This page explains how to get a limited licence and the criteria you must meet to get one. It also explains how to reinstate your licence after your limited licence has expired and your suspension or disqualification has ended.
If your suspension or disqualification will cause you extreme hardship, or another person undue hardship, you might be able to get a limited licence.
A lawyer can assist you to apply for a court order authorising you to get a limited licence. They'll get the documents ready and present them to the court. Applications are considered by the courts on a case-by-case basis, using the criteria in sections 103 to 105 of the Land Transport Act 1998. If the court order is granted, then you must get a limited licence from the Transport Agency before you can drive.
To get the limited licence issued, you must apply at a driver licensing agent.
You will need to:
The agent cannot issue you with a temporary licence when you submit your application. This is because section 30(5) of the act places responsibility on the Transport Agency to be satisfied that you're entitled to a limited licence before issuing any limited licence (including any temporary limited licence).
The agent will forward your application to the Transport Agency for processing. Your application will be assessed within four days of being received.
When assessing your application, the Transport Agency must consider the criteria in sections 103 and 104 of the act. If your application and/or the court order don't comply with the criteria in these sections, your application may be declined or delayed.
Examples of where the Transport Agency may decline issuing you a limited licence include when:
Examples of where the Transport Agency may delay issuing you a limited licence include when:
* If a 28-day stand-down period applies, you can still apply to the court within that 28-day period. However, any court order issued within the 28-day stand-down period should clearly state that no limited licence can be issued within that 28-day period. The Transport Agency will apply the 28-day period even if it's not stated on the court order.
If your application isn't granted, you'll be sent a letter outlining the reasons why and advising you of your right of appeal to the District Court.
If your application is granted, the Transport Agency will issue you a temporary limited licence to use while your photographic limited licence is being made and mailed to you.
When driving, you must carry both your limited licence and your court order at all times.
If you hold a limited licence and receive a further disqualification, your limited licence is automatically revoked and you're no longer entitled to drive. You must surrender your revoked limited licence to the court, the police, the Transport Agency or an authorised agent of the Transport Agency.
If you hold a limited licence and you're subsequently suspended under a DLSO, your limited licence is automatically revoked and you're no longer entitled to drive. You must surrender your revoked limited licence to the Ministry of Justice.
After your limited licence has expired, and at the end of your suspension or disqualification, you'll remain unlicensed and are not entitled to drive until you've applied at a driver licensing agent to have your licence reinstated and a new licence has been issued. Any licence card held by you at the time of your suspension or disqualification will have been permanently cancelled.
Find out how to reinstate your licence
If you drive after your suspension or disqualification has ended but before your licence has been reinstated you could be fined and forbidden to drive. If you then continue to drive without reinstating your licence, you could be charged with driving while forbidden and have the vehicle impounded.
