Does this apply to you?
An R-plate is the plate a newly qualified driver in Northern Ireland has to display after passing.
Northern Ireland: graduated driver licensing (GDL) is the phased scheme that began there on 1 October 2026. It brings a six-month minimum learning period before the test, two years of R-plates, and a night-time passenger limit for new drivers under 24. If you passed or started learning before that date, some of the old rules carry on for you for a while.
England, Scotland and Wales: there's no R-plate or graduated licence here. P plates (the green probationary plates) are optional in Great Britain. What changed is how you book and move a car driving test.
Anywhere in the UK, six or more points within two years of passing means your licence is revoked. You apply for a new provisional licence (the licence you learn on) and pass both tests again.
A minimum learning period for learners in England, Scotland and Wales is still only a proposal.
In England, Scotland or Wales? Skip to what changed for you.
R-plates in Northern Ireland
Under GDL you display R-plates for two years after passing. For the first six months, it's a blue "R" on a white background. For the next 18 months, it's a white "R" on a blue background.
GDL puts no speed limit on a newly qualified driver. An R-plate driver under GDL can use a motorway, up to the posted speed limit.
The night-time passenger rule
For the first six months after passing, if you're under 24, you can carry no more than one passenger aged 14 to 20 between 11pm and 6am. It's a rule for car drivers. It doesn't apply to newly qualified motorcyclists.
The rule doesn't apply if the passenger is immediate family. The law's list is a spouse or civil partner, and a brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister. It also includes a child of the family, which in law means someone you've treated as a child of your own family. A passenger you get Carer's Allowance for is left out of the count too.
It also doesn't apply if someone aged 21 or over who has held a full licence for three years is in the front passenger seat.
Penalties
Not displaying the correct R-plates, or breaking the passenger rule, carries a fine of up to £1,000 and three penalty points.
If you passed, or started learning, before 1 October 2026
Before GDL, a new driver in Northern Ireland displayed amber R-plates for a year and was limited to 45mph. Learners were limited to 45mph too. Find your case below by when you passed, or when your provisional first covered a car. The earliest your provisional can have covered a car is normally your 17th birthday.
- You passed your car test before 1 October 2026 and were still in your restricted year. Keep the amber R-plates and the 45mph limit until your own 12 months are up.
- You're still learning on a provisional that began before 1 October 2026. Your learner 45mph limit carries on until 31 March 2027.
- Your provisional began before 1 October 2026 and you pass your car test on or before 31 March 2027. You get the old rules: amber R-plates and 45mph, for 12 months.
- Your provisional began before 1 October 2026 and you haven't passed by 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 you're under GDL: you need a GDL account and must complete the Programme of Training and Logbook before you can book the test. The same goes if you fail and retake on or after 1 April 2027. The six months count from when your provisional first covered a car, so you'll already have done them. When you pass, you get the two-year plates.
If your provisional first covered a car on or after 1 October 2026, none of this applies. You get the two-year plates and no speed cap.
Before October 2026, anyone driving a car with R-plates on it was limited to 45mph, even a parent with a full licence. Now the limit applies only to the R-plate driver, and only if they're on the old rules.
Northern Ireland learners
Under GDL you complete a six-month minimum learning period before the practical test. With a provisional that began on 1 October 2026, the earliest test is on or after 1 April 2027. Learners who can show they get Carer's Allowance are exempt from the six months.
GDL also applies to new A1, A2 and A learner motorcyclists, but the six-month minimum is for car learners only.
The logbook
The Programme of Training and the Logbook sit in a GDL account. You create one online at nidirect.gov.uk/gdl or in the GDL app, from the App Store or Google Play. An account costs £17. To set it up, you need an email address, your postal address, the driver number from your provisional licence, and a debit or credit card.
For a car, there are 15 modules, 14 of them mandatory. Module 15, motorway driving, is optional. Each module has to be completed, recorded in the logbook and signed off by your supervising driver or an approved driving instructor. Your supervising driver or approved driving instructor also gives a final sign-off before you can book the practical test.
