Tasmania Learner Licence Study Guide 2026

How licensing works in Tasmania

Tasmania uses a graduated licensing system with three novice stages: learner (L), provisional P1 and provisional P2. Since 1 December 2020 new drivers have one learner stage instead of the old L1 and L2. The steps below apply to everyone who started after that date.

For drivers aged 23 to under 25 when they move to P2, the P2 period is 12 months or until they turn 25, whichever is longer.

The driver knowledge test

You must pass the driver knowledge test to get your learner licence. It has 30 questions and you need 27 correct (90%). No single question is compulsory. It takes about 30 to 40 minutes and must be done in one sitting.

Plates Plus online course

• The free Plates Plus course takes about four to six hours. You can stop and come back.
• It has three key sections: Your driving attitude (done first), Signs and rules, and Sharing the road. Finish each challenge to earn a key and unlock the test.
• You can enrol from 15 years and 11 months.
• You can try the test once every 12 hours for 365 days from your first enrolment.
• After you pass, apply and pay for the learner licence at a Service Tasmania shop within 12 months.

Standalone test at Service Tasmania

You can still sit a standalone test at a Service Tasmania shop. Bring your evidence of identity. There is no practice test for it, and the course page warns that people who skip the course are unlikely to pass. A professional interpreter is free for the test at a Service Tasmania shop.

Learner licence rules

• Drive no faster than 90 km/h, even where the limit is higher.
• Blood alcohol content of 0.00.
• L plates visible from the front and back of the car.
• No mobile phone use while driving.
• Never tow a trailer or another vehicle.
• Carry your licence and drive with a supervisory driver.

Your supervisory driver

A supervisory driver must have a full Australian car licence (not a restricted licence) held continuously for the previous 12 months. They give you instruction while you drive and make sure you show L plates and keep to learner speed limits. P plate drivers cannot supervise because they do not hold a full licence.

Logbook hours

Record 80 hours of driving, including at least 15 hours at night, using the paper logbook or the Plates Plus logbook app. Some activities give extra credit:

You can practise in any registered, roadworthy car, manual or automatic.

Getting your Ps

To sit the P1 practical driving assessment you must be at least 17, have held your learner licence for 12 continuous months, have 80 logbook hours and have passed the Hazard Perception Test. You can do the Hazard Perception Test online from three months before your earliest P1 assessment date.

The car you use for the assessment matters. Pass in a manual car and you can drive both manual and automatic cars. Pass in an automatic and your licence is for automatic cars only.

P1 rules

• Red on white P plates, front and back.
• No faster than 100 km/h, even where the limit is higher.
• Blood alcohol 0.00 and no mobile phone use.
• If you are under 25, peer passenger rules apply for 12 months: limits on carrying passengers aged 16 to 21. Exemptions cover work, essential activities such as study or medical needs, and family circumstances. You do not apply for an exemption, but you must be able to show police that you meet it.
• You may tow a trailer. If it hides your rear P plate, put a P plate on the back of the trailer.

P2 rules

• Green on white P plates, front and back.
• You may drive at the posted speed limit.
• Blood alcohol 0.00.
• You may use a phone in hands-free or speaker mode.
• You may tow a trailer.

If you reach your full licence without demerit points or certain offences during P1 and P2, you may be eligible for the safer driver reward.