Summary
Queensland offers two routes to a car learner licence. The written road rules test is 30 questions on paper in two separately scored sections: giving way (need 9 of 10) and road rules and licence requirements (need 18 of 20). PrepL is an online course of about 4 to 6 hours with a 30-question final test (need 27). PrepL isn't compulsory yet, so you can choose. Facts as checked on 30 September 2026.
What are the two routes to a Queensland learner licence?
Before a car learner licence can be issued in Queensland you must pass one of two knowledge assessments (and be medically fit to drive). They cover the same rules but work very differently.
| Written road rules test | PrepL | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | 30 multiple-choice questions on paper | Online course of about 4–6 hours, then a 30-question final test |
| Pass mark | Giving way 9 of 10 and road rules 18 of 20, scored separately | 27 of 30 (90%) |
| Where | A licence-issuing centre | Phone, tablet or computer |
| Earliest age | 16 | Enrol from 15 years 11 months |
| Cost and retries | A fee for every attempt; one attempt a day; after a fail, wait until the next working day | One fee ($29.70 as at 1 July 2026) for 12 months' access; retry after 24 hours at no extra cost |
| A pass lasts | 5 years | 5 years |
How does the written road rules test work?
You sit the written test on paper at a TMR customer service centre, a participating QGAP office or, in rural and remote areas, a licence-issuing police station. You must be at least 16.
It has 30 multiple-choice questions in two sections, scored separately. Section one is giving way: 10 questions, and you need 9. Section two is road rules and driver licence requirements: 20 questions, and you need 18. Fail either section and you fail the test, however well you did in the other.
No formal time limit is published, but the handbook suggests allowing at least 30 minutes. You pay a fee for every attempt and can sit only once a day; after a fail you wait until the next working day. The questions are based on the handbook Your keys to driving in Queensland. When you pass, you receive a driver licence receipt that lets you start supervised driving until your card arrives in the mail.
How does PrepL work?
PrepL is Queensland's online learning and assessment course. It takes about 4 to 6 hours and has three sections: Your driving attitude, Signs and rules, and Sharing the road with others. Assessment pieces are built into the course and unlock as you progress, and at the end there is a final test of 30 multiple-choice questions. You need 27 correct.
You can enrol from 15 years and 11 months, so your learner licence can be issued on your 16th birthday. One fee, the same as the written test fee ($29.70 as at 1 July 2026), gives you 12 months' access, and if you fail the final test you can try again after 24 hours at no extra cost. You still need to show evidence of identity, which you can do at any time during your enrolment.
PrepL must be your own work. If someone else does it for you, your enrolment can be cancelled, they risk a penalty of more than $6,900, and you can't enrol again for 6 months.
Is PrepL replacing the written test?
Eventually. The Queensland Government says PrepL will replace the written test, but it isn't compulsory yet. Until it is, you can choose either route. Once it becomes mandatory, people without internet access may be exempt and sit the written test instead.
Which route should you choose?
Both lead to the same learner licence and both passes last 5 years, so it comes down to what suits you:
- Timing: PrepL lets you enrol before you turn 16 and have everything ready for your birthday. The written test can't be sat until you are 16.
- Retries: a failed PrepL final test can be retried after 24 hours at no extra cost within your 12 months. Each written test attempt costs a fee, and you can only sit once a day.
- How you learn: PrepL is interactive and self-paced. The written test suits people who have already studied the handbook and want a single sitting.
- Pass marks: the written test lets you drop 1 giving-way question and 2 road rules questions; PrepL lets you drop 3 questions in total.
- Access: PrepL needs a phone, tablet or computer and an internet connection.
What do both routes test?
Giving way matters on both routes. It is a whole section of the written test, and the handbook says learners are tested on it in detail: unsigned crossroads and T-intersections, STOP and GIVE WAY signs, turning across traffic, roundabouts, merging, U-turns, driveways, buses and emergency vehicles.
Licence requirements are core content too, not background. Know these learner rules:
- Your learner licence lasts 3 years, and you must carry it (card, Digital Licence app or receipt) whenever you drive.
- Your alcohol limit is zero, and your supervisor must not drink alcohol while you are driving under their supervision.
- Your supervisor must hold an open licence for that class, have held one for at least a year, and sit beside you.
- L plates go on the front and rear, readable from 20 metres.
- If you are under 25, you need 100 hours of supervised driving, including 10 at night, in a logbook. Each hour with an accredited driver trainer counts as 3 hours, for up to 10 hours of lessons.
- Four or more demerit points in 12 months means a 3-month suspension for a learner.
- You can sit the hazard perception test after 6 months on your learner licence, and the practical test after a year.
The current handbook is edition No. 19 from November 2022, so it predates some recent changes, including Queensland's 2026 e-scooter and e-bike rules and fines that are indexed each July. The official pages and the current Road Rules Regulation have the latest versions.
How can you practise for either route?
Learners Test Australia has mock tests for both: the written test, with separate pass lines for giving way and road rules, and the PrepL final test. Giving-way questions are drawn as diagrams, and every answer shows the handbook page or rule it comes from. See the QLD learner test practice page for the key facts, and our give way guide for the section that trips most people up.