L-Plate and P-Plate rules: Getting your driver's licence in the NT

To obtain your NT learner licence you must be at least 16 years of age.

You must present documents to prove your identity and NT residency at an NT Motor Vehicle Registry (MVR) office, pass an eyesight test and pass a multiple choice theory test about the road rules in the territory.

The NT government also runs an optional program called DriveSafe NT, which gives new drivers education and training by qualified driving instructors and assessors.

A small fee is payable to enrol in the program, but it gives more than $600 in subsidies towards obtaining a driver’s licence and access to theory classes and road safety education lessons.

You can still enrol in DriveSafe NT if you already have your learner licence.

A learner’s licence is valid for six months. If your learner licence is nearing expiry and you are not ready to sit the P-plate driving test to obtain a provisional licence you can re-sit the theory test to renew your learner licence for another two years.

Restrictions on a learner licence include having a zero blood alcohol concentration, not exceeding 80km/h and displaying L-plates at the front and rear of the car.

A fully licensed driver must sit in the front passenger seat at all times while you’re driving, and have a zero BAC if a professional driving instructor or no more than 0.05% BAC otherwise.

You must not use any function of a mobile phone while driving, including hands-free or loudspeaker options, or drive a vehicle that has a television or Visual Display Unit (VDU) operating and visible to you or drivers of other vehicles.

While there is no towing restriction for learners in the NT, if you are towing a trailer an L-plate must also be displayed on the back of the trailer.

While more than 50 hours of driving practice is recommended, there is no minimum learner driving hours requirement in the NT.

Your Northern Territory learner’s licence will be suspended if you incur five or more demerit points within 12 months, or 12 points within a three-year period.

To obtain a class C provisional licence (your Ps) you must have been on your Ls for six months minimum and pass a practical driving test undertaken by an approved examiner. This test takes about 40 minutes and is video-recorded.

A two-year provisional licence period applies for people under the age of 25, while a one-year provisional licence period applies for people aged 25 or over.

The main changes when you have a provisional licence are that you can drive solo and you can drive up to a maximum speed limit of 100km/h, where permitted.

P-plates must be displayed front and rear on the car and on the back of the trailer, if towing.

As with the learner licence, a 0.0% BAC applies to P-platers in the NT, and you cannot use any function of a mobile phone while driving, including hands-free or loudspeaker options, or drive a vehicle that has a television or Visual Display Unit (VDU) operating and visible to you or drivers of other vehicles.

If you passed your driving test in a car with an automatic transmission, then you can’t drive a manual for the first 12 months of your provisional licence (unless you are supervised by a full licence holder).

After 12 months, you can drive a manual vehicle by yourself, but only once you have had the automatic vehicle condition removed from your licence.

If you want to drive a manual vehicle unaccompanied before the 12-month period is up, you must pass the driving test in a manual vehicle.

As with a leaner licence, your provisional licence will be suspended if you incur five or more demerit points within 12 months, or 12 points within a three-year period.

If you are under 25 years of age you must have held a provisional licence for at least two years, while those 25 years of age and over must have held a provisional licence for at least one year.

Any licence suspensions during this time will mean the minimum provisional licence period will be extended by the amount of time of the suspension.

To progress to a full licence you must be at least 18 years and six months old.

Get more information on obtaining a licence in the NT here

L-plate and P-plate rules across Australia

Rules and regulations around L and P-plate driving can, and often do, change. To ensure you are referencing the most up to date information, visit your state licencing regulator’s website.