Getting a limited licence in New Zealand, driving for work after losing your licence

Last updated 4 July 2026. Court fees checked against the Ministry of Justice page current at 1 July 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Losing your licence when your job depends on driving is a genuine crisis, and New Zealand law has a pressure valve for it. A limited licence, which most people call a work licence, is a District Court order that lets you keep driving in a tightly defined way while disqualified or suspended. This guide walks through the two routes, who is shut out entirely, the hardship test judges actually apply, and the full cost from courtroom to licence card, drawing on the District Court’s own 2024 Practice Note that tells judges and registrars how to handle these applications.

What a limited licence is

A limited licence is not your old licence back. It is a court order under the Land Transport Act 1998 authorising specific driving, a named vehicle or class, stated purposes, stated days and hours, and often a defined route or area. The Act tells judges to authorise driving to “the least extent that it is necessary” to relieve the hardship, which is why the conditions come out narrow. It can cover more than work, the law allows driving “whether in relation to employment or otherwise”, so school runs or regular medical care can qualify where the hardship is real.

Which route you are in

Everything about your application depends on how you lost your licence, so place yourself first:

	Disqualified by a court	Demerit point suspension
Where to file	The court that disqualified you	Your local District Court
Filing fee	$175	$275
28 day stand down	Applies to many offences	Never applies
When to file	Immediately, any time after the order	Only after the suspension notice has been served on you, attach the notice

The fee asymmetry is real and nobody warns people about it, the demerit route costs $100 more to file. If your suspension came from demerit points, our demerit points guide explains how you got here and what happens at 100 points.

Who cannot apply

Section 103 of the Act locks some people out completely. You cannot get a limited licence if:

• you were sentenced to an alcohol interlock licence, that regime replaces this one
• your disqualification is a repeat alcohol or drug disqualification under section 65
• this is your second serious offence within five years from a different incident, counting reckless and dangerous driving, careless driving causing injury or death, failing to stop after a crash, the alcohol and drug offences, and obtaining a licence while disqualified
• you were disqualified for driving while disqualified or for breaching a limited licence
• a driver licence stop order is in force against you for unpaid fines, clear the fines first, our guide to unpaid fines covers how
• you were disqualified from transport service driving, in which case a limited licence just cannot authorise transport service work, other driving may still be possible.

Two lookalike situations are also out of reach. A 28-day roadside suspension for excess speed or alcohol is not a demerit suspension, and no limited licence is available for it, you simply wait it out. Medical suspensions cannot be worked around this way either.

The 28 day stand down

For many court disqualifications, the judge can grant your order but it cannot take effect until 28 days after the disqualification began. The stand-down list covers drink and drug driving, reckless or dangerous driving, careless driving causing injury or death, failing to stop after a crash, insecure load offences, obtaining a licence while disqualified, and the logbook and driving-hours offences that apply to commercial drivers.

The tactical point, straight from the Practice Note, is that you may file at any time regardless. File in week one, have the hearing inside the stand-down, and the order is ready to operate the day the 28 days expire. The month off the road also becomes useful evidence, judges expect your affidavit to explain what arrangements you made to survive it. The stand-down never applies to demerit suspensions.

The extreme hardship test

You must satisfy the court that the disqualification causes extreme hardship to you, or undue hardship to someone else, an employer who loses their only driver, a partner who cannot get to dialysis, children who cannot get to school any other way. Inconvenience, embarrassment and expense do not reach the bar.

The Practice Note’s standard is blunt, affidavits “should state facts, not assertions”. Do not write that losing your licence causes extreme hardship. Write the facts that force that conclusion, the job description that requires driving, the shifts and locations, the absence of public transport at 4am, the household budget, what you already tried. Self-employed applicants need to show income and expenditure so the court can see the money reality, and every applicant must disclose their full driving history, all of it, not just the recent years, because the police prosecutor has the printout and an incomplete affidavit reads as a dishonest one.

