Photo: Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The NT practical driving test is a recorded drive of about 40 minutes with an authorised driving examiner. It includes three compulsory manoeuvres: a reverse parallel park, a three-point turn and a kerbside stop or hill start. To pass you need at least 90 per cent and no fail items. This guide explains how to book, what the examiner scores, the exact manoeuvre standards from the Northern Territory’s official guide, and every way you can fail. It is part of the guide to learning to drive in the Northern Territory.
Before you can book
- You must have held your NT learner licence continuously for at least 6 months. A test taken while your licence is suspended, cancelled or expired is not valid.
- You must test at a location nearest to where you usually live. You can ask for an exemption if, for example, you study or work full time elsewhere in the NT.
- DriveSafe NT participants must also finish the program requirements first: see DriveSafe NT.
How to book an NT driving test
You book directly with an authorised driving examiner approved by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. The NT Government lists examiners, their phone numbers, whether you can use your own car and whether they hire out cars (manual, automatic or both) for:
- Darwin City, Casuarina and Palmerston
- Alice Springs
- Katherine
- Nhulunbuy, Yulara, Tennant Creek and Jabiru (planned visits only, so contact the examiner for dates)
The MVR sets the minimum test fee, but each examiner sets their own price, and car hire costs extra. DriveSafe NT participants do not pay the test fee. Never offer an examiner extra money or gifts: bribery is against the law and ends the test. Remote residents can test through DriveSafe NT or at a police station: see remote NT licensing.
Your test car checklist
If you use your own car, the examiner checks it before you start. It must be registered and roadworthy, with L plates displayed. It cannot be used if it has:
- missing or broken seatbelts
- broken, dirty or discoloured indicators or brake lights
- a cracked windscreen that blocks your view (minor cracks are allowed)
- unsafe tyres, damaged mirrors, missing door handles, badly damaged rims or missing wheel nuts
- large fluid leaks (air-conditioning drips are fine)
- dual brakes that do not work, or sharp edges from body damage
- a convertible roof that cannot be closed
- training aids that could help you, or loose objects in the cabin
- a prohibited driver assistance feature that cannot be switched off
The Learner Drivers’ Guide also says to check the speedometer works, as the test stops if it does not. Bring your current learner licence (or licence receipt plus photo ID) and arrive at least 10 minutes early.
Driver assistance (ADAS) you cannot use
Most driver assistance features can stay on, but you must show you can drive without them. Using any of these fails the test:
| Prohibited feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Lane centering assistance | Keeps the car centred in its lane |
| Adaptive intelligent speed assistance | Restricts the car to the speed limit |
| Cruise control and adaptive cruise control | Holds a set speed |
| Active parking assistance | Steers the car into a parking space |
| Active driving assistance (“autopilot”) | Takes control for short periods |
You can glance at a reversing camera or sensors, but you must still use your mirrors and head checks.
What the examiner scores
The examiner directs you around the course, scores each zone and records any fail items. You are assessed on:
- Speed management: safe and legal speed, a gap of at least 3 seconds to the car ahead, slowing down if you cannot see 5 seconds ahead.
- Road positioning: keeping at least 1 metre of space from other vehicles and hazards where you can, and keeping left on crests and curves.
- Decision-making: choosing safe gaps without forcing others to brake. Turning down clearly safe gaps can also fail you.
- Responding to hazards: covering the brake, easing off, or moving away from a car that might pull out.
- Vehicle control: smooth steering, braking and gear changes, using the park brake properly and signalling in time.
Observation runs through everything. Head-check your blind spot when leaving or returning to the kerb, changing lanes, merging, turning, reversing and manoeuvring.
