Nova Scotia Class 7 Numbers Cheat Sheet: What Changed in October 2026
Facts verified: November 7, 2026
Every value below was checked against the Nova Scotia Traffic Safety Act, its 2026 regulations on novascotia.ca and nslegislature.ca, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles pages. No driving school, forum or prep site was used.
Nova Scotia is in an awkward moment. The Traffic Safety Act (S.N.S. 2025, c. 20) came into effect on October 19, 2026 and replaced the Motor Vehicle Act, but the Driver's Handbook is still the 2017 edition. Where the two disagree, this sheet publishes the regulation and flags the difference. Six answers in our own Class 7 question bank turned out to be out of date.
The biggest one is the learner stage. The handbook says six months, or three with a driver course. The regulation (N.S. Reg. 236/2026) says 12 months, or 9 months with a Class 5 driver education course. That change has been in force since April 1, 2016, which the province's own news release confirms.
Three more are worth knowing before the test:
- Parallel parking: curbside wheels may now be up to 30 cm from the curb for a car, not the handbook's 15 cm. Motorcycles stay at 15 cm.
- School areas: there is no fixed 30 km/h rule any more. The limit is whatever the school area sign shows (a 30 or 50 km/h tab), and it applies only while a child is outdoors on the highway or within 30 m of its centre line. We show it as a rule, not a single number.
- Rear-facing seats: required until age 2, or for any child under 10 kg. The handbook gives weight alone.
The novice driver alcohol row is also changed: a roadside suspension of 24 hours for any alcohol under 0.05, not six demerit points. Only the Act states it, so that row is marked single source, as are four others (the 150 m passing sight distance, the 30 m fire distance, the airbag age of 12 and the two-year supervising driver).
What is not here: two bank answers we could not confirm as stated (the 24 hour street parking limit, since the Act only presumes a vehicle abandoned after 24 hours, and the seven-day temporary licence), and handbook tips such as the 150 to 200 km rest stop advice. If no official source states a number, it is not on the sheet. Demerit points by offence and fine amounts are also absent because our bank does not test them yet.
Once the figures are in your head, check them against real questions in the free Nova Scotia practice test.
Nova Scotia Class 7 learner's licence (GDL) · Numbers reference
Every number the Nova Scotia Class 7 learner's licence (GDL) knowledge test can ask you for, in one place, checked against the official sources and built to print.
Showing all 41 numbers
Speed limits and defaults
7 numbers| Value | Rule |
|---|---|
| 50 km/h | Default speed limit in an urban area with no posted signApplies where no speed limit sign is posted. A posted sign always wins. An urban area is a stretch of highway with dwellings and businesses fronting it for 100 m or longer. |
| 80 km/h | Default speed limit on a highway outside an urban area with no posted signApplies only where no speed limit sign is posted. |
| 50 km/h | Speed limit near a place of worship while the congregation is arriving or leavingOnly while the congregation is going to or leaving the place of worship or its grounds. Public parks also default to 50 km/h unless another limit is posted. |
| 30 km/h or 50 km/h, as shown on the school area sign | Speed limit in a school area when children are presentThe limit is the one posted at the start of the school area, and it applies only when a child is outdoors on the highway or on land within 30 m of the highway's centre line.Our question bank and the official source disagree here. The official value is published. |
| 60 km/h | Maximum speed when passing a stopped emergency, recovery or service vehicle with flashing lightsOr the posted limit if it is lower than 60 km/h. On a road with two or more lanes in your direction, also move over if it is safe. |
| 40 km/h | Slow-moving-vehicle sign required if a vehicle cannot keep a speed aboveUnder normal conditions. A vehicle displaying the sign must not be driven faster than 40 km/h. |
| 60 km/h or less | Yield to a signalling transit bus when the posted limit is at or belowOnly when the bus shows a yield-to-transit-bus sign and yielding is not an immediate hazard. |
Distances
4 numbers| Value | Rule |
|---|---|
| 150 m | Closest you may follow a responding fire vehicle |
| 60 m | Closest a commercial vehicle may follow another vehicleDoes not apply while passing, to law enforcement vehicles, or to a commercial vehicle travelling at 60 km/h or less. |
| 150 m | Passing is unsafe and usually illegal on a curve or hill if you cannot see this far aheadGuidance in the handbook. |
| At least 30 m | Distance to move away from a burning vehicle |
Stopping and parking prohibitions
6 numbers| Value | Rule |
|---|---|
| 5 m | Closest you may stop or park to a fire hydrant |
| 5 m | Closest you may stop or park to a crosswalkApplies on the crosswalk itself and within 5 m of it. |
| 7.5 m | Closest you may stop or park to an intersectionMeasured from where the curb lines meet at the intersection or, if there is no curb, where the road edges meet. Does not apply at an intersection with an alley. |
| 10 m | Closest you may stop or park in front of a stop sign, yield sign or traffic signalApplies when you are facing the sign or signal. An official flashing beacon counts the same way. |
| 15 m | Closest you may stop or park to the nearest rail of a railway crossing |
| 30 cm | Maximum distance of your curbside wheels from the curb when parallel parkedFor cars and trucks. A parked motorcycle must be within 15 cm.Our question bank and the official source disagree here. The official value is published. |
