If you hold a NSW learner licence and you are under 25 years of age, you are required to complete a minimum of 120 hours of supervised driving practice before you can sit your provisional licence driving test. Of those 120 hours, at least 20 must be completed at night. It sounds like a lot, and it is, but this requirement exists for a very good reason: research consistently shows that the more practice a learner driver gets before driving solo, the lower their crash risk in those critical first years on the road.
In this guide, we break down exactly how the logbook system works, how to maximise your hours efficiently and common mistakes to avoid along the way.
The Basic Requirements
Under the NSW Graduated Licensing Scheme, the logbook rules for learner drivers under 25 are straightforward:
- 120 hours total supervised driving practice.
- 20 of those hours must be at night (between sunset and sunrise).
- All hours must be recorded in an approved learner driver logbook or the Transport for NSW app.
- Each entry must be signed by the supervising driver who was in the car with you.
- You must hold your learner licence for a minimum of 12 months before sitting the driving test, regardless of how quickly you accumulate your hours.
If you are 25 or older when you obtain your learner licence, the 120-hour logbook requirement does not apply to you. However, you still need to hold your learner licence for at least 12 months and pass the driving test.
The Three-for-One Bonus Hour Scheme
Here is where professional lessons become particularly valuable. When you take a driving lesson with a Transport for NSW accredited instructor, each hour of professional tuition counts as three hours in your logbook. This means a single one-hour lesson with a qualified instructor at Best and Less Driving School records as three hours of practice.
You can claim up to 10 hours of professional instruction under this scheme, which converts to 30 logbook hours. That is a significant chunk of your 120-hour target knocked out in just 10 actual hours of lessons. The bonus hours are designed to recognise that structured, professional instruction provides more intensive learning than typical supervised practice.
To claim the three-for-one bonus, your instructor must be accredited with Transport for NSW and must sign off on each session in your logbook with their instructor number. All of our instructors at Best and Less Driving School are fully accredited, so your bonus hours are automatically valid.
How to Record Your Hours
You have two options for recording your practice hours:
Paper Logbook
The traditional paper logbook is available from Service NSW centres. Each entry requires the date, start time, finish time, total hours, whether it was a day or night drive, the supervising driver's name and their signature. The logbook must be presented when you book and attend your driving test.
Digital Logbook App
Transport for NSW offers a free digital logbook through their app, which makes tracking much more convenient. The app uses GPS to automatically detect when you are driving, records the time and duration, and allows your supervising driver to sign off digitally. It also keeps a running tally of your total hours and night hours so you can see exactly where you stand at any time.
Whichever method you choose, keep your records accurate and up to date. Falsifying logbook entries is an offence that can result in your learner licence being suspended and a significant fine.
Tips for Accumulating Hours Efficiently
Reaching 120 hours takes time and planning. Here are some practical strategies to keep your progress moving:
- Drive to regular commitments. If a parent or supervising driver normally takes you to school, work, sport or social activities, swap seats and drive there instead. These routine trips add up remarkably fast.
- Mix short and long drives. Short trips around your suburb build general handling skills, while longer drives to places like the Blue Mountains or the Central Coast add highway experience and rack up hours quickly.
- Schedule night drives deliberately. The 20-hour night requirement catches many learners out because they leave it until the end. Start including evening and early morning drives from the beginning of your logbook journey.
- Drive in different conditions. Rain, heavy traffic, quiet roads, highways, school zones — the more varied your experience, the better prepared you will be for the test and for independent driving.
- Book professional lessons strategically. Use your 10 bonus-eligible professional hours to focus on specific skills you need to develop, such as highway driving around Penrith or navigating the busy intersections near Westmead.
What Counts as Night Driving?
Night driving is defined as any driving that takes place between sunset and sunrise. The exact times change with the seasons, so a drive that starts at 6:30 pm might count as a night drive in winter but not in summer. The Transport for NSW digital logbook app handles this automatically based on your location and the date. If you are using a paper logbook, you can check sunset and sunrise times for your area on the Bureau of Meteorology website.
Night driving practice should include a range of scenarios: well-lit suburban streets, darker rural or semi-rural roads, driving in rain at night and navigating roundabouts and intersections where visibility is reduced. In Western Sydney, areas like Richmond and the roads around the Hawkesbury offer excellent night driving practice with a mix of lit and unlit stretches.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Leaving night hours until the last minute. Plan them from week one.
- Driving the same route every time. Variety builds a much broader skill set.
- Not having your logbook in the car. You must carry it whenever you drive on your learner licence.
- Forgetting to get entries signed. An unsigned entry is an invalid entry.
- Rushing through hours without quality practice. The goal is not just to hit 120 — it is to become a genuinely competent driver.
How Professional Lessons Fit In
While the majority of your 120 hours will likely come from supervised practice with a parent, partner or other qualified supervisor, professional lessons provide a structured foundation that makes all that private practice more effective. A qualified instructor can identify and correct bad habits early, teach you the specific techniques assessors look for in the driving test and expose you to challenging situations in a safe, controlled way.
We recommend spreading your professional lessons across your entire learner period rather than cramming them all in at the end. Starting with a few lessons early on gives you solid fundamentals, mid-journey lessons help correct any issues, and test preparation sessions at the end ensure you are fully ready for your assessment.
Need Help Getting Your Hours Done?
If you are working through your logbook and want structured professional lessons to make the most of your three-for-one bonus hours, contact Best and Less Driving School today. We service learners across St Marys, Penrith, Richmond, Westmead and surrounding suburbs, and we are here to help you reach 120 hours with the skills and confidence to match.