Independent learning reference with original examples. Not official test questions or an individual licensing decision. Current official rules and your licence conditions apply.
Practise MPI graduated-licensing questions →Compare the stage before the passenger count
| Condition | 5L learner | 5I intermediate |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum stage period | Nine months, excluding licence interruptions. | Fifteen months, excluding licence interruptions. |
| Supervision | A qualified supervisor is the only front-seat passenger. | Independent driving is allowed, with stage conditions. |
| Passengers | Rear passengers up to the number of working rear seatbelts, with the supervisor in front. | 5 a.m.–midnight: one front passenger and rear passengers within seatbelt capacity. |
| Midnight–5 a.m. | The learner supervision requirement still applies. | One passenger, unless a qualified supervisor is in front and additional passengers are within rear seatbelt capacity. |
| Alcohol and drugs | None in the driver’s system. | None in the driver’s system. |
A full licence must include the required experience
The MPI handbook requires the supervising driver to have held a full licence for at least 36 months, have a blood alcohol concentration below .05 and not fail a drug screening test. The supervisor sits in the front passenger seat. Being a parent or an adult does not replace these conditions.
Before a practice trip, check the stage and the supervisor’s experience rather than asking only how long they have had any kind of licence. Time on an intermediate licence is different from the required time fully licensed.
Source: MPI — Graduated licensing, Class 5 ↗Test the stage, time and seating together
Original worked examples
5I at 1 a.m.: an intermediate driver wants to take three friends without a qualified supervisor. Having spare seatbelts does not remove the midnight passenger limit. Change the arrangement.
5L in the afternoon: a learner wants a friend in front while the supervisor sits in the rear. That seating plan fails the learner supervision condition even though it is daytime.
5I with a supervisor at night: the exception requires the qualified supervisor in front, with any additional passengers within the working rear-seatbelt capacity. A qualified person somewhere in the car is not the same arrangement.
Check more than passengers
The learner stage also prohibits towing. Do not assume a trip is permitted merely because the supervisor and seats are correct. Review all conditions that apply to the vehicle, the licence and the planned activity.
Keep the licence active. MPI says a learner or intermediate driver does not earn stage credit while not licensed. Waiting for months on a calendar is not the same as accumulating the required licensed period.
Source: MPI — Graduated licensing, Class 5 ↗Use the reason for each wrong answer
For a missed GDL question, write the stage first, then the time, supervisor and passenger arrangement. Changing one field can change the answer. This keeps an intermediate night exception from becoming a mistaken learner rule.
Use the licence guide for the application process and the topic quiz for original practice. These examples summarize selected MPI conditions, not every individual restriction. Check the actual licence and current MPI guidance before driving.