New Zealand Motorcycle Licence Process

Time to get your NZ Motorcycle licence!!

Step 1

Learn how to control a motorcycle as an absolute new rider.

How to use a clutch? What about gears? How to corner or stop?

Step 2

Prepare for your first rider assessment so you can legally ride on the public roads.

Obtain your L plate and ride any LAMS approved motorcycle between 5am and 10pm

Step 3

Prepare for your restricted or full assessment so you can legally ride without a L plate.

Once you pass your full licence assessment you can ride any motorcyle at any time of the day.

STEP1 - Absolute Riding Basics

STEP2 - Learner 6L Preparation

STEP3 - 6R/6F Preparation

How do I get my NZ motorcycle licence?

Once you have learned how to have effective control of a motorcycle, you can start progressing to obtain your New Zealand class 6 licence.

You visit a NZTA approved motorcycle school that will assess your riding ability and when you complete your competency assessments you may progress your license status.

NZ has three (3) stages of motorcycle licence
6L (learner L plate), 6R (restricted, no L plate) and 6F (full)

Moto Agent Helper is not a NZTA approved riding school nor do we offer any NZTA related services.

See items STEP1, STEP2 and STEP3 above to get started.

How can Moto Agent Helper assist you?

This website provides absolute new motorcycle rider material and a handy collection of things travellers coming to New Zealand may need regarding motorcycles.

We provide this information at no cost, it’s free.

Bookmark this page.

I am visiting New Zealand can I transfer my licence?

See the knowledge-base menu above, this has all the NZ government specific links you require to ride a motorcycle in New Zealand.

How long will it take to obtain my New Zealand motorcycle licence?

There are two ways, competency-based or test-based.

Moto Agent Helper only recommends a competency based assessment method over the test method.

You must be 16 at the time of getting the 6L motorcycle learner licence, and 18 at the time of obtaining your 6F full motorcycle licence.

Using a competency based assessments, the minimum time frames apply assuming you are age 17 or older and competent are:

Day 1 - Pass your “Basic Handling Skills Test” (BHST) and the “Theory” road code multi-choice = 6L Licence.
Day 2 - Pass your competency based restricted practical assessment = 6R Licence
9 Months - Pass your competency based full practical assessment = 6F Licence (6F ready, read on)
1 year - Apply full licence - You must wait 12 months after passing your restricted competency assessment to move to full license status once you pass the 6F competency assessment (We didn’t write the rules!).

The reality of getting your full 6F motorcycle licence within 18months is very possible, but you really need a about 100 hours riding time after obtaining your 6L licence to acquire all the basic road craft skills and good habits to pass your restricted competency assessment.

If you only ride on the weekends, a few hours per week and then only seasonally it will take a while longer to accumulate good habits and the skills required to pass the restricted competency assessment.

We recommend you ride as much as you can regardless if it’s wet, windy or on sunny days as you will gain more confidence in yourself and up-skill faster.

NZTA Licencing guide

“At the beginning we all start out with a clean canvas, the picture we envision is not always the final picture created - Surprise yourself.”