Provisional P1 Licence (Red Ps) – Restrictions & Penalties

The P1 licence in New South Wales is issued for a period of 18 months when you pass your driving test. It’s a licence that comes with a number of restrictions which we’ll go through below.

You must hold the provisional P1 licence for a minimum of 12 months before you can apply for the P2 (green Ps).

P1 Licence Restrictions

Restrictions for P1 licence holders:

• Your Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) must be zero.
• Your demerit points limit is 4 (i.e. you will be suspended if you incur 4 or more demerit points)
• You must have clearly visible red ‘P’-plates on the front and rear of the vehicle
• You are not allowed to drive faster than 90 km/h
• You are not allowed to use a mobile phone including hands-free
• All passengers must wear a seatbelt/restraint
• You may only drive a car (e.g. not allowed to drive a truck or bus)
• You may only tow light trailers up to 250 kg unloaded weight
• You are not allowed to supervise a learner
• If your test was passed in automatic, then you can only drive automatic
• Drivers under 25 are restricted to carrying only one passenger under 21 from 11 pm to 5 am
• You must not drive a vehicle with:
  • 8 or more cylinders (diesels are exempt)
  • a turbocharged/supercharged engine (diesels are exempt)
  • performance-increasing modifications
  • any vehicle identified by RMS (check website)

P1 Licence Suspension or Cancellation

Your P1 licence can be suspended if you accumulate a certain number of demerit points, or cancelled if you commit serious driving offences.

• By accumulating 4 or more demerit points or by speeding, your P1 licence will be suspended for a minimum of 3 months. The suspension period is not counted towards the minimum 12-month holding period.
• Your licence can be cancelled for serious driving offences, which may also result in a future one-passenger restriction. If cancelled, the 12 month holding period will be reset.