NSW Learner Logbook Hours Explained

Who needs a logbook?

If you're under 25, you must record at least 120 hours of supervised driving, including at least 20 hours of night driving (between sunset and sunrise), and hold your learner licence for at least 12 months before you can sit the driving test. Your logbook also covers a set of learning goals that your supervisor signs off.

If you're 25 or older, you don't need to complete a logbook — you just need to pass the Hazard Perception Test before booking your driving test. Lessons are still the quickest way to get test-ready, but the hours aren't compulsory.

The 3-for-1 bonus: 1 hour with an instructor = 3 logbook hours

Every hour of driving lessons with a NSW-licensed driving instructor is recorded as 3 hours in your logbook. The bonus applies to your first 10 hours of lessons, so 10 hours of lessons count as 30 logbook hours — 20 hours you don't have to drive.

Two things to know: the instructor must hold a NSW instructor licence, and the bonus hours from a lesson taken at night count as day hours, not towards your 20 night hours. You can take as many lessons as you like; only the bonus is capped.

The Safer Drivers Course: another 20 hours

Learners under 25 who've logged at least 50 hours (not counting any 3-for-1 bonus hours) can take the Safer Drivers Course — a short course with a classroom module and in-car coaching — for an extra 20 hours of logbook credit.

Paper or app

You can use the paper Learner Driver Log Book or log your drives digitally in an approved app. If you use an app, submit your logbook at least 48 hours before your driving test. If you use the paper book, bring it — completed, with the Declaration of Completion signed — on test day.

Tips for logging hours properly

• Log every drive straight away, with start and finish times and the odometer readings — reconstructing them weeks later is how logbooks get rejected.
• Your supervisor must hold a full (unrestricted) Australian licence and sign each entry.
• Spread your hours: wet weather, night, peak-hour traffic, highways and quiet streets. Variety is what actually makes you test-ready.
• Get your night hours done early. Winter evenings make them easy; leaving them to the end is a common bottleneck.
• Book a few lessons early, not just before the test, so bad habits don't get 100 hours of practice.

Tracking your hours with us

Students can create a free account to keep track of logged hours and the skills covered so far. Lesson details like distance, day or night and weather can be recorded against each booking, making it easier to copy lessons into your logbook.