Learner drivers under 25 should have to log 60 hours of supervised driving if they want to sit their restricted test after six months instead of 12, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has recommended.
The recommendation is in NZTA's summary of public submissions, dated 9 November. NZTA consulted on behalf of the Director of Land Transport, who will set the final rules.
Why does this matter?
From 25 January 2027, learners under 25 will have to hold their learner licence for 12 months before they can sit the restricted test, up from six. NZTA says they can bring that back to six months in two ways: complete an approved course, or log a set number of supervised driving hours.
The driver licensing rule caps that number at 60. NZTA proposed the full 60, and 65 percent of the 66 submitters agreed. Some wanted more. NZTA noted that most Australian states require between 75 and 120 hours for young learners, but said it could not go above 60.
Our earlier article explains who is affected by the 12-month learner period, including people who already hold a learner licence.
Do some hours have to be at night or on the motorway?
No. Most submitters wanted conditions, such as a minimum amount of night driving, wet-weather driving or lessons with an instructor. NZTA decided against all of them.
It said night-driving targets would be hard for some learners in summer, when it can stay light until about 9pm, and that wet weather is outside a learner's control. It said making professional lessons compulsory, or counting them at a higher rate, would shut out learners who cannot afford or reach an instructor. Instead, NZTA says it will publish guidance and lesson plans to encourage practice in a range of conditions.
All 60 hours count the same, whether the supervisor is a parent, a relative or a driving instructor.
What has to be recorded?
NZTA has cut back what it first proposed. Each session will need:
- the date
- start and finish times
- the number of minutes spent driving
- the supervisor's name, driver licence details and contact details.
It has dropped the proposals to record start and finish locations, the vehicle's number plate and odometer readings. NZTA said GPS tracking in the digital logbook would not be ready by January 2027, so without it those details had little value for checking.
App or paper?
Both. Learners will be able to use a digital logbook in an app or a paper logbook. The app had the most support, but NZTA is keeping paper because some learners do not have a smartphone, data or reliable coverage.
For the app, the learner must sign in with a RealMe verified identity. NZTA originally proposed the same for supervisors, but the Driving Change Network pointed out that getting a verified RealMe identity "may not be straightforward" for all migrants and residents. NZTA now recommends that supervisors can sign in with a non-verified RealMe or another login, and their details will be checked against the Driver Licence Register.
If your teenager is planning to use the app, it is worth setting up their RealMe verified identity well before 25 January.
For paper, the main supervisor was going to have to go with the learner to a licensing agent to confirm the hours. NZTA now recommends that, instead, the supervisor can make a statutory declaration before a Justice of the Peace or other authorised witness. Completed paper logbooks will be sent to NZTA.
NZTA's report notes that faking a logbook can carry penalties, as it does in New South Wales and Victoria.
Can someone with overseas driving experience use it?
The consultation floated an option to give credit for documented on-road experience. NZTA has recommended against it. It said this would only be available to a very small number of overseas drivers converting to a New Zealand learner licence, and that their experience would be hard to verify.
NZTA is not adding extra rules for supervisors either. Anyone who can supervise a learner now can supervise logged hours.
Is this final?
Not yet. The report sets out NZTA's recommendations, and the Director of Land Transport still has to make the instrument. NZTA says it will watch how learners use each pathway and adjust the settings if they produce outcomes it did not intend.
Learners still have to pass the theory test before any of this applies. You can practise road code questions on GO Drive, which is free. Drivers already on their restricted can read about the full licence test ending on 25 January 2027.
