Check whether a P-plater can drive a car before you buy it. Enter the engine power and weight, tick any engine changes, and you’ll see the answer for your licence state and every other state, with a link to the government rule behind each one.
P-Plate Car Checker
Enter your car's power and weight. See whether a P-plater can drive it in every state, with the government rule behind each answer.
The same car in every state
For a P-plater licensed in each state, at the age you picked.
Driving interstate
Your own state's restriction comes with you: NSW says its rule applies to NSW P-platers even when driving interstate. Some states also apply their rule to visitors: Victoria says a NSW P2 driver must not drive a probationary prohibited vehicle in Victoria. If you're crossing a border, check both states.
A guide to the published rules, not legal advice. Every answer quotes the government source it comes from, but states also ban or allow individual models by listing them, and only their own checkers show those lists. Check the exact car in your state's official checker before you buy or drive it. Rules verified November 2026.
How the P-plate power-to-weight rule works
NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia stop P-platers driving cars with a power-to-weight ratio over 130 kW per tonne. The ratio is the engine’s power in kilowatts divided by the car’s tare weight in kilograms, multiplied by 1,000.
Take a car with 147 kW and a tare weight of 1,322 kg. 147 divided by 1,322, times 1,000, is 111.19 kW per tonne, so it’s under the limit. Put the same engine in a car with a tare of 1,100 kg and the ratio jumps to 133.6, which is over. Weight matters as much as power, which is why some modest-looking light cars are banned and some heavy cars with big engines aren’t.
NSW is strict about the line. Transport for NSW says the ratio isn’t rounded up or down, so 130.01 is over. It also uses the manufacturer’s published figures, so adding weight or detuning a banned car doesn’t change its status. The calculator shows the lowest tare a car can have at its power, and the most power it can have at its weight, so you can see how close to the line it sits.
Tare weight or kerb weight?
The rule uses tare weight: the empty car as shown on its compliance plate or registration papers. Most brochures and reviews quote kerb weight instead, which includes a full tank of fuel, and European makers often add a 75 kg driver. Kerb weight is heavier, so it makes the ratio look lower than the one the state uses.
If you only have a kerb weight and the car is near the limit, the checker tells you to find the tare figure rather than calling it legal. A car can pass on its brochure weight and still be over the limit on paper.
P-plate car rules by state
| State | Who it applies to | Power-to-weight | Engine modifications | Cars built before 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | All P1 and P2 drivers, any age | Over 130 kW per tonne banned | Significant engine modifications banned | Same rules. Some cars under the limit are also banned by name |
| VIC | All probationary drivers | Over 130 kW per tonne banned | Any modification that increases performance banned | Same rules. Cars rated Banned in the probationary vehicle database are also banned |
| QLD | P1 and P2 drivers under 25 | Over 130 kW per tonne banned (cars built from 2010) | Engine modifications that need approval banned | 8 or more cylinders, petrol turbo or supercharged, over 210 kW, or a rotary over 1,146cc |
| SA | Provisional drivers under 25 | Over 130 kW per tonne banned (cars built from 2010) | Any modification that varies engine performance banned | 8 or more cylinders, or turbo or supercharged (except diesels with fewer than 8 cylinders) |
| WA, TAS, ACT, NT | No vehicle power rule published | None | None (general modification rules apply) | None |
Queensland’s rule also covers anyone returning from a disqualification who was under 25 at the time of the offence. Queensland exempts a few small turbo cars by name: the Suzuki Cappuccino (1992 to 1997), Daihatsu Copen L880 (2003 on) and the Smart Fortwo and Roadster (2000 on), along with the Toyota LandCruiser.
NSW and Victoria also keep their own lists, and both change. NSW bans some cars under 130 kW per tonne because it rates them higher risk than the ratio suggests. Victoria’s database rates each car as Approved, Banned or Under review, and a car under review can’t be driven until it’s assessed. For the models people ask about most, see our state-by-state verdicts on popular cars.
