If you’ve been disqualified from driving, or have received too many demerit points and lost your driver’s licence, you may be able to apply for a limited licence.

If you need a limited licence so you can continue to work or transport your children, you may be able to apply for a limited licence. A limited licence allows you to drive for a limited purpose so is subject to conditions such as driving you to and from work or university, allowing driving on limited days and at limited times, and limiting the vehicle you may drive.

To apply for a limited licence, you have to make an application in the District Court where you were disqualified from driving. Mark can assist you with this process. He will draft all the required documents (minimum 3) and appear for you in Court. You don't have to have a lawyer assist you with your application, but the experience a lawyer has with these applications will generally have you driving again in a shorter period of time.

The Ministry of Justice says that "Applying to the court for a limited licence can be complex. Your application needs to be in a certain format with specific information, but there’s no application form to use".

There are cases where a 28 day stand down is mandatory and cases where there is no stand down period. If your application is unsuccessful you have a three (3) month stand down period until you can apply again. Using a lawyer to assist with your application gives you the best chance of success.

It is worth noting that once you have your licence there further conditions. If you are in a vehicle with a fully licenced driver they must be the person driving the vehicle and you must carry your sealed Order and limited licence on you at all times (there may be further conditions based on your particular case). If you breach the terms of your limited licence you will lose your limited licence with no ability to obtain another limited licence.

If you are only interested in the costs associated with applying for a limited licence, costs can be found here.

You can't apply for a limited licence if:

• you have been disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver licence due to repeat offending involving alcohol or drugs or are required to use an alcohol interlock device (pursuant to section 65 of the Land Transport Act 1998); or
• you are currently disqualified because you were convicted of driving whilst disqualified, or driving outside the terms of your limited licence; or
• you have committed a serious driving offence, which has a minimum sentence of six (6) months disqualification within the last five (5) years; or
• you are disqualified from driving a passenger transport vehicle, such as a bus or taxi, and want a limited licence to drive that vehicle; or
• an alcohol interlock licence was ordered because your breath exceeded 800 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath or your blood exceeded 160 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

If none of the above applies then you may be able to apply for a limited licence.

You will need to show the Court that you believe that without a limited licence there is extreme hardship to yourself or undue hardship to another in your application to the Court. Mark can assist by expressing your personal circumstances to the Court in a way that shows extreme or undue hardship if it does exist.

If you were disqualified from driving for an offence with a mandatory sentence of six (6) months suspension from driving (e.g. drink driving (EBA)) you generally have a stand-down period of 28 days once you’ve been disqualified. You can still make your application to the Court during this time but the stand-down period will still apply.

If you have been suspended from driving for excess demerit points or for an offence with a mandatory sentence of less than six (6) months (e.g. careless driving) then there is no stand-down period before applying for a limited licence.

There are generally three (3) steps in obtaining a limited licence, they are:

• Pre-application stage;
• Application stage; and
• New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) stage.

The Pre-application stage is the period of time before filing the application with the Court where the required documents for the application are drafted. Those documents include the mandatory documents the Court requires but also the documents you want to provide as evidence of your extreme hardship or undue hardship to others. Your evidence will likely include affidavits from other people such as your employer or a family member that relies on you and your driving. Letters from these people just aren't enough, however, a letter from an employer can be used to draft an affidavit to file as evidence in your application for a limited licence.

The Application stage is the period of time from filing the application with the Registrar of the Court and having that application heard in open Court by a Judge. In Hamilton this process takes one (1) week. If you file your application on a Wednesday, that application will usually be heard the following Wednesday. On that day your application will be called in open Court, you or your lawyer will stand up and ask the Judge for the Order to be made. If all goes well the Judge will grant your Order. Finally you go back to the Registrar of the Court and wait for your Order to be sealed. This "sealed Order" is what you need to move onto the final stage.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) stage is where you take your sealed court Order and apply for the limited licence with the NZTA. The NZTA actually issue the physical licence and therefore this an important and necessary step in the process of obtaining a limited licence. The NZTA will assess your application within four (4) days of receiving it.

The three (3) steps above all have an associated cost. Our fee for involvement throughout, including the Pre-application stage and the Application stage is a fixed fee of $1300 + GST. The Court’s filing fee for criminal charges (such as, excess breath alcohol, driving at a dangerous speed, careless driving causing injury, etc.) is $165 payable to the Court when filing the application. If you were suspended for exceeding 100 demerit points within a two year period, the Court charges a filing fee of $325, which includes sealing the final order. Finally, the NZTA charge an application fee when applying for a limited licence of approximately $48.70.

You will need to pay each fee to each individual party throughout the process directly. NOTE: Fees set by other agencies, such as the Ministry of Justice and NZTA, are subject to change and you should enquire of those agencies if cost is an issue.

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All materials contained on this website are made available by Mark Jepson Law for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The transmission and receipt of information contained on this website does not form or constitute a client relationship. Persons should not act upon information found on this website without first seeking professional legal counsel.

Information current as at May 2020.