Probationary licence

Prepare for your probationary licence

Before sitting a driving test, learner drivers under 21 years old need 120 hours of driving experience, including 20 hours at night.

To get a licence, you need to book the required tests with VicRoads:

View:

some hazard perception practice tests
information on exemptions to drive a prohibited vehicle.

Minimum learner permit period

Before you can get your probationary licence, you must hold your car learner permit a continuous period with no breaks.

You have to start the minimum continuous period again if your car learner permit:

expires
is suspended or cancelled.

Age	Minimum continous learner permit period
Under 21	12 months
21 to under 25	6 months
25 or older	3 months

You may be allowed to have a shorter minimum period if you’ve held a Victorian motorcycle learner permit or motorcycle licence for more than 12 months.

View licence exemptions.

You can apply for an exemption based on hardship or previous driving experience:

Upload your application at VicRoads.

Supervised driving exemption

You can apply for an exemption to the requirement that learner drivers complete 120 hours of supervised driving:

Upload your application at VicRoads.

When you can get a probationary licence

Once you meet the requirements, you should be eligible to sit a VicRoads driving test.

Requirements	Detail
Age and residency	You must be: 18 years or older have a Victorian residential address
Fitness to drive	You must: be able to complete basic driving tasks pass the hazard perception test report a medical condition if your ability to drive is affected by illness, disability, medical condition or injury, or by treatment for one of those things.
Driving history	You must hold a learner permit for the minimum continuous period. You can’t sit a driving test if you are: suspended, cancelled, disqualified or refused from obtaining a probationary driver licence subject to a Fines Victoria licence sanction have any outstanding relicensing requirements, for example a licence eligibility order.
Paperwork	You must: have a valid Victorian log book or your myLearners app information (unless you're over 21) meet evidence of identity requirements ensure any interstate and overseas driving experience has been included in your paperwork. If you bring an invalid log book, you: won't be able to sit the test don't get a refund for the test you booked have to wait 6 weeks before you can book again. It's illegal to put fake hours into your log book.

All learner drivers must follow these rules, even interstate or overseas learner drivers.

View more on:

Practice driving tasks before your driving test

To pass your driving test, you must be able to:

use your mirrors and do head-checks to stay aware of other road users
drive safely and independently on different types of roads, including:
- busy roads
- multi-lane roads
- roads with different speed zones
- a range of traffic conditions
use your indicators to tell other road users where you’re going
choose a safe gap when merging with other traffic
drive under the speed limit at a speed that suits the traffic and road conditions
leave a safe distance between your car and cars ahead of you
come to a complete stop at stop signs, red lights, and pedestrian crossings
make right and left turns at different types of intersections
make lane changes to the left and the right
do reverse parallel parks and three-point turns.

Log books VicRoads will accept

VicRoads will only accept your learner log book if:

you use a pen to note your hours (no pencil)
it is an official learner log book (you can’t use a photocopied book), or a myLearners account
you and your supervising driver complete the declaration of completion form in the log book
all supervising drivers provide their licence number (or instructor's number for driving instructors) and signature
all supervising drivers held a full car licence at the time of the practice drives
all details for each trip are complete and a supervising driver has signed each trip entry.

View driver handbooks and log books.

Your log book won’t be accepted if:

pages are damaged, illegible or missing
entries have been changed using correction fluid (‘white-out’)
the learner driver’s details aren’t listed at the top of every page
you made the entries while at a VicRoads Customer Service Centre on the day of your licence test
VicRoads doesn’t think the entries are valid or complete.

Interstate and overseas log books

This table shows log book requirements for overseas or interstate driving experience.

Supervised driving experience recorded in your interstate or overseas log book	Next steps
At least 120 hours of supervised driving (including at least 20 hours at night)	Present your interstate or overseas log book at a Customer Service Centre. Complete the declaration of completion form (in your log book).
Less than 120 hours	Present your interstate or overseas log book at a Customer Service Centre. Write the total number of hours competed (included hours of night driving) in the Victorian learner log book as a single entry. Continue to record your remaining hours required in a Victorian learner log book. If you are from Queensland, you must present an 'application for approval of Queensland learner log book' letter from Queensland Transport advising that the log book has been assessed and passed.
Some experience, but it’s not recorded in a log book	View information on minimum learner permit periods on this page.
You have an exemption from completing 120 hours of supervised driving	Write the total number of hours exempted in a Victorian learner log book as a single entry. Continue to record your driving hours in the log book. Bring your exemption letter to the drive test appointment.