Engine modifications on P-plates
A legal car becomes a banned one the moment the engine is modified in a way the state’s rule catches. This is how the common mods line up. Grey areas are mods the authority hasn’t ruled on for P-platers, so ask before fitting them.
| Modification | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECU tune or remap | Banned | Banned | Banned if power rises more than 20% or emissions are affected | Banned |
| Cold air intake or pod filter | Grey area | Grey area | Grey area | Banned |
| Extractors or exhaust (cat kept) | Grey area | Grey area | Grey area | Banned |
| Turbo or supercharger added | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned |
| Engine swap | Banned unless equivalent | Banned if it increases performance | Banned unless it was an option for that model | Banned if it varies performance |
| Direct-replacement panel filter | OK | OK | OK | OK |
A tune is the one that catches buyers out, because it leaves no trace under the bonnet and plenty of used hot hatches have been flashed by a previous owner. Our P-plate modifications guide goes through each mod in detail. Noise, emissions and certification rules apply to every driver, whatever their licence, and our car modification laws checker covers those.
Exemptions and penalties
- NSW: exemptions only in exceptional circumstances, such as genuine work use, by application. A supervising driver doesn’t make a prohibited car legal.
- Victoria: you can drive a banned car with a full licence holder sitting beside you and supervising, for your employer at their request, for your own business with an ABN, or under a hardship exemption. The penalty is up to 10 penalty units and 3 demerit points.
- Queensland: rare, by application, for severe hardship, when it’s the only car reasonably available, for business use, or for a pre-2010 petrol turbo car of no more than 125 kW per tonne on kerb weight. Already owning the car isn’t a reason.
- South Australia: only in special circumstances, by application on form MR1329.
Driving interstate
Your own state’s restriction travels with you. NSW says its rule applies to NSW P-platers even when they’re driving interstate. Some states also apply their rule to visitors: Victoria says a NSW P2 driver must not drive a probationary prohibited vehicle in Victoria. If you’re crossing a border in a car that’s legal at home but close to the line, check both states.
Check the exact car before you buy
The checker works from the published rules, but states also ban or allow individual models by listing them, and only their own tools show those lists. Before you buy, search the exact make, model and year in your state’s official checker:
- NSW: search prohibited vehicles
- Victoria: vehicles for probationary drivers (links to the database)
- Queensland: check my high-powered vehicle status
- South Australia: EzyReg high powered vehicle check
Sources
Every answer in the checker comes from these documents, checked in November 2026.
- Transport for NSW: P1 and P2 prohibited vehicle definitions (updated October 2026)
- Transport for NSW VSI 06 Light vehicle modifications (Rev 4, July 2026)
- Road Safety (Drivers) Regulations 2019 (Vic), regs 57 and 58 and Schedule 3 (Authorised Version 021)
- Transport Victoria: Vehicles for probationary drivers
- Queensland Government: Provisional licence restrictions (updated September 2026)
- Queensland Government: Exemptions to provisional licence restrictions
- TMR Vehicle Standards Information: Minor Modifications
- MyLicence SA: High powered vehicles
- SA.GOV.AU: Licence conditions, restrictions and exemptions (updated October 2026)
- NT Road Users’ Handbook: provisional licence restrictions
- Access Canberra: Licence classes and conditions
- Transport Tasmania: Licence conditions
FAQ
Divide the engine’s power in kilowatts by the car’s tare weight in kilograms, then multiply by 1,000. A car with 147 kW and a tare of 1,322 kg works out at 111.19 kW per tonne. Use the manufacturer’s power figure and the tare weight on the compliance plate or rego papers, not the kerb weight from a brochure.
130 kW per tonne in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. In Queensland and South Australia it only applies to drivers under 25 and to cars built from 2010; older cars are judged on cylinders and turbocharging instead. WA, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT publish no power limit for P-platers.
Tare weight. Kerb weight includes a full tank of fuel, and European figures often add a 75 kg driver, so it makes the ratio look lower than the one the state uses. If a car is close to the limit on kerb weight, find the tare figure before you buy.
It depends on the state and the car. In NSW and Victoria a V8 is judged on its power-to-weight ratio like any other car. In Queensland and South Australia, drivers under 25 can’t drive a V8 built before 2010, and one built from 2010 is judged on the ratio.
Only in Victoria, where a full licence holder sitting beside you and supervising is an exemption. NSW says a supervising driver doesn’t make a prohibited car legal, and Queensland and South Australia don’t list it as an exemption.
Your own state’s rule comes with you: NSW says its restriction applies to NSW P-platers even when driving interstate. Some states also apply their rule to visiting P-platers, so check both states before crossing a border.