Demerit point thresholds and consequences
1 number| Value | Rule |
|---|---|
| 4 points | Demerit points that trigger a suspension for a Class 7 learnerThe suspension is 6 calendar months and delays the road test. Points stay on the record for 24 months after conviction. |
Suspension lengths
6 numbers| Value | Rule |
|---|---|
| 7 days | Roadside suspension for a blood alcohol reading from 0.05 to under 0.08, first in 10 yearsA second suspension in 10 years is 15 days and a third or later is 30 days. |
| 90 days | Immediate suspension after a failed or refused breath test or an impaired driving chargeThe Act sets 90 days. The handbook calls it a three-month suspension. |
| 1 year | Licence suspension for a first impaired driving convictionCounted from the date of conviction. A Criminal Code court prohibition is separate and can differ. |
| 3 years | Licence suspension for a second impaired driving convictionApplies where the driving privilege was suspended for the same kind of offence in the previous 10 years. |
| 10 years | Licence suspension for a third or later impaired driving convictionApplies where the driving privilege was suspended for the same kind of offence in the previous 10 years. The handbook calls it indefinite with a minimum of ten years. |
| 24 hours | Roadside suspension for a novice driver with any alcohol under 0.05Applies to a novice driver whose blood alcohol is above zero and under 50 mg per 100 ml. From 50 mg up to under 80 mg, the 7, 15 or 30 day suspension applies instead.Our question bank and the official source disagree here. The official value is published. |
Blood alcohol limits
3 numbers| Value | Rule |
|---|---|
| 0.08% | Legal impairment limit for a fully licensed driver80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. You can still be charged below this level if you show other signs of impairment. |
| 0.05% | Blood alcohol level that triggers a roadside suspension50 mg per 100 ml, up to but not including 80 mg (the 'warn' range). |
| 0.00% | Blood alcohol limit for learner, newly licensed and other novice driversZero alcohol, and no drugs unless legally used for a medical purpose. A novice driver includes anyone within 2 years of leaving the newly licensed stage. |
Graduated licensing (Class 7 and Class 5N)
10 numbers| Value | Rule |
|---|---|
| 16 years | Minimum age for a Class 7 learner's licenceApplicants aged 16 or 17 need written consent from a parent or guardian. |
| 12 months | Minimum time holding the learner's licence before the road testSince 1 April 2016. Suspensions delay graduation by the same length of time.Our question bank and the official source disagree here. The official value is published. |
| 9 months | Minimum learner period after an approved driver education courseRequires a completed Class 5 driver education course.Our question bank and the official source disagree here. The official value is published. |
| Up to 3 | Students allowed in the back seat of a dual-control car with an approved instructorOtherwise a learner may carry no passenger besides the supervising driver. |
| 25 hours of theory and 10 hours in the vehicle | Class 5 driver education course lengthTheory is limited to 7 hours in any 24-hour period. |
| 1 in the front seat | Front-seat passengers allowed for a newly licensed (Class 5N) driverRear-seat passengers are limited to the number of seat belts. |
| 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. | Newly licensed driver curfewExceptions: a supervising driver with no other passenger, or written authorization from the Registrar for work, school or volunteer firefighter or search and rescue duty. |
| 24 months (2 years) | Minimum time in the newly licensed (Class 5N) stageAlso requires completing an approved driver training course, with the graduation certificate on file. Without the certificate you stay in this stage. |
| 2 years | Length of the restricted stage after the newly licensed stageZero alcohol applies throughout, and you cannot act as a supervising driver. |
| 2 years, and not in GDL | Years a supervising driver must have held a licenceThe supervisor must sit in the front passenger seat. |
Child restraints and seat belts
4 numbers| Value | Rule |
|---|---|
| Age 2, or any age under 10 kg (22 lb) | Rear-facing infant seat required untilA rear-facing seat must never be used in a seat with an active frontal airbag.Our question bank and the official source disagree here. The official value is published. |
| At least 4 and under 9 years old, at least 18 kg, and under 145 cm tall | Booster seat required for a child who isA child who weighs 18 kg or more and is 145 cm or taller may use the seat belt alone. |
| Under 16 | Driver is responsible for passengers' seat belts below ageApplies when a seat belt is available to the passenger. |
| Under 12 | Children below this age should not sit where there is an airbagAdvice in the handbook, not a legal requirement. |
Other provinces
Cheat sheets for the other graduated licensing streams.
- Alberta Class 7: every number on one page
- British Columbia Class 7L: every number on one page
- Manitoba Class 5L: every number on one page
- New Brunswick Class 7: every number on one page
- Newfoundland and Labrador Class 5: every number on one page
- Northwest Territories Class 7: every number on one page
- Nunavut Class 7: every number on one page
- Ontario G1: every number on one page
- Prince Edward Island Class 7: every number on one page
- Quebec Learner's Licence: every number on one page
- Saskatchewan Class 7: every number on one page
- Yukon Class 7: every number on one page
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