In New Zealand the licence you hold decides whether you can drive, hire a car, take a job as a driver and, in some cases, get insurance paid. That makes a fast route to a licence tempting, especially for people new to the country. The offers are everywhere on social media, but the system behind a real licence was built so that nobody can sell one. These guides use official material to show what is actually going on.
Start with the question you have
What the offers say, what the law says and what a real licence costs.
How they are sold, how they are caught and what you risk.
The 440 commercial licences NZTA revoked and the extra checks since.
Fake agents on social media and WhatsApp.
The official fee, the official site, and who else is charging.
What to do in the first hour and the first week.
Two groups of guides
The driver licence scams hub covers fake licences, conversion fraud, testing corruption and the lawful route. The birth certificates and passports hub covers look-alike sites that charge more than DIA does for the same document.
Check before you pay or hand over ID
Driver licensing in New Zealand cannot be done online or through social media. Identity checks, photos, signatures and eye tests happen in person at an AA or VTNZ agent. Our guide to official checks shows which route to use for each document.
Who we are
We are not a government body and we do not sell, arrange or broker any document. We do not name or link to scam websites; we describe the patterns. Read the about page and the editorial policy.
Common questions
Is Truthdocuments a government website?
No. It is an independent information site. For official services use nzta.govt.nz for driver licences, passports.govt.nz for passports and govt.nz for the rest.
Do you sell or arrange driver licences?
No. We do not sell, issue, arrange or broker any licence, certificate or other document. Anyone who says we do is impersonating us.
Can I report a scam website to you?
Yes, through our contact page. Also report it to Netsafe and, if you lost money, to your bank and the Police.