Being a parent is hard. You forget about work meetings, appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, and sometimes you may even forget to take your L or P plate out of your car when you get in the car to go to one of those events you’ve forgot.
- If you leave the letter L or P on the car and you are not the owner of the license plate L or P, you may be fined
- The rules vary depending on the location
- If you get arrested for doing that, be honest with the police and you can get off the bus
Hopefully if that happens to you, you won’t get caught and you won’t be fined. But you should know that in some jurisdictions across the country it is illegal to display an L or P license plate if you are not the driver of an L or P plate.
Here is a summary of the rules:
Victoria: If you are found to be “displaying license plate ‘P’ unsolicited,” you could be fined $165 and deduct one point. The same penalties also apply to “license plate ‘L’ when unsolicited”.
tasmania: You can be fined $90 if you are found “Driving with an L license plate when not a learner”.
ACT: Unauthorized use of L-plate/L-plate and unauthorized use of P-plate/P-plate. $208 fine. There are no downsides.
SA: “Driving a vehicle with a P license plate is an offense unless you are a temporary license holder; or probationary license issued under the conditions of the alcohol interlock program.”
Queensland: At QLD, the Transportation Operations Regulations (Road Use Administration–Driver Licensing) document 2021 states that “others may not display L plates” and “others do not displayed with license plate P”. Only learner drivers or provisional drivers can display those plates, unless the driver “has a non-Queensland license and is authorized to learn to drive in the licensed jurisdiction ; or a driver’s trainer”. The fine, if taken to court, can be up to $2875 (20 fine units).,
New South Wales: There doesn’t appear to be any law about driving with a license plate on it if you’re not a learner or temporary driver.
Northern Territory: There is no clear rule about L or P plates being displayed on cars because drivers have full NT driving licenses.
Western Australia: We were unable to track down any references to laws or penalties regarding the incorrect display of L or P plates in WA.
Not intended as legal advice. Check with the relevant road authority in your state or territory.
