Learner's Licence Rules: What You May and May Not Do

You have passed the theory test. Now what may you actually do with a learner's licence? The learner's licence rules are short, but a lot of what people repeat about them is wrong or out of date. This post covers the codes, the minimum ages, how long the licence lasts, who must be with you when you drive, and what you may not do. We also look at two popular "rules" that we could not find in the law.

Every point here comes from the National Road Traffic Act or the National Road Traffic Regulations, as noted.

Why you need a learner's licence

Before anybody may lawfully give you driving lessons on a public road, you need a learner's licence. You apply for it at a driving licence testing centre and get it by passing the theory test there. Like any licence to drive, you must keep it with you in the vehicle whenever you drive on a public road (Act, section 12).

The three codes

There are three classes of learner's licence (regulation 99).

Code	For	Minimum age
Code 1	Motorcycles	16
Code 2	Light motor vehicles: tare or gross vehicle mass not more than 3 500 kg (an ordinary car)	17
Code 3	Any other motor vehicle or combination, except motorcycles, tricycles and quadrucycles	18

The ages come from section 15 of the Act. Two details are worth knowing:

• Under 18 on a motorcycle, you may only ride one with an engine of up to 125 cc.
• A Code 2 learner's at 17 does not mean a driving licence at 17. The driving licence for a car needs you to be 18.

Our site, and this post, focus on Code 2.

A note on Code 3

The 2012 learner driver manual describes Code 3 with the same 3 500 kg limit as Code 2. That is an error. The regulation puts no mass limit on Code 3.

How long a learner's licence lasts

A learner's licence lasts 24 months, counted from the date you passed the test, and it cannot be extended.

The change from 18 to 24 months was announced by the Minister of Transport in February 2010 (gov.za statement). The Western Cape's learner's licence service page also says it is valid for 2 years, and a draft notice published in August 2026 restates 24 months.

If you look up regulation 101 on the law site source.acts.co.za, you may still see 18 months. That text is out of date. Go by 24 months.

Who must be with you when you drive

You may not drive alone on a learner's licence for a car. Regulation 99(2)(a) sets out who must be with you:

• A licensed driver must accompany you and supervise you directly.
• That person's licence must be for the same class of vehicle you are driving.
• It must be a full driving licence. Another learner's licence holder cannot supervise you.
• The supervisor must sit next to you. Only where that is not possible may they sit directly behind you.

This supervision rule does not apply on a motorcycle, or in a vehicle that has no passenger seat.

What you may not do

Here is what the law says a learner may not do.

• Drive without a supervisor in a car, as above.
• Carry passengers for reward. No learner may carry people for payment. The supervising driver does not count as such a passenger.
• Carry anyone on a motorcycle. A motorcycle learner may not carry another person.
• Drive without your licence on you. Keep it in the vehicle while you drive.
• Drive a PrDP vehicle alone. For a vehicle whose driver needs a professional driving permit (PrDP), the person with you must hold a PrDP for it.
• Cheat in the test. Using an unauthorised aid in the test is an offence, and a court may stop you from applying again for up to 12 months (Act, section 17(5)).

What about other passengers in a car? Nothing in the regulation stops a Code 2 learner from carrying passengers who are not paying. The ban is on carrying people for reward.

Two rules people talk about that we could not find

The "L" sign

Many people believe a learner must show an "L" sign on the car. We checked the licensing sections of the Act and the learner's licence regulations and found no such requirement. We did not read every one of the hundreds of regulations, so we cannot say for certain that none exists anywhere. But we have no source for it, so we do not teach it as a rule, and none of our questions test it.

A ban on freeways

You may also hear that learners may not drive on a freeway. The freeway regulation lists the vehicles and road users that may not use a freeway, such as pedal cycles, animal-drawn vehicles, small motorcycles of 50 cc or less, and tractors. Learners are not on that list, and the learner's licence regulation says nothing about freeways either. We found no rule that bans a learner from a freeway.

Other points worth knowing

• Applying. You apply in person at a testing centre (DLTC), using form LL1, with two identical photographs and acceptable identification.
• Aged 65 or older? You must hand in a medical certificate with your application.
• Moving house? A licence holder who moves permanently must give notice of the new address within 14 days.
• Some conditions disqualify you, such as uncontrolled epilepsy, uncontrolled diabetes, or addiction to alcohol or narcotic drugs. Deafness on its own does not.

Next step

The rules of the road section of the test includes questions on licensing like these. Module 1 of the study guide covers licences and the learner's licence in full, and the free introduction explains how the test works. When you are ready, try a free mock test on the practice page.