Fines, penalties and losing your licence
You must follow the road rules for your safety and the safety of others when you drive. If you do not, you can be fined or have your driver licence or car taken off you.
Check with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) for updates on available NZTA and agent services.
Know the road rules
Know what you can and cannot do on the road.
The official New Zealand road code
Report unsafe or risky driving — the driver will be contacted by Police if they can be identified, but they will not be charged or fined.
Fines and penalties
For many driving offences, you’ll be given demerit points as well as a fine. If you’re given 100 demerit points in any 2-year period, your licence will be suspended for 3 months.
How to pay fines
You can pay speeding tickets and other Police infringements directly to the Police.
Pay a speeding ticket or traffic infringement
Note: Parking tickets are managed by your local council — you’ll need to pay them directly.
Serious driving offences
If you’re caught committing a serious driving offence, the Police can suspend your licence or impound your vehicle at the roadside.
When your vehicle’s taken off you
Drink driving
If the court convicts you for driving offences involving alcohol, you can be given an alcohol interlock sentence or a zero alcohol sentence.
An alcohol interlock is an electronic device that prevents you from using your vehicle if a sample of your breath contains alcohol.
If you have a zero alcohol licence, you need to drive for 3 years with a zero alcohol limit.
Getting your licence back
If you’ve been banned from driving, you need to apply to get a new licence when the ban is lifted.
You’ll have to prove you’ve dealt with your drug or alcohol problem before you can apply to have your indefinite disqualification lifted.
If a disqualification or suspension will cause extreme hardship to you or undue hardship to another person, you may be able to get a limited licence.
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