Road user charges

Applicable to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes manufacturer's gross laden weight and all vehicles of 3.5 tonnes or less powered by a fuel not taxed at source.

RUC fees increased on 1 October 2009: New RUC rates (PDF, 40 KB)

• Questions and answers on the rate increase
• How to update your Road User Charge (RUC) licence following the fee increase (PDf, 86 KB)

Important

• All operators are requested to read the booklet.
• All vehicles over 3.5 tonnes manufacturer’s gross laden weight and all vehicles 3.5 tonnes or less powered by fuel not taxed at source require a road user charges licence.
• When purchasing a diesel vehicle ensure there is a current road user licence. The licence should be sold/purchased with the vehicle.
• Fees quoted are effective from 1 July 2008 and are GST inclusive.
• A new owner becomes liable for any unlicensed distance if there is not a current licence.

Introduction

The cost of using New Zealand’s roads is recovered from road users via levies in the price of some fuels or through road user charges (RUC). Vehicles that must pay road user charges are described below, and they are required to display current road user charges licences while operating on public roads.

The revenue collected from road user charges is dedicated to the National and Regional Land Transport funds. Road user charges are administered by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and enforced by the New Zealand Police.

Licences are available from NZTA agents. Licences can be purchased by telephone, fax or by direct connection to the Motor Vehicle Register.

This booklet includes detailed instructions for purchasing and calculating the charges payable for individual vehicles. It explains the main requirements of the Road User Charges Act 1977 and describes the administrative procedures to be followed.

Full PDF version: Road user charges (2.79 MB, 36 pages)

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Page updated: 1 October 2009