How to apply step by step

1. Prepare the three documents. A notice of application, your affidavit, and a draft order for the judge to sign. An affidavit is a written statement you swear is true in front of a lawyer, JP or court registrar. The Community Law step-by-step guide has templates.
2. Add the employer affidavit if work hardship is the case. The Practice Note is clear that a letter from your boss is generally not enough, hardship to an employer needs the employer’s own sworn affidavit covering what you do and why the business suffers.
3. Draft the order tightly. Conditions must be specific and enforceable, a named vehicle, defined purposes, days and hours, and a geographic scope drawn as a route or a bounded area. The Practice Note tells judges not to accept a radius from a point, and vague promises like “will not drink before driving” do not belong in an order.
4. File and pay. $175 at the disqualifying court, or $275 at your local court for a demerit suspension, after the notice has been served.
5. Serve the police. A copy goes to the police prosecution service, which can be done by email, and the prosecutor can oppose or consent.
6. The hearing. Courts usually want at least 10 working days between filing and hearing. If police do not oppose, a judge can grant the order on the papers in chambers without anyone appearing. If it is contested, or the judge wants to test the evidence, you and your deponents attend, anyone who swore an affidavit must be available to be questioned on it unless everyone agrees they need not appear.

If the application is refused, section 105 blocks a fresh application for three months unless you have new evidence that was not previously available. That rule is the strongest argument for doing the paperwork properly the first time, or paying a professional to.

After the order, getting the actual licence

The judge’s order is not a licence, and people get caught driving in the gap. Two steps remain. Pay the $69 fee to have the court seal the order, then take two sealed copies, your ID and photo to an NZTA licensing agent and complete form DL15 with the $48.70 fee. You can usually drive away on a temporary licence the same day, with the photo card following within about 10 working days.

Then live inside the conditions. Carry the order whenever you drive, stick to the vehicle, purposes, hours and route it names, and remember it can only cover licence classes you already held, never driving instruction, and passenger service work only in narrow demerit-only cases.

Breaching a limited licence is the same offence as driving while disqualified. A first or second offence carries up to three months’ imprisonment or a $4,500 fine plus a mandatory further disqualification of at least six months, a third carries up to two years or $6,000 plus at least a year. The new disqualification revokes your limited licence, revives the original ban for its full remaining balance, and makes you permanently ineligible to apply again for it. The limited licence is a lifeline with no slack in it.

Costs and timeframes

Cost	Disqualified route	Demerit route
Court filing fee	$175	$275
Sealing the order	$69	$69
NZTA DL15 licence fee	$48.70	$48.70
Total before any lawyer	$292.70	$392.70

A lawyer typically adds anywhere from several hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on complexity and opposition. Doing it yourself is entirely possible, the Practice Note and the Community Law guide exist for exactly that, but the three-month bar after a refusal means a borderline or messy case is worth professional help.

On timing, allow at least 10 working days from filing to hearing, plus the 28-day stand-down where it applies, plus a day or two for sealing and NZTA. Filed promptly, most people with a stand-down offence are legally driving again the day the stand-down ends.

Common questions

Can I get a work licence for drink driving in New Zealand

Usually yes for a first offence, subject to the 28 day stand down before the order can take effect. A repeat alcohol or drug disqualification, an alcohol interlock sentence, or a second serious offence within five years shuts the door. Our drink driving guide covers the wider process.

Can I get a limited licence during a demerit suspension

Yes, and with no stand down it can be quick. The catches are the higher $275 filing fee, and timing, you cannot file until the suspension notice has actually been served on you, and a copy of the notice goes with your affidavit.

How long does a limited licence take

Courts normally require at least 10 working days between filing and the hearing. Add the 28 day stand down for the listed offences, then sealing and the NZTA visit, where a temporary licence is usually issued the same day. File in the first week and the process rarely adds time beyond the stand down itself.

Can it cover personal reasons like medical appointments

Yes. The Act allows driving to be authorised for employment or otherwise, and undue hardship to another person, a dependant who needs transport to treatment for example, is a recognised ground. The order will still be drawn to the least extent necessary, so expect specific days, hours and destinations rather than general freedom.

What if I am on a zero alcohol or alcohol interlock licence

An alcohol interlock sentence excludes a limited licence outright, the interlock is the regime you are in. A zero alcohol licence by itself is not a bar, but the situations that put people on one often are, because a second drink driving disqualification within five years triggers the repeat-offence exclusion.

What happens if I breach my limited licence

You are prosecuted for driving contrary to it, the same offence as driving while disqualified, with up to three months’ imprisonment or a $4,500 fine and a mandatory further ban of at least six months for a first or second offence. The original disqualification also comes back for its full remaining balance, and you can never get a limited licence for it again.

Where to get free help

If your licence trouble is still unfolding, our guides on careless and dangerous driving charges and getting an impounded car back cover the neighbouring territory.

Have you applied for a limited licence? Was it granted on the papers or contested, and what did it end up costing? Share your experience in the comments, it will help the next person staring at a disqualification notice.