Learner drivers under 25 who got their licence on or after 25 July 2026 will have to hold it for at least 12 months before they can sit their restricted test, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) says.
The change is part of a wider overhaul of the car licence system that takes effect on 25 January 2027. Until then, NZTA says people should follow the current process.
Who is affected
NZTA has set out three groups.
If you got your learner licence before 25 July 2026, you still need to hold it for six months. But if you haven't got your restricted licence by 25 January 2027, your minimum learner period extends to 12 months from the date your learner licence was issued.
If you got your learner licence on or after 25 July 2026, your minimum learner time is 12 months, because the rules change before your six months would finish.
If you are 25 or over, the learner period stays at six months.
NZTA has an online calculator to estimate when you can sit your restricted test. You need the issue date from the back of your learner licence card or from the NZTA app.
Cutting it back to six months
Under-25s can bring the learner period back down to six months from 25 January 2027. NZTA says this can be done by finishing an approved learner licence course or by logging supervised driving hours.
The number of hours has not been finalised. NZTA's changes page says it will be up to 60 hours. NZTA says it will publish a list of approved course providers from November 2026, and the courses themselves start from 25 January 2027.
The rest of the changes
The Ministry of Transport says the full licence test will be scrapped for car licences. The restricted period will be 12 months for under-25s and six months for those 25 and over, and it will no longer be possible to shorten it with a defensive driving course.
Drivers on a restricted licence who pick up any demerit points will face a further six months on their restricted. Eyesight checks will only be needed at the first licence application and each renewal.
The Government says the total cost of getting a car licence will fall by $80 under the new system. A zero-alcohol limit for all learner and restricted drivers, regardless of age, is planned but needs a separate law change, so it will come in later.
There are no changes for overseas drivers converting their licence or for senior drivers, according to the Beehive announcement.
Why
The Ministry of Transport says 16 to 24-year-olds made up 12 percent of licensed drivers in 2024 but were responsible for 23 percent of fatal and serious injury crashes. It says 74 people died that year in crashes where a young driver was at fault.
What to do now
If you are under 25 and already on your learners, check your issue date against the 25 July 2026 cut-off. Anyone who got their learners before then and wants to sit the restricted test on the old six-month rule needs to pass before 25 January 2027.
If you haven't sat your learner theory test yet, you can practise Road Code questions and mock tests on GO Drive, which offers them in English, Chinese, Hindi, Filipino, Korean and Japanese.
Sources
- NZTA, "How to get a learner licence": https://www.nzta.govt.nz/driver-licences/apply-for-a-car-licence/how-to-get-a-learner-licence
- NZTA, "Changes to getting a car licence": https://www.nzta.govt.nz/driver-licences/getting-a-licence/proposed-changes-to-graduated-driver-licensing
- Ministry of Transport, "Changes to getting a driver licence": https://www.transport.govt.nz/news/changes-to-getting-a-driver-licence
- Ministry of Transport, Graduated Driver Licence System fact sheet (PDF): https://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Other/Graduated-Driver-Licence-System-fact-sheet.pdf
- Beehive, "Changes to the driver licensing system announced": https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/changes-driver-licensing-system-announced
