About driver licences

New Zealand's driver licensing system

New Zealand has a driver licensing system to make sure that everyone who drives or rides on our roads has the skills and knowledge necessary to be a safe road user. The safer drivers are, the safer our roads will be.

A licence to drive a motor vehicle is a privilege that is only given to people who pass the driver licence tests and demonstrate respect for the rights and safety of others.

Photo driver licences help identify drivers. They are one of the best ways to catch unlicensed and disqualified drivers.

Licences with photos help the Police to check that new and inexperienced drivers (people on learner and restricted licences) don't break the conditions of their licence.

What does a New Zealand driver licence look like?

Photo side

• 1    Licence holder's family name.
• 2    Licence holder's other names.
• 3    Licence holder's date of birth.
• 4a  Licence issue date.
        Note: licence cards issued before 16 January 2006 will show the issue date of that card. Licence cards issued
        from 16 January 2006 will show the date the driver first obtained their full, restricted or learner licence.
• 4b  Licence card expiry date.
• 4c  Organ donor status.
• 5a  Licence number.
• 5b  Card version number
        (space for signature).
• 6    Licence holder's address (optional).
• 7    Licence classes and endorsements held.

Reverse side

• 8    Issue and expiry dates for any learner and restricted licence classes held. Expiry dates for any endorsements
        held. Any licence conditions (for example, must wear corrective lenses, automatic vehicles only, specially
        adapted vehicles). These conditions will apply to all classes and endorsements held, unless specifically stated.
        See below for more information about licence conditions.
• 9    Classes or endorsements the conditions apply to. If the condition does not apply to all classes and
        endorsements held, then this section will specify what classes and/or endorsements the condition does apply
        to. If this section is blank, the condition applies to all classes and endorsements held.

Licence conditions

If your licence is issued with conditions on it, this means that you must follow them when you ride. The reason some people have conditions on their licence is because they may not be a safe driver or rider unless they follow the conditions.

A common example of a licence condition is that the rider must wear corrective lenses when they ride.

Licence conditions are printed on the reverse side of your photo driver licence.

Note: additional conditions that must be followed by people on a learner or restricted licence are not recorded on the reverse side of your licence. See Stage 1 - Learner licence for details of learner licence conditions and Stage 2 - Restricted licence for details of restricted licence conditions.

Classes of driver licence

There are six classes of driver licence in New Zealand. Each class covers different types and weights of vehicle. That's because the skills you need to ride a motorcycle are different from the skills you need to drive a car or heavy vehicle.

You can apply for a Class 6 (motorcycle) licence or a Class 1 (car) licence without holding any other class of licence. But if you want a class 2, 3, 4 or 5 licence, you will need to get a full Class 1 licence first.

Note: you can ride a moped on a Class 1 licence but not a motorcycle.

Class 1 – Car

A holder of a Class 1 learner, restricted or full licence can drive:

• a vehicle that has a gross laden weight (GLW) or gross combined weight (GCW) of 4500 kg or less (this includes tractors and combination vehicles, but does not include motorcycles)
• a moped or all-terrain vehicle
• a campervan or tradesperson's vehicle with a GLW of 6000 kg or less and an on-road weight not exceeding 4500 kg.
  Note: a tradeperson's vehicle means a motor vehicle that has a body designed or adapted for use principally by tradepersons to carry special-purpose trade equipment or trade goods, excluding general freight.

In addition, a holder of a full Class 1 licence can drive:

• a forklift* with a GLW of 18,000 kg or less
• a special-type vehicle* that runs on rollers or self-laying tracks and has a GLW of 18,000 kg or less
• a special-type vehicle that runs on wheels and has a GLW of 4500 kg or less
• a special-type vehicle that runs on wheels and has a GLW of more than 4500 kg but less than 18,001 kg, if driven at a speed not exceeding 30 km/h (if you want to drive at more than 30 km/h you'll need a Class 2 licence)
• a tractor with a GLW of more than 4500 kg but less than 18,001, kg if driven at a speed not exceeding 30 km/h
• a tractor/trailer combination of more than 4500 kg but not more than 25,000 kg, if being used in agricultural or land management operations and driven at less than 30 km/h.

Class 6 – Motorcycle

A holder of a Class 6 learner, restricted or full licence can ride:

• a motorcycle
• a moped or all-terrain vehicle.

Notes

* Certain kinds of vehicles require you to have a licence endorsement, as well as having the correct class of licence, before you can drive them. Some examples are special-type vehicles, passenger service vehicles and tow trucks. See the definitions below

Licence endorsements

To safely drive some kinds of vehicles, or to provide certain kinds of services, you need to have special knowledge or training. A licence endorsement on your driver licence shows that you have completed whatever courses or qualifications you need for that endorsement.

The types of endorsement you can get on your New Zealand driver licence, and what they allow you to do, are shown in the table below.

Endorsement	Allows you to
F	Drive a forklift
P	Drive a passenger service vehicle, eg a bus or taxi
V	Drive a tow truck
D	Drive a vehicle that is carrying dangerous goods
T	Drive a special-type vehicle that runs on tracks
R	Drive a special-type vehicle that runs on rollers
W	Drive a special-type vehicle that runs on wheels
I	Be a driving instructor
O	Be a driver testing officer

To find out how to apply for endorsements, phone the NZTA's driver licensing contact centre on 0800 822 422 or visit the Licence endorsements section of our website.