documents from the hospital by x 4.6 to get your accurate BAC level. 34 mmol/L = BAC of 157 (this is extremely high - and is 3 under a BAC of 160 which would qualify for an Interlock Disqualification under the law. The BAC level limit is 80. See here - https://www.alcohol.org.nz/alcohol-its-effects/about-alcohol/blood-alcohol-levels

Sometimes we are told by applicants that "the judge told me that I was eligible for a work licence...".

We hear this quite often. Every Limited Licence application is governed by precise eligibility rules written into the Land Transport Act 1998 - rules that apply regardless of what is said in the courtroom on the day.

Courts apply the law; they do not write it. Only Parliament can change what the Land Transport Act 1998 allows.

So if you are told in court that you are eligible for a Limited Licence, but your actual situation places you outside what the Act allows for your specific disqualification, that does not change your legal position. If you are "statute barred" from applying, that remains the case regardless of what is said in the courtroom - the law itself does not bend to what happens on the day.

A clear example of this is an Interlock Disqualification. Once you record an Excess Breath Alcohol reading of 800mcg/l of breath (or a BAC level of 160), you are convicted of EBA over 800mcg/l, and the Land Transport Act 1998 makes an Interlock Disqualification the mandatory sentence. The only licence available from NZTA in that situation is an Interlock Licence - nothing else. If an Interlock Disqualification is not imposed in this situation, that does not open up an Interlock Device or Interlock Licence as an alternative. NZTA requires an actual Interlock Disqualification on record before it will grant an Interlock Licence.

That outcome is worse than an Interlock Disqualification, not better - and it is not something that can be corrected after the fact. We have seen this happen in practice: the driver was left with neither an interlock nor a Limited Licence. Police take no further part once this happens in court - from that point, the outcome sits with the driver, which is exactly why it is worth checking your own eligibility against the Act itself, not only what is said in the courtroom.