You can hold a licence for more than one class, for example a car licence and a motorcycle licence.
Whichever class of licence you hold, you must follow the ACT road rules.
The most commonly held licence classes are C and R.
Class C is a Car licence. It licences the holder to drive a car, and includes:
Class R is a Motorcycle licence. It licences the holder to ride a motorcycle, and to tow a single trailer designed for towing by a motorbike.
There are different stages for these licences. Each comes with different plates.
It’s an offence to drive a vehicle displaying the wrong letter or colour plates.
When driving with your provisional driver or motorcycle licence:
Provisional licences are valid for 3 years and have 2 licence stages:
Drivers need to display red 'P' plates for the first 12 months and late-night peer passenger restrictions apply.
Holders of provisional motorcycle licences display red plates for the entirety of their provisional licence period.
After completing 12 months on your P1 licence you'll transition to a P2 licence automatically. We'll send you a letter to let you know you've transitioned.
If your licence was issued when you were 25 or older, you’ll go straight to P2 stage conditions for the entire 3-year provisional licence period.
Drivers must display a green 'P' plate for the last 2 years of the provisional licence period.
Once the P1 stage is over, you’ll get a letter from Access Canberra telling you to start displaying green plates.
You will get a full licence when you renew your licence at the end of your provisional period.
You can renew full licences for up to 5 years online, or up to 10 years in person.
A public vehicle driver licence is for people who will be using a vehicle to transport members of the public. This can include drivers for buses, hire cars, rideshare vehicles and taxis.
The card issued to drivers with a public vehicle licence (with the exception of rideshare drivers) is a Public Vehicle Driver Authority Card (PVDAC). The driver must display it in the vehicle at all times.
While operating a public vehicle, you must have a blood or breath alcohol concentration of zero.
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The heavy vehicle licencing system is hierarchical.
The order from lowest to highest is:
The highest class, MC, allows you to operate vehicles in all other classes, other than a motorcycle.
A successful application for a heavy vehicle class upgrades your C class licence to the higher class.
This licence entitles the holder to operate a vehicle:
This licence entitles the holder to operate a vehicle:
This licence entitles the holder to operate:
This licence entitles the holder to operate:
This is the highest vehicle licence class. It entitles the holder to operate any vehicle or combination of vehicles other than a motorbike.
If you want to return to driving after a court-imposed licence disqualification, you will need to apply for a probationary driver licence.
If you have been convicted of a drug or alcohol offence, you may need to complete an approved alcohol and drug awareness course.
Depending on the charge, you may also be required to participate in the alcohol ignition interlock program.
After a period of disqualification, you can apply for a probationary or restricted licence.
Probationary licence holders must drive or ride with a blood or breath alcohol concentration of zero.
Restricted licences are only issued in very limited circumstances. An application for restricted licence must be submitted to the court prior to the charges being heard.
They allow you to drive during specific hours or for specific purposes.
Restricted licence holders must drive or ride with a blood or breath alcohol concentration of zero.
People whose licences have been suspended under the demerit point scheme are not eligible to apply for a restricted licence.
Under section 10 of the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Regulation 2000, Access Canberra (the Road Transport Authority) may endorse a driver licence with conditions. The conditions are represented by a letter:
A 'Q' condition code is issued to temporary overseas visitors who apply for an Australian driver licence.
The purpose of the 'Q' condition is to indicate the licence holder has not provided proof of permanent Australian residency.
In the ACT, a 'Q' condition is only applied to Public Vehicle Drivers Licences and can be removed once evidence or residency is provided to Access Canberra.
To apply for the removal of the Q:
