0800 COURTS closes at 3:00pm 24 December 2025, for urgent matters (relating to family matter or bail conditions), please call 0800 253 425. 0800 4 FINES closes at 7:00pm, 24 December 2025. Our Contact Centres will reopen at 8:00am on Monday 5 January 2026. National Office (Aitken Street, Wellington) reception will be closed from 3:00pm on Friday 19 December, reopening at 8:00am on Monday 5 January 2026. For more information, see Court and Tribunal hours
Your photo will be printed on your licence and ID badge.
The best way to make sure your photo is suitable is to get a professional passport photo.
All photos must be:
good quality
in colour
a good likeness
taken less than 6 months before you apply.
All photos must also:
have a plain, light background (not white or dark) with no background shadow
be a full front view of your face, head and shoulders, with your head filling most of the photograph
show your head without a head covering, hat, head band, bandana or scarf - except for religious or medical reasons. In all cases, facial features from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead and both edges of the face must be clearly shown.
Your photo must be:
45mm high × 35mm wide
on good quality paper.
Find examples of the sort of photos you can use on passports:
You’ll need to provide details of another type of ID. This ID must match your name on your application.
When you fill in the form you need to tell us which ID you will use. The IDs you can use are:
Passport
New Zealand driver licence
HANZ 18+ card
New Zealand firearms licence.
Statutory declaration
As part of your application you will need to complete a statutory declaration. This is used to verify you’re the person in your photograph and that the information in your application is correct.
This must be signed in front of a person allowed to take declarations. This can be:
a person enrolled as a barrister or solicitor of the High Court, or a legal executive
a Justice of the Peace
a notary public
a Registrar or Deputy Registrar of a court
a member of Parliament
an employee of either the NZ Transport Agency or the Public Trust who is authorised for that purpose
a police officer with the rank of Sergeant or above, or a Police Declarations Officer
an officer in the service of the Crown or of a local authority who is authorised for that purpose
some other person authorised by law to administer an oath.