{"id":410256,"date":"2026-05-03T20:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T20:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/410256\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T20:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T20:32:11","slug":"drivers-on-notice-as-major-change-to-restricted-licences-kicks-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/410256\/","title":{"rendered":"Drivers on notice as major change to restricted licences kicks in"},"content":{"rendered":"

An information campaign is warning restricted drivers of a major change to how their licence works – ahead of the overhaul taking effect next week. <\/p>\n

The changes, which centre on demerits, are the first to come into play since the Government confirmed it would scrap the full licence <\/a>test from January 25 next year. <\/p>\n

Under the new rules, restricted drivers under 25 will have to wait 12 months before applying for their full licence, while those over 25 will have to wait 6 months. They won’t need to undergo a test, but will need a clean driving record to move on. <\/p>\n

Any demerit points handed out by police officers for driving infringements will result in an additional six months on a restricted licence. Any driver getting demerits more than once will have to wait an extra six months each time. <\/p>\n

The Government\u2019s proposing having only one practical test to get a full licence. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

Demerits can be issued for offences including speeding, drink driving, drug driving and mobile phone use. <\/p>\n

“This change will improve road safety for everyone by encouraging inexperienced drivers to drive safely,” the NZ Transport Agency said in its information material published on social media. <\/p>\n

“If you keep a clean driving record and don\u2019t get any demerits, you won\u2019t have to wait any extra time.”<\/p>\n

NZTA said restricted drivers who get demerits between May 7, 2026 and January 24, 2027 could have their restricted period extended on January 25, 2027.<\/p>\n

The agency said if drivers receive demerits after May 7 but move to their full licence before January 25 Their restricted period won\u2019t be extended. <\/p>\n

“The extension only applies to people who are still on their restricted licence after 25 January.<\/p>\n

“Any demerit points you get before 7 May won\u2019t affect your restricted period.” <\/p>\n

Infringements that don’t incur demerits, like speed camera fines, won’t add any time. <\/p>\n

\"Transport<\/p>\n

Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the current system is “expensive, outdated and no longer works”. (Source: istock.com)<\/p>\n

Other changes coming next year <\/p>\n

The changes to licensing were among the biggest shakeup to be implemented<\/a> since the learner age moved from 15 to 16 in 2011. <\/p>\n

Changes outside restricted licences<\/a> include an increase in the time young drivers spend with their learners licence, up from six months to 12 months. This can be chopped down to six months with a practical course or recorded supervised driving hours. <\/p>\n

Learner drivers will need to demonstrate hazard perception during their practical test, which is currently assessed in the full licence test. The eyesight test will also be scrapped. <\/p>\n

There will be a zero alcohol rule for all learner and restricted drivers, regardless of age. <\/p>\n

The cost of a restricted licence will drop from $167.50 to $160.50, while the cost of a full licence will drop from $98.90 to $25.90.<\/p>\n

In February, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the changes were needed as the current system was “expensive, outdated and no longer works as well as it should”.<\/p>\n

\u201cInternationally, New Zealand is an outlier in requiring a second practical driving test when moving from a restricted licence to a full licence.” <\/p>\n

He described the changes as “common sense”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An information campaign is warning restricted drivers of a major change to how their licence works – ahead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410257,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39,112],"class_list":["post-410256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-transport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}