Drink driving in New Zealand: penalties and your next steps

First identify your notice and whether you may drive

Keep every page of the notice, summons, test printout and court order. One incident can produce several documents with different dates. Do not assume paying a fine, making a booking or lodging a challenge gives permission to drive.

For an infringement, follow the response date on the document. Police explain how to request consideration or a hearing in writing; a phone explanation is not enough. If the date has passed, obtain advice immediately because initial notices, reminder notices and court enforcement have different procedures under section 21 of the Summary Proceedings Act.

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1. Record each service date, response date and court date separately.
2. Confirm whether you are currently suspended, disqualified or otherwise prohibited from driving.
3. Collect the test result, licence conditions, previous offence and conviction dates, and the evidence checklist below.
4. Use the appropriate free-help route or arrange advice promptly. A consultation request does not postpone any deadline.

Alcohol limits, infringement fees and criminal penalties

The main provisions are sections 56, 57 and 57AA of the Land Transport Act 1998, with infringement fees and points in the Offences and Penalties Regulations. Breath figures below are micrograms per litre (mcg/L); blood figures are milligrams per 100 millilitres (mg/100mL). Use the evidential result and its units, not an estimate of drinks consumed.

The ordinary adult limit is 250 mcg/L breath or 50 mg/100mL blood. Drivers under 20, and holders of an interlock or zero-alcohol licence, have a zero-alcohol limit. The precise offence also depends on the testing route and licence conditions. Driving while incapable of proper control through drink is a separate offence under section 58, even without relying on the numeric bands.

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These are offence-specific statutory limits, not likely sentences or an all-inclusive cost. Special-licence offences, refusal, impairment, and injury or death require separate analysis. Court and specified testing costs can be additional.

When does the immediate 28-day suspension apply?

Under section 95, an officer with the required reasonable grounds must give a suspension notice in the following alcohol cases. Suspension starts immediately when the notice is given, including for a foreign licence. A blood result and notice need not occur at the roadside. The later court case is separate.

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The initial period is 28 days; section 95A allows court extensions. Under section 101, a statutory-declaration challenge is limited to not being the driver, lack of the required reasonable grounds, or a defective notice. Work hardship is not a ground. The Director normally must decide within five working days after lodgement, subject to the section’s provisions on insufficient or frivolous material. NZTA supplies the declaration and submission instructions. An unsuccessful Director decision can be appealed to the District Court under section 109; section 111 generally gives 28 days after notification of that decision, with further time the court may allow. That is not a universal filing limit measured from the roadside stop. Do not drive unless the suspension has lawfully ended and you otherwise hold the required driving entitlement.

Interlock: a separate pathway, including for some first offences

Under sections 65AB–65AC, an interlock sentence is generally mandatory for a qualifying conviction where the reading is at least 800 mcg/L breath or at least 160 mg/100mL blood, or there is a previous qualifying conviction for an offence committed within five years of the current offence. The offence dates matter; this is different from the four-year roadside-suspension test.

Statutory exceptions and special reasons can apply. They require assessment against the Act; needing to drive for work is not an automatic exemption. An interlock exception does not itself make a limited licence available.

The NZTA alcohol-interlock factsheet, May 2026 (PDF), explains licence applications, approved installers, ongoing requirements and possible financial assistance. Obtain the actual provider and licensing costs; a fine or initial lawyer consultation does not include those costs.

1. Serve the initial disqualification. Section 65AE uses the greatest applicable period, starting at 28 days but potentially longer because of other licence, imprisonment or disqualification periods. Driving on day 29 is not automatic.
2. Obtain the alcohol-interlock licence and have the approved device installed. Only drive vehicles fitted with the required interlock, after all applicable prohibitions have ended.
3. Complete at least 12 months with the required fitted, operating interlock and satisfy the exit conditions. The usual preceding six-month compliance period can be reduced to three months after the specified assessment; simply waiting 12 months is insufficient.
4. Obtain NZTA exit approval and the required zero-alcohol licence before leaving the interlock stage. The zero-alcohol licence runs for three years from issue; follow NZTA instructions for removal and eventual standard-licence reinstatement.

Can you get a limited licence for work?

A limited licence is a specific court/NZTA process under sections 103–105. The court must be satisfied of extreme hardship to you or undue hardship to another person, and that the order is not contrary to public safety. Work inconvenience alone does not establish the test.

Eligibility comes first. Exclusions include specified repeat offences committed within five years of each other, indefinite disqualification, driving-while-disqualified cases, interlock categories and a licence stop order. Transport-service restrictions also apply. Ask a lawyer to check the charge, both offence and conviction dates, and all current orders.

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Bring employer letters, work hours, necessary routes, evidence about alternatives to driving, and the impact on dependants or others. The order must be confined to what is necessary. Use the Ministry of Justice application guidance and NZTA limited-licence instructions. Court approval alone is not permission to drive: obtain the limited licence. Confirm court, licensing and any legal fees separately.

Testing, evidence and deadlines to raise promptly

Screening, evidential breath testing and blood sampling are different steps. Refusing an evidential breath test is not the same event as refusing a lawfully required blood specimen. Section 60 creates the blood-refusal offence; section 64 provides a qualified health defence and a reasonable-compliance rule. An alleged procedural mistake does not automatically invalidate a charge.

Ask a lawyer to review the actual procedure and records. Police Detention Legal Assistance may provide free advice when its conditions are met; ask police for the available lawyers’ list. Do not assume that a request for advice removes testing obligations.

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An infringement does not result in a criminal conviction under section 375 of the Criminal Procedure Act, but a hearing or court enforcement may still occur. Points do not automatically accompany every criminal sentence: section 91 and regulation 6 contain cancellation/no-points rules for relevant disqualifications. Check your official demerit and suspension history.

What to prepare before a drink-driving consultation

A useful consultation starts with the actual documents and the decision you need to make. Identify the most urgent issue: current permission to drive, a plea, an evidence request, a suspension challenge or eligibility for a limited licence.

A discharge without conviction is discretionary. Sections 106–107 of the Sentencing Act require the consequences of conviction to be out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence, subject to the statutory minimum-sentence qualification. The District Court explains that disqualification and other orders can still be made. It is not a guaranteed way to keep driving or preserve overseas entry rights.

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For overseas travel, SafeTravel recommends checking the destination’s immigration authority or embassy. New Zealand’s Clean Slate scheme does not apply outside New Zealand; seven years alone does not automatically erase every conviction. Get destination-specific advice before relying on a general summary.

Official help and free legal information

You may be able to obtain free initial lawyer help without paying Legal Hotline. Eligibility and the scope of continuing legal aid differ from a free duty-lawyer or police-detention consultation.

Common New Zealand drink-driving questions

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