How does RUC invoicing and licence credits work?
Each RUC licence is invoiced separately and daily; the start distance is the lower of your odometer or your previous licence's end distance, and unused kilometres carry over automatically.
You receive a separate invoice each time a RUC licence is purchased for a vehicle, because every RUC-liable vehicle must carry a pre-paid licence bought against its configured distance limits — invoicing is daily rather than batched to keep up with that.
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Why do I get a separate invoice for each RUC licence?
Every RUC-liable vehicle must carry a pre-paid licence purchased from an NZTA-approved agent, and licences are issued per vehicle against your configured distance limits. Because purchases happen as each vehicle needs a new licence, invoicing runs daily rather than in a batch.
How is the start distance of a new licence calculated?
The start distance is the lower of your vehicle's current odometer reading or the end distance of your previous licence. For example, if your odometer reads 1,500 km and your previous licence ended at 1,000 km, the new licence starts at 1,000 km. If your odometer reads 39,860 km and your previous licence ended at 40,000 km, the new licence starts at 39,860 km. This means you're never charged twice, and your cover stays continuous.
What happens to unused kilometres from my old licence?
Unused kilometres from your old licence are credited to your new licence automatically — you don't need to request this.
What is an overlap licence?
An overlap licence updates your current licence to a new distance range slightly ahead of where it is now. For example, a current licence covering 1,000–2,000 km might be updated to 1,001–2,001 km. Your old licence is credited, and that credit is applied to the new one — so this is a small net purchase rather than buying another full 1,000 km, and you don't wait for a manual credit-and-repurchase.
How do I know it worked?
Your Compliance page shows your current licence's distance range, and your invoice history shows each licence purchase as a separate line.
What if it doesn't work?
You're being invoiced more often than expected: this is expected behaviour — invoicing is daily, per licence, not batched.
An automatic purchase didn't go through: see why an automatic RUC purchase might not go through.
This article doesn't cover what happens to remaining RUC when you sell a vehicle — see what happens to remaining RUC when you sell a vehicle — or keeping your direct debit funded — see how to keep your direct debit funded for RUC purchasing.