The car theory test
Getting a licence in New Zealand starts with a theory test, and most of what people ask about it — how many questions, how many you need right — has never actually been written into the driver-licensing Rule. This page says clearly which numbers come from the Rule and which come from NZTA’s own published guidance instead.
What the test covers
35 questions, and a pass mark the Rule itself does not set
The car theory test is a computer-based multiple-choice paper. Every candidate for a Class 1 (car) licence sits the same one.
Questions
35
Correct answers to pass
32
Both figures above are NZTA's, not the Rule's
The Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule 1999 used to fix a question count and a pass mark for the theory test, in a schedule of its own. That schedule was struck out in 2006, and what is left in its place — clause 46 — says only that a candidate passes "a theory test approved by the Director" by answering however many questions correctly "as approved by the Director". No number survives in the Rule itself. The 35 and the 32 above are NZTA's own published figures for that test, not a quotation from the law.
Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule 1999 (SR 1999/100), cl 46 — "Latest version as at 06 August 2026", retrieved 18 August 2026
Retaking
No cap on attempts, and one wait that only bites on the same day
If you fail the theory test twice in the same sitting day, NZTA requires a wait of 10 working days before you can sit it again. That wait does not apply to an ordinary single failure — it is specifically for two fails on the one day.
No limit on how many times you may sit the theory test
Beyond the same-day wait above, nothing in the Rule limits how many times you may attempt the theory test in total. There is no third-attempt or fifth-attempt bar in the law itself — only NZTA's own booking and fee arrangements govern how often you can realistically sit it.
Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule 1999 (SR 1999/100), cl 46, cl 51
Two things we have not confirmed
A time limit, and how long a pass lasts
Whether the test itself carries a time limit, and how long a passed theory test remains valid before the practical stage must follow, are two things we have not been able to confirm from the sources we checked — not a confirmed statutory silence, just an open item we would rather flag than guess at.
Source — NZTA guidance pages (nzta.govt.nz) — retrieved 18 August 2026