P1 provisional licence

There are 2 types of provisional licences—P1 and P2.  The P1 licence is your first provisional licence, before you move onto P2.

Applying for a P1 licence

Your age will determine if you are upgraded to a P1 or P2 licence after passing a practical driving test. Queensland driver licence progression is based on age and time spent on a licence before being eligible to upgrade to the next licence type.

To be eligible to upgrade to a provisional licence, you must:

• be at least 17 years of age
• hold your learner licence for at least 1 year
• complete 100 hours of supervised driving experience in a learner logbook
• complete the car hazard perception test
• book and pass your practical driving test.

Once meeting these requirements, if you are under 25 years of age, you can apply for your P1 licence.

If you are 25 years of age or older, you do not need to meet logbook requirements or apply for a P1 licence. You will get your P2 licence after completing all of the other requirements.

Driving with a P1 licence

Once you have your P1 licence, you can drive unsupervised.

When driving you must:

• display red P plates
• only drive vehicles allowed on your licence class
• have your licence with you, either the physical card or on the Digital Licence app, and show it to a police officer when asked
• comply with any conditions on your licence. For example, if you have an ‘S’ condition on your licence you can only drive while wearing corrective lenses
• obey the zero alcohol limit.

You must not:

• use a mobile phone for any reason when you're driving. Your passengers can’t use the loudspeaker function on their mobile phones
• drive a high-powered (performance) vehicle
• drive with more than 1 passenger under 21 who is not an  immediate family member (unrelated by blood, marriage, or a guardian relationship) between 11pm and 5am
• drive under the influence of illegal or prescription drugs
• accumulate 4 or more demerit points in any 1 year period or you will have to choose between a suspension and a good driving behaviour period
• supervise a learner driver.

If you are over 25 years of age, you may use a mobile phone hands-free.