Unpaid fines - Licence suspensions

This section covers:

​Whe​​n will your licence be suspended for unpaid fines?

When you receive a fine, you will usually have 21 days to pay.

If you don't pay you will be sent a finereminder notice, which gives you another 28 days to pay the fine.

If you still don't pay the fine, you will get an overdue fine from Revenue NSW.

When you get an overdue fine, enforcement costs of $65.00 or $25.00 if you are under 18 (as at July 2022) are added to the total amount payable.   

The time you have to pay an overdue fine is 28 days from the date of the overdue fine, if it is served on you by post.

If you do not pay the full amount by the due date,apply for a payment plan with Revenue NSW, they can take recovery action against you, including directing Transport for NSW (TfNSW) (formerly known as Roads and Maritime Services or RMS) to:

• suspend your driver's licence
• cancel any motor vehicle registration in your name
• suspend your 'visitor driving privileges'.

For more information see What if I do nothing?

What if your licence is from another state or territory?

If you hold a licence and/or have a vehicle registered in your name from another state or territory or you have an international licence, you have 'visitor driving privileges' which means you can drive in NSW on your interstate or international licence.

Revenue NSW can remove permission for you to drive on any roads in NSW if you have unpaid overdue fines. 

Getting the TfNSW restrictions lifted

If your licence is suspended or your registration is cancelled, or your visiting driving privileges are suspended, you will usually have to pay the full amount that you owe to get your licence or car registration back, or 'visitor driving privileges' restrictions lifted.

If you cannot pay the full amount, you can make an application to pay your fine(s) by payment plan. This is usually needed to lift the TfNSW restrictions. For more information see Paying the fine.

 There are serious penalties for driving while suspended, including driver's licence disqualification, large fines and imprisonment. There are al​so large fines for driving an unregistered vehicle. If your licence or registration has been suspended or cancelled and you are caught driving, you should get legal advice.

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