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Check your notice

Before anything else, work out which document you are holding and what date is on it. Everything you can still do follows from those two answers.

General information, not legal advice. This page sets out how the law generally applies. It does not take account of your circumstances, and you should get advice about your own situation before acting on it. The official sources this page is written from are listed on it; where they differ from anything here, they are the authority.

Last updated: 23 September 2026

This page is deliberately short. It exists for the person who has just opened an envelope, or who was handed something at the roadside an hour ago, and who needs to know what to do today rather than what the law is in general.

The longer explanation is in our guide to reading a suspension notice. If you have time for only one page, read this one first.

Find these five things on the page

Write them down before you do anything else.

Which date the period runs from. For a Transport for NSW decision, Legal Aid NSW says the appeal should be filed before the suspension or cancellation starts. For a police suspension, the appeal period is 28 days from the date you were suspended.
What kind of sanction it is. A demerit point suspension from Transport for NSW, an immediate suspension from police, a court disqualification, or something else.
When it takes effect. Some suspensions begin on a future date. Some are already running.
How long it runs. Stated on the notice. Do not assume it matches a figure from anywhere else.
Whether it says you may appeal. Not every sanction carries a right of appeal, and the ones that do have their own period and their own requirements.

Keep the envelope, and keep the notice itself. Photographs of both sides are what a first conversation is conducted from.

Which notice do you have

Three documents account for most of what arrives, and they do not share a pathway.

A demerit point suspension comes from Transport for NSW after points recorded against your licence reach the limit the law sets. It may offer a good behaviour period as an alternative, and it may carry a right of appeal. See demerit suspension.

An immediate suspension is issued by police, usually at the roadside, for certain offences. It takes effect straight away, before the charge has been decided, and it is the most urgent of the three. See immediate suspension.

A court disqualification is imposed by a magistrate when you are sentenced. It is part of the sentence rather than an administrative decision, and the ways of dealing with it are different again.

The Local Court states that you may appeal a licence decision to it where you have a letter from Transport for NSW telling you that you may appeal, or an immediate licence suspension notice from NSW Police.

Why the deadline comes from your notice

The period is stated on the notice itself, and which date it runs from depends on the kind of notice. What this page will not do is count it out to a date in your calendar: somebody relying on a date worked out here could file on the last day they believed they had and find the court cannot hear the application.

So the answer on this site is always the same: read the period off your own notice, and if you cannot find it or it is not clear, ask today rather than next week. It does not pause while you decide.

Do not drive until you have confirmed that you may

What lodging an appeal does depends on the decision being appealed. Legal Aid NSW states that a Transport for NSW suspension is paused while the appeal is pending, and that you should confirm the position with Transport for NSW before driving. A police immediate suspension continues unless the court grants a stay, which requires exceptional circumstances. Confirm the position for your own notice before you drive.

Driving while suspended or disqualified is a serious offence in its own right, and being charged with it while an appeal is on foot makes the position considerably worse.

If you are not certain whether you may drive, do not drive. Ask first.

What to do today

Four things, in this order. None of them takes long.

Describe what the notice is called and what it says on both sides.
Write down the date on the notice and the date you received it.
Obtain your full driving record from Transport for NSW, and check your demerit balance through Service NSW.
Send the notice and those dates through the contact page, or telephone if the period is close.

If you think the period has already passed, ask anyway. Options are narrower once it has, and knowing exactly where you stand is better than guessing.

Send the notice today

Send a short summary of what happened and the date on your notice. We will tell you what applies and what the next step is, and explain how to provide documents securely once those first checks are done.

Phone

(02) 8806 0866

[email protected]

Enquiries

Through the form on our contact page. Keep the first message short.

Who you are contacting

Licence Appeal Lawyers is an informational website about driver licence appeals in New South Wales. Legal services are provided by Jameson Law. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.