Under section 105(2) of the Land Transport Act 1998 the court can grant a limited licence if it is satisfied that the disqualification has or will result in ‘extreme hardship’ for the applicant, or ‘undue hardship’ for someone else.

Extreme hardship is a high threshold and would usually be loss of your job and source of income. Despite being the most common, loss of employment isn’t the only way to establish extreme hardship. A range of other circumstances can be successful if presented to the judge in the right way.

Undue hardship is a lower threshold and relates to hardship that will be experienced by someone else. An example of this would be if your employer was losing money because you weren’t able to do your job properly, or if other staff members were being required to work extra hours to compensate for you. Another common scenario is if you need to care for children or a sick family member who relies on you.

If you have been convicted of an offence that carries a mandatory disqualification of 6 months or more then you will be subject to a statutory 28 day ‘stand down.’ This means that the court will not accept your application until the expiry of the stand down period. However, this doesn’t mean that you should wait for the stand down period to expire before getting in touch with us. We can make use of the stand down period to get your application finalised and ready to be lodged on the 29th day so that you’re only off the road for the absolute minimum amount of time.

If you are disqualified due to excess demerits, or for an offence which carries a mandatory disqualification of less than 6 months, then you are not subject to a stand down period and can apply for a limited licence straight away.

Not everyone is eligible for a Work Licence . You may be ineligible to apply for a Work Licence if:

• You have been convicted of a driving offence which carries a minimum disqualification of 6 months or longer at any time in the past 5 years; or

• If you have produced a breath alcohol reading of over 800 mcg/L or a blood alcohol reading of over 160 ml/L ; or

• If you are disqualified for driving while disqualified or driving contrary to a limited licence; or

• If you want a limited licence to drive a passenger or transport vehicle; or

• If you are disqualified from driving indefinitely by an order made under s65 of the Land Transport Act.

If you’re not sure if you’re eligible for a limited licence contact us today and we can advise you.

Yes, you will need to appear in court – unless you’re Christchurch based in which case we can provide one of our lawyers to appear on your behalf.

Assisting you to self-represent instead of appearing on your behalf is one of the ways that we’re able to provide this service at a fraction of the price of other law firms.

We understand that the thought of going to court can be pretty daunting, but the reality is that self-representing is quick and easy. Before your court date we will have been liaising with the police and working tirelessly to obtain their approval. The Judge will have already read your application, and with the police on your side it’s as simple as appearing and answering a few questions.

We provide a comprehensive ‘going to court’ guide to make sure that you know what you need to do and feel confident doing it.

Pursuant to sections 103 and 105 of the Land Transport Act 1998 you may be eligible to apply for Work Licence if:

1) You have either:

1.1) been disqualified from driving by the Court; or

1.2) been suspended from driving as a result of excess demerit points;

(i.e you have lost your driver’s licence)

AND

2) the Court is satisfied that the disqualification or suspension has resulted or will result in:

2.2) extreme hardship to you; or

2.2) undue hardship to someone else.