The three compulsory manoeuvres
| Manoeuvre | Standard to meet |
|---|---|
| Reverse parallel park | No more than 4 direction changes. Reverse no more than 4 metres back from the rear of the car you park behind. Finish 1 to 2 metres from the car in front and parallel to the kerb (front and rear wheels within 10 cm of each other). Aim for under 50 cm from the kerb; more than 1 metre is a fail. Wheels must not touch the kerb or sit on parking lines. Active parking assistance must be off. |
| Three-point turn | No more than 5 direction changes, but use 3 if the road allows. Check left and right before every movement. |
| Kerbside stop or hill start | Parallel to the kerb (10 cm variance). Aim for under 50 cm from the kerb without touching it; more than 1 metre is a fail. Not on parking lines. Rolling back more than 50 cm when moving off is a fail. |
Hitting or mounting the kerb at any point in the test is a fail.
Why you might fail: the fail items
A fail item means you do not pass, whatever your score. The test usually carries on so you get full feedback. The fail items are:
- Disobeying signs, signals or markings: for example, not stopping within 1 metre of a stop line (with no part over it), going through a yellow light when you could safely stop, or crossing a continuous line unnecessarily.
- Failing to give way: to traffic with priority, pedestrians, emergency vehicles, or a bus with a give way sign pulling out from a stop.
- Colliding with anything: including mounting a traffic dome, the kerb or a roundabout.
- An illegal act: such as an unlawful U-turn, the wrong lane at a roundabout, not wearing a seatbelt, or touching a phone or smart watch.
- Exceeding the speed limit: including the 80 km/h learner limit, 40 km/h school zones, 40 km/h past a bus with flashing lights, and roadworks limits.
- Examiner intervention: any verbal or physical help, even being told to release the handbrake.
- Causing a potentially dangerous situation: unsafe overtaking, or giving way unnecessarily on a priority road.
- Losing control: rolling back more than 50 cm, wheelspin, coasting in neutral or with the clutch down, or using a banned ADAS feature.
- Wrong speed for conditions: too fast, too slow, or following too closely.
- 3 or more signalling errors. Signal for at least 5 seconds before leaving the kerb.
- Unreasonably obstructing others: such as entering an intersection when the road ahead is blocked.
- A manoeuvre below standard (see the table above).
- 3 or more missed observation checks.
Immediate fail and test termination
The examiner stops the test and records an immediate fail if you do something dangerous to the public or refuse to co-operate. The test is also ended if you are suspected of being affected by alcohol or drugs, offer a bribe, behave aggressively, there is a crash (whoever is at fault), the car is unsuitable or breaks down, you refuse to be recorded, you get outside help, or extreme weather makes it unsafe.
After the test
- The examiner tells you the result, gives general feedback and hands you a test sheet showing where to improve.
- Passed: take the test sheet to an MVR office and pay the provisional licence fee before your learner licence expires. The pass is valid for 12 months. If you tested in an automatic, you get an A condition for the first 12 months of your Ps. Next step: NT P plate rules.
- Failed: you cannot retest until the next day. The guide suggests waiting a few days to practise first.
- Let your supervisor drive home. Many learners find it hard to concentrate straight after the test.
Common questions
How long is the NT driving test?
About 40 minutes on the road.
What is the pass mark?
At least 90 per cent, with no fail items.
Is the NT driving test recorded?
Yes. Every test is filmed from start to finish, covering the road ahead and the inside of the car. The examiner must keep the recording for 6 months.
Can my supervisor sit in the back?
No. Only you, the examiner and, sometimes, an MVR licensing compliance officer can be in the car.
Can I use my reversing camera?
Yes, but you fail if you rely on it without checking your mirrors and looking around. Active parking assistance must be switched off.
How do I practise the manoeuvres?
The Learner Drivers’ Guide gives step-by-step procedures for each one. For parking rules in general, see parking rules in Australia.
Sources
- Motor Vehicle Registry, “A guide to the Driving Test”, 2nd Edition, April 2026 (nt.gov.au)
- Northern Territory Government, “Take a practical driving test with an authorised driving examiner” (nt.gov.au)
- Northern Territory Government, “Get your driver licence” (nt.gov.au)
- Northern Territory Government, “Road Users’ Handbook”, Fifth Edition, August 2020 (nt.gov.au)
- Motor Vehicle Registry, “Learner Drivers’ Guide”, Second Edition, January 2020 (nt.gov.au)