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Licence suspensions and disqualifications
Information about on-the-spot, demerit point, speeding, unpaid fines, and medical grounds suspensions, habitual traffic offender declarations, disqualifications and appeals.
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This topic covers
- Immediate licence suspensions by the police
- Suspension of a driver licence for accumulation of demerits
- Suspension of a driver licence for unpaid fines
- Suspension or cancellation of licence on medical grounds
- Appeals to Local Court about licence suspensions
- Licence disqualifications by the Local Court
- Applications to Local Court to remove licence disqualifications
- Applications to Local Court to have Habitual Traffic Offender declarations quashed
The information does not apply to other types of licences, such as boat or industry licences.​
- Immediate licence suspensions by the police
If you haven't paid the fine
| Time limit | Action |
|---|---|
| 21 days | To deal with a fine, including:
|
| 28 days | To deal with a fine reminder notice, including:
|
| 28 days from the review decision | To ask for the matter to be heard by the Local Court. |
| 28 days | To pay an overdue fine before Revenue NSW will take enforcement action. |
| 28 days | After Revenue NSW reject an application to withdraw an overdue fine, to apply have the fine decided by the Local Court to have the fine cancelled. |
If you paid the fine in part or in full
| Time limit | Action |
|---|---|
| 90 days from the date of service | To name the driver (where no fine reminder notice has been issued). |
| 60 days from the date of service | To apply for a review (where no fine reminder notice has been issued). |
| 90 days from the date of service | To ask for the matter to be heard by the Local Court, if you paid the fine in full before a fine notice reminder was issued. |
| By the due date | To:
|
Appeals
| Time limit | Action |
|---|---|
| 28 days | To appeal your on the spot licence suspension to the Local Court. |
28 days or three months with the leave of the Court | To appeal a decision of the Local Court to the District Court. |
| The day before the suspension or cancellation commences | To appeal against a Transport for NSW drive licence suspension. |
| Organisation | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Local Court of NSW | Has the power to hear:
|
| Revenue NSW | Processes fine notices on behalf of NSW agencies such as the police, Local Councils, TfNSW and other government departments, and manages the fine enforcement system to collect unpaid fines. |
| Transport for NSW | The driver licensing authority for NSW. They can issue and suspend driver licences and record demerit points for licence holders. |
Legislation
| Authority | Covers |
|---|---|
| Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW) | Establish a driver licensing system, including a demerit points system and providing for the issue, suspension, cancellation and renewal of driver licences and the classes of driver licences. |
| Common term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Court Attendance Notice (CAN) | A notice issued by the police or other authority that tells you the dat​e and time that you have to go to court to answer a charge for an offence. |
| Demerit points | Penalty points that are added to your licence when you commit certain driving offences. |
| Disqualification | An order by the Court cancelling your licence and banning you from driving for a period of time. |
Fine | A penalty you have to pay for breaking a law. You can get a fine from a government authority or from a court when you are convicted of an offence. Fines are also commonly referred to as a penalty notice or infringement notice. |
| Good behaviour licence | A licence offered to an unrestricted licence holder when they exceed their demerit point threshold. |
| Habitual Traffic Offender | Prior to 28 October 2017, a person who received convictions for serious traffic offences three or more times in the past five years, was declared a Habitual Traffic Offender. |
| ​Habitual Traffic Offender Declaration | ​A declaration made against a Habitual Traffic Offender by the Court or Transport for NSW. |
| Learner licence | A licence issued to a person who is at least 16 years of age allowing them to drive a vehicle for the purpose of learning to drive. They must have an unrestricted licence holder with them at all times when driving. |
| Licence disqualification | An order by the court cancelling your licence and banning you from driving for a period of time. |
| Licence suspension | An order by Transport for NSW or the police banning you from driving for a period of time. |
​Never-eligible offence | ​A serious driving offence involving death or grievous bodily harm caused by a motor vehicle. If you are convicted of a never-eligible offence, it means you are not able to apply for the early removal of your driver disqualification. |
​Notice of Penalty | ​A document sent to the Defendant by the Court after the case. It tells the Defendant what penalty was imposed by the Court and provides payment options. |
Professional driver | A person who has an unrestricted driver licence and who drives to transport goods either inter and/or intra-state or drives a bus, taxi or hire car for work. |
Provisional licence | There are two types of provisional licences:
|
Section 10 | An order under section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), where the Court finds a person guilty of an offence but chooses not to record a conviction. |
Unrestricted licence | A licence that allows a person to drive a vehicle in NSW without any of the specific restrictions placed on learner or provisional licence holders. The demerit threshold for an unrestricted licence is 13 demerit points or 14 for professional drivers when applied for with Transport for NSW. |
| Organisation | Fees |
|---|---|
| Local Court of NSW | You have to pay a fee when:
If you can't afford to pay a fee in the Local Court, you can apply to postpone, remit or have the fees waived. |
| Organisation | Forms |
|---|---|
| Local Court of NSW | You need to file an Application Notice - Appeal against decision of RMS (Licence appeal) if you want to appeal a licence suspension decision by Transport for NSW. You can also file your appeal using the Online Registry. |
| You need to file an Application Notice to the Local Court - General if you want to appeal a decision by the police to suspend your licence on the spot. | |
| You need to file an Application Notice - Declaration as a habitual traffic offender be quashed form if you want to quash a Habitual Traffic Offender declaration. | |
| You need to file an Application to remove driver licence disqualification form if you want to remove a licence disqualification. | |
| Transport for NSW | Good Behaviour Election/Acknowledgment |
| My problem is about | Forms - My car or a driving offence |
| Type | Costs |
|---|---|
| Legal costs | A costs order can be made against you if you are unsuccessful in appealing a licence suspension to the Local Court. Costs orders in licence appeals are rarely made. |
| Court Costs Levy | If you are convicted of an offence, the Court will order you to pay the Court Costs Levy, unless you:
If you are under 18, the Court may direct that you don't have to pay the Court Cost Levy. Court costs are separate to any fine you receive, and the Victims Support Levy. If you have multiple charges, you will have to pay court costs for each offence. For more information, see Paying fines and judgement amounts on the Local Court of NSW website. |
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Last updated: December 2024
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