A supervising driver, a parent, say, must be at least 21 and have held a full driving licence for at least three years.
Motorway lessons
Learners in Northern Ireland couldn't use a motorway at all. From 1 October 2026 a learner can drive on one, but only with an approved driving instructor. A learner rider needs an approved motorcycle instructor.
If your provisional started before 1 October 2026, you can't have motorway lessons until 1 April 2027, even with an instructor. That's for car and A1 learners.
If you hold a GB provisional licence
From 1 October 2026, a Great Britain provisional licence holder can't book or take car or motorcycle theory or practical tests in Northern Ireland. You need a Northern Ireland provisional.
Our guide to graduated driving licences covers how the scheme works and where it applies.
England, Scotland and Wales: what changed
Only you can book
Since 12 May 2026, only the learner can book a car driving test. It's against the law to book a driving test for someone else. So an instructor, a parent or a "cancellation finder" service can't do it for you.
A parent or friend can help, but you have to be with them while they do it. Use an email address and phone number that belong to the learner, or that the learner has easy access to. A learner without an email address can be helped to set one up.
Two changes
From 31 March 2026 you get two changes to a car test booking, down from six. Changing the date, the time or the centre each counts, and so does a swap. Changing more than one thing at the same time counts as one change.
If DVSA (the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, which runs tests in Great Britain) changes your test, for bad weather say, that doesn't use one of yours. You get two changes back, even if you'd used both.
Three nearest centres
Since 9 June 2026 you can only move a car test to one of the three nearest centres to the one you're booked at. The other option is the centre you first booked.
Swapping with another learner
From 1 October 2026, both learners must call DVSA separately on the same day to request and complete the swap. A swap uses one of your two changes. The call process is in our guide to driving test waiting times and finding an earlier test.
The theory test
DVSA said in August 2025 that theory tests would include new questions on CPR and defibrillators from 2026.
R-plates and P-plates
R-plates are a legal requirement in Northern Ireland, with a fine and points for not displaying them.
In England, Scotland and Wales you can display green P plates after passing. You don't have to, and you can leave them on as long as you like.
Your first car
Buying your first car? Run a free car check first.
The rest of our new driver advice covers what comes next.
What changes in 2027
Northern Ireland gets a new practical driving test on 1 April 2027. It has an independent driving section of about 20 minutes, brings in sat nav use, and asks "show me, tell me" questions on the move.
If you started learning before October 2026, the dates that apply to you are in the R-plates chapter.
In Great Britain, the Department for Transport consulted on a minimum learning period for car learners, from 7 January to 11 May 2026. The proposals included a minimum period between the theory and practical tests, minimum supervised hours, and a set syllabus. The government is still analysing the responses (November 2026) and hasn't published a decision. Driver licensing is run separately in Northern Ireland, so the consultation doesn't touch GDL.
FAQs
Do the R-plate changes apply in England, Scotland or Wales?
No. There's no R-plate or graduated licence in England, Scotland or Wales. What changed in Great Britain in 2026 is test booking. Only the learner can book, you get two changes per booking, and moves are limited to the three nearest centres. From 1 October 2026 swaps work differently too. The Department for Transport's consultation on a minimum learning period has no published outcome.
Do I have to display an R-plate, and for how long?
In Northern Ireland, yes, for two years under GDL. It's the old amber plate for 12 months if you passed before 1 October 2026, or your provisional began before then and you pass by 31 March 2027.
Do R-plate drivers still have a 45mph limit?
Not under GDL. Drivers who passed before 1 October 2026, or whose provisional began before then and who pass by 31 March 2027, keep it until their 12 months are up.
Can I book a driving test for my child?
In England, Scotland and Wales, no. Only the learner can book, and it's against the law to book for someone else. You can help while they're with you, using an email address and phone number that belong to the learner, or that the learner has easy access to.