Before you start

A valid overseas driver licence, with a certified English translation if not in English
Evidence of identity and a New Zealand address
An eyesight check at the licensing agent
Proof you have held the licence two years or more, to skip the practical test from an exempt country

Step-by-step

1
Check whether your country is exempt
The exempt list includes Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, South Africa and most of the European Union. Everywhere else is non-exempt and requires both a theory and a practical test.
OnlineWho: You
2
Note your deadline from the day you arrive
Eighteen months for a car licence, twelve for a motorcycle or truck licence. The car limit was extended from twelve months, so older guides understate the time you have — and understate the difference between the categories.
OnlineWho: You18 months for cars
3
Book at an NZTA-approved licensing agent
Conversions are handled at driver licensing agents such as AA and VTNZ rather than at a government counter. Bring identity documents and your overseas licence.
In personWho: You
4
Work out whether you need a car before you buy one
Wellington's centre is walkable end to end, and Metlink runs five commuter rail lines — Kāpiti, Hutt Valley, Melling, Johnsonville and the Wairarapa — plus buses and a harbour ferry on one Snapper card. Central parking is scarce and expensive, and a great many households here manage on one car. Rent before you buy and see what you actually use.
In personWho: You
5
Learn the hill and wind driving before you need to
Wellington's suburban streets are steep, narrow and often single-lane with parking on both sides, and the wind on the exposed sections — the airport approach roads, the south coast, the motorway around Ngauranga — is strong enough to move a high-sided vehicle. Neither is dangerous once you expect it; both surprise people in week one.
In personWho: You
6
Treat the open road as a separate skill
State Highway 1 north and the Remutaka hill road over to the Wairarapa are narrow, winding and unforgiving, with one-lane bridges on the back roads — a genuinely unfamiliar feature for most arrivals. Learn the bridge priority rules before your first weekend trip rather than at the bridge.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Overseas driver licence, with certified English translation if needed
Passport or other approved evidence of identity
Proof of New Zealand address
Application form and fees

Things most newcomers don’t know

You get 18 months on a car licence, not 12 — and the motorcycle and truck deadlines did not change.

NZTA extended the time limit for driving on an overseas car licence to 18 months while motorcycle and heavy vehicle licences stayed at 12. A lot of relocation material still says 12 across the board, which either rushes you unnecessarily or, worse, has you convert the car category on time and let the motorcycle one lapse without noticing.

Source: NZTA Waka Kotahi — time limit for driving on an overseas licence

Two years of licence history is what removes the practical test, and a reissued card can look new.

Even from an exempt country, holding your licence for under two years means sitting a practical test. A replacement card issued recently — after a loss, a name change or a move — can look like a two-month-old licence unless you can evidence the original date of issue. Bring documentary proof of your licence history, not just the card itself.

Source: NZTA — converting a car licence from an exempt country

Wellington is the New Zealand city where the rail network actually shapes where people live.

Five Metlink commuter lines run out of Wellington Station into the Hutt Valley, Porirua, Kāpiti and over the hill to the Wairarapa, and a very large share of the region commutes on them. That is not true of Auckland at the same intensity and not true of Christchurch at all. It means the practical question when choosing a suburb is walking distance to a station, and it means a one-car household is genuinely normal here rather than aspirational.

Source: Metlink / Greater Wellington Regional Council

The wind is a driving condition, not just weather.

Cook Strait gusts are strong enough to affect high-sided vehicles, trailers and motorcycles on the exposed motorway sections and around the airport, and the Interislander and Bluebridge ferry sailings across the strait are cancelled for it regularly. If your plan involves getting a vehicle to the South Island on a particular day, build in slack — a cancelled sailing in a southerly is an ordinary occurrence rather than bad luck.

Source: community-reported, corroborated by ferry operator advisories

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a 12-month deadline for a car licence — it is 18 months.
Assuming the same deadline applies to a motorcycle or truck licence — those are 12 months.
Being unable to evidence two years of licence history and having to sit a practical test.
Buying a second car before testing whether the rail network covers your commute.
Booking a same-day ferry connection across Cook Strait with no margin for a weather cancellation.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.