Photo: Orderinchaos, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
On a WA learner’s permit you must display L plates, drive with a qualified supervisor, keep a 0.00 blood alcohol level, stay at or under 100 km/h and keep out of Kings Park. If you are under 25 you must also log at least 50 supervised hours, including 5 at night, before your driving test. This guide is for Western Australian learners and the parents who supervise them. It covers every learner condition, who can supervise, and how to log hours in Learn&Log or the paper logbook.
WA learner rules checklist
- Display L plates on the front and rear of the car.
- Always have a supervising driver with you, including when parking.
- Blood alcohol concentration of 0.00.
- Never exceed the posted limit, and never exceed 100 km/h, even on 110 km/h roads.
- Don’t drive in Kings Park or anywhere signs ban learner drivers.
- Drive within any conditions printed on your permit.
- Demerit limit: 4 points. Reach it and you are disqualified for at least 3 months. See WA novice demerit points.
The general mobile phone rules apply to you too. A driver may only make or take a call if the phone is in a fixed mounting or can be used without touching it. Texting, emailing and video messaging while driving are illegal.
Who can supervise a learner driver in WA?
Your supervisor can be a licensed driving instructor, a family member or a friend. For a car, they must:
- have held a driver’s licence for the type of car for at least 4 years (2 years for mopeds)
- hold a licence for the transmission you are using. A supervisor with an automatic-only licence cannot supervise you in a manual
- follow the same alcohol and drug limits that would apply if they were driving
- make sure the car shows L plates and is licensed and roadworthy
- sign off your logbook after each session.
A professional instructor must hold a current DTMI driving instructor’s licence and drive a dual-control car. When teaching someone under 18, they need a current WA Working with Children Check.
The 50 hour rule
| Your age | Hours needed before the PDA |
|---|---|
| Under 25 | At least 50 supervised hours, including at least 5 at night (sunset to sunrise) |
| 25 or older (car licence) | None required, though DTMI strongly recommends logging them |
You can log hours before and after the HPT. Only sessions properly recorded in an approved logbook count. The approved logbooks are the paper Learner Log Book and Learn&Log.
Fifty hours is a minimum. Drive Safe says young drivers who get 100 to 120 supervised hours are better prepared and less likely to be in serious crashes. It recommends including freeways, highways or major roads, night driving, and speeds of 80 to 100 km/h on roads where that’s allowed.
Paper logbook or Learn&Log?
| Paper Learner Log Book | Learn&Log (ServiceWA app) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $10.70 (as of November 2026) | Free |
| Totals | You add them up | Progress tracker adds them for you |
| Supervisor sign-off | Signs the book | Signs on the learner’s phone screen |
| At the PDA | Bring the signed book | Submit your declaration at least 24 hours before and bring your device |
| If lost | Hours in a lost book are not credited | Submitted trips are restored on a new device |
You can use both. Hours from a paper book can be added to Learn&Log at any time, but if you have any paper hours you must still bring the book to your PDA.
The logbook is a legal document. False or misleading entries can lead to prosecution of everyone who signed.
How to set up Learn&Log
- Hold a current WA C class (car) or R-E class learner’s permit, and no C or R-E licence.
- Set up a DoTDirect account with two-factor authentication.
- Create a myID digital identity of at least Standard strength (two ID documents, such as a passport and your learner’s permit).
- Install the ServiceWA app and link Learn&Log from the Discovery tab.
- Add your supervisors (name and licence number, or instructor number) and your vehicles.
Use your own account. You cannot log in through a parent’s ServiceWA app, and DTMI recommends one Learn&Log user per phone.
Logging a trip, step by step
- While parked, tap “Log a new trip” and then “Start recording”. Then put the phone away.
- At the end, tap the red stop button and “Finish trip”.
- Set the night hours: All, None or in 15-minute steps.
- Tap “Sign & submit” and have your supervisor sign the screen.
- Check the trip shows as Logged (green). Only Logged trips count.
Forgot to start the timer? Use “Enter a past trip”. Forgot to stop it? Stop it and edit the time down before you submit. You can record trips offline, but they only count once you reconnect and they are validated. A trip goes Invalid (red) if the vehicle registration or supervisor’s details don’t check out, or if it overlaps another trip.
Declaring your 50 hours
- On the Progress screen, tap “Declare my hours”.
- Sign the Declaration of Completion and save.
- Tap “Submit declaration”. Do this at least 24 hours before your PDA.
A simple four-stage practice plan
DTMI’s Driving Techniques for Safer Drivers booklet splits learning into four stages:
- Basic control: car parks, empty streets and quiet sealed country roads.
- Quiet roads and hazards: residential streets, starting with left-turn-only loops, then roundabouts and right turns, plus rain and night practice.
- Complex areas: heavy traffic, freeways, highways and country roads, day and night. Start practising PDA exercises here.
- Rehearsing to be solo: all conditions, planning your own routes, until you and your supervisor agree you are ready.
The exercises are covered in Driving Techniques for Safer Drivers explained.
Common questions
Is WA changing the 50 hour rule to 80 hours?
Not yet. In April 2026 the WA Government announced a reform package that would raise supervised driving to 80 hours (10 at night), lengthen the minimum learner period and bring in a three-year provisional period. As of November 2026 no start date or transition rules have been published, and the official log book page still requires 50 hours including 5 at night. Log to the current rule, and check Transport WA for any transition notice before you book your assessment.
What counts as night driving in WA?
Driving between sunset and sunrise.
Can a learner drive on the freeway in WA?
Yes, with a supervisor, as long as you stay at or under 100 km/h. Drive Safe recommends freeway practice. See learners on motorways and freeways in Australia.
Can my supervisor have a drink?
Your supervisor must meet the same alcohol and drug limits that would apply if they were driving. For most full licence holders that is the 0.05 limit. You must be at 0.00.
Do lessons with a driving instructor count towards the 50 hours?
Yes, if they are recorded in your logbook. A licensed instructor is one of the people who can supervise you.
Can I drive in Kings Park on my Ls?
No. Learners are not allowed within the boundaries of Kings Park.
What happens to my Learn&Log hours if my permit expires?
They are kept. You can reach them again after you renew your permit.
For the whole licence path, see learning to drive in Western Australia. To compare with other states, see learner licence rules in every Australian state.
Sources
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Learn to drive and log your hours” (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Teach someone to drive” (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Digital learner log book – Learn&Log” (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Learn&Log FAQs” (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Apply for your learner’s permit” (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Pass the Practical Driving Assessment (PDA)” (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Drive Safe: A handbook for Western Australian road users”, revised 5 August 2026 (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Driving Techniques for Safer Drivers: A Guide for Learner Drivers”, revised 6 August 2026 (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Government of Western Australia, “Landmark overhaul of WA licensing system to deliver safer roads”, media statement, 26 April 2026 (wa.gov.au)