As a commercial driver in New Zealand, you must follow the work-time rules and record your work and rest time in an approved logbook. Your logbook must be true, accurate, and complete.
Your Work Shift
A Work Shift is a record of your work day, followed by off-duty rest.
Your Work Shift can be a maximum of 14 hours (on-duty time)
Within that 14 hours, you can work a maximum of 13 hours (driving + other duties)
A single shift record cannot exceed 24 hours
After your shift, you must rest for at least 10 hours before starting a new one
Your Work Shift is not based on a calendar day — it starts when you begin your shift
Rest Breaks During Your Shift
You must take a 30-minute break before reaching your continuous work limit:
Most drivers: 30-minute break before reaching 5.5 hours of work
Small Passenger Service (SPS) drivers: 30-minute break before reaching 7 hours — only applies when driving SPSV/TAXI vehicles with no Other Duty entries in the continuous work block. Additional NZTA conditions apply — see the SPS Driver Guide
Any break shorter than 30 minutes counts as work time.
What Counts As Work Time?
All of the following count as work time:
Driving
Available for hire (online on a rideshare app)
Loading and unloading
Refuelling
Vehicle cleaning or maintenance
Administration and paperwork
All other paid employment
Any break shorter than 30 minutes
Your Work Period
Your Work Period is a collection of Work Shifts.
Total work time across all shifts must not exceed 70 hours
To start a new work period, you must rest for at least 24 hours
Your work period is not based on a calendar week
Summary
Rule | Limit |
Continuous work (most drivers) | 5.5 hours, then 30-min break |
Continuous work (SPS drivers, Drive only, no Other Duty, see NZTA guide) | 7 hours, then 30-min break |
Max shift record duration | 24 hours |
Work time per shift | 13 hours max |
On-duty time per shift | 14 hours max |
Rest between shifts | 10 hours min |
Total work in a period | 70 hours max |
Rest between periods | 24 hours min |
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