Driving Tests

Saskatchewan Novice 1 and Novice 2 Rules: Passengers and Phones

informational·how to guide·Published June 4, 2026

What are the Saskatchewan Novice 1 rules for passengers?

A Saskatchewan Novice 1 driver can carry one passenger who is not immediate family. All other passengers must be immediate family, and there can be no more passengers than seat belts. Novice 1 lasts at least six months (183 days in law). Novice 2 lasts 12 incident-free months and limits passengers only by seat belts. Neither stage allows any phone use, even hands-free.

Where the Novice rules come from

Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) explains the stages on its Graduated Driver Licensing page and in the Saskatchewan Driver's Handbook (2026-27). The passenger limits, family list and day counts are in The Driver Licensing and Suspension Regulations, 2006, and the phone, speeding and alcohol rules are in The Traffic Safety Act. When SGI's wording and the regulations differ, this guide follows the regulations. The rules are as of 2026. Confirm the rules with SGI (sgi.sk.ca) before you drive.

Where Novice 1 fits in Saskatchewan's graduated licensing

Saskatchewan Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) has three stages: Learner (the Class 7 learner's licence), Novice 1 and Novice 2. After Novice 2 you graduate to an experienced Class 5 licence. Your stage is shown on your driver's licence. After you pass the road test, you update the Class 7 licence to a Class 5 at a motor licence issuer and start Novice 1 (see the guide to the SGI Class 5 road test). At the minimum, the program takes 27 months: 9 months as a learner, 6 months at Novice 1 and 12 months at Novice 2.

Novice 1 and Novice 2 side by side

Novice 1 and Novice 2 side by side
Rule	Novice 1	Novice 2
Length	At least 6 months (183 days in law)	At least 12 months with no incidents (365 days in law)
Passengers	One non-family passenger at most, plus immediate family, up to the number of seat belts	Up to the number of seat belts
Cellphone	None at all, hand-held or hands-free	None at all, hand-held or hands-free
Alcohol and drugs	Zero tolerance	Zero tolerance
Right-hand drive vehicle	Not allowed	Not allowed
Supervising a learner	Not allowed	Not allowed
Commercial licence or school bus endorsement	Not available	Not available

Novice 1 passenger rules

You can carry more than one passenger only when all of them are immediate family.
You can carry one passenger who is not immediate family when every other passenger is immediate family.
You cannot carry more passengers than there are seat belts in the vehicle.
In a vehicle with no seat belts, the limit is four passengers.

Can this group ride with a Novice 1 driver?

Your passengers are your parent, a sibling and a grandparent

Yes, when each of them has a seat belt. All three are immediate family.

Your passengers are one friend and your sister

Yes. The friend is the one passenger who is not immediate family, and your sister is immediate family.

Your passengers are two friends

No. Only one passenger can be outside your immediate family.

Your passengers are your cousin and a friend

No. A cousin is not immediate family, so both passengers count as non-family, and only one is allowed.

Who counts as immediate family?

Under the regulations, immediate family means your spouse, child, parent, brother or sister, grandmother or grandfather. A parent includes a person who has custody of you by court order or agreement, or a person you live with who stands in the place of a parent. SGI's handbook gives a wider list that adds step-parents, step-grandparents, stepsiblings, foster family, parents-in-law, siblings-in-law and children-in-law. Because the two lists differ, ask SGI before you count a step, foster or in-law relative as family. A cousin, an aunt, an uncle or a friend is on neither list.

What changes at Novice 2?

The one-friend limit ends. A Novice 2 driver can carry as many passengers as there are seat belts, or up to four in a vehicle with no seat belts. The other limits stay: no phone, zero tolerance for alcohol, no right-hand drive vehicle, no supervising a learner and no commercial licence or school bus endorsement. To move up, you must hold a valid Novice 1 licence for at least 183 days. Days under a suspension or disqualification, and days with no valid licence, do not count.

What restarts the 12 months at Novice 2?

Novice 2 needs 12 months with no incidents. Under the regulations, the count stops when you are found at least 50% at fault for an accident, are convicted of an offence under The Traffic Safety Act, or have your licence suspended or are disqualified. The count then starts again from day one, on the day after the latest of the conviction date, the accident date or the date your licence is reinstated. Some suspensions listed in the regulations only pause the count. You can practise this rule with a sample question. An incident can also place you in the GDL Improvement program (see Saskatchewan new driver penalties).

When do you get a full Class 5?

You graduate to an experienced Class 5 licence after at least 12 months at Novice 2 with no incidents (365 days in law). Day 1 is the day you apply for and receive the Novice 2 licence. If you do not renew your licence, the count pauses until you hold a valid licence again; it does not start over. The question on the order of the GDL stages checks that you know the sequence.

Phones at Novice 1 and Novice 2

No Novice 1 or Novice 2 driver may use a cellphone while driving, hand-held or hands-free. The Traffic Safety Act bans every driver from holding, viewing or using a phone while driving. It lets experienced drivers make a call with one touch or by voice without holding the phone, but that exception excludes new drivers, and every Novice 1 and Novice 2 driver is a new driver. You may call 9-1-1 to report an emergency, or park at the side of the road to make a call. Fines are up to $500 for a first offence, $1,000 for a second conviction in 12 months and $1,500 for a third.

Alcohol and drugs at Novice 1 and Novice 2

Zero tolerance for alcohol applies to every new driver and to every driver aged 21 or under. Zero tolerance for drugs applies to all drivers. If a police officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a new driver drove with any alcohol in the body, the officer must suspend the driver at once and have the vehicle impounded or immobilized. With no earlier roadside suspension or impoundment notice in the past 10 years, the suspension is 60 days and the vehicle is held for 3 days, or for 7 days if the driver was carrying a passenger under 16.

Key takeaways

Novice 1 lasts at least six months and allows one passenger who is not immediate family. All other passengers must be immediate family, up to the number of seat belts.
Novice 2 lasts at least 12 incident-free months and limits passengers only by seat belts.
An at-fault collision (50% or more), a conviction or a suspension can restart the Novice 2 count from day one.
No phone of any kind at either stage, not even hands-free. A 9-1-1 emergency call is allowed.
Next step: practise the GDL and rules questions on the free Saskatchewan Class 7 practice test.

Novice 1 and Novice 2: common questions

Can a Novice 2 driver carry four friends?

Yes, if each friend has a seat belt. At Novice 2 the only passenger limit in the regulations is the number of seat belts in the vehicle, or four passengers in a vehicle with no seat belts. The Novice 1 limit of one passenger from outside your immediate family no longer applies.

Can I use Bluetooth or hands-free at Novice 2?

No. Hand-held and hands-free phones are both banned for every driver in the GDL program, Novice 2 included. The one-touch and voice-call exception in The Traffic Safety Act is only for drivers who are not new drivers. You may still call 9-1-1 in an emergency, or park at the side of the road to make a call.

Does a speeding ticket restart my Novice 2 months?

Yes, if you are convicted. Speeding is an offence under The Traffic Safety Act, and a conviction for an offence under that Act stops the 365-day count. The count then starts again from day one, on the day after the conviction date, or after the date your licence is reinstated if you were also suspended.

Does time with a suspended licence count toward Novice 1?

No. The 183-day count at Novice 1 leaves out every day when your licence was suspended or you were disqualified from driving, and every day when you did not hold a valid licence or were refused a renewal. So a suspension pushes back the date when you can apply for Novice 2.

Can I drive a right-hand drive vehicle at Novice 1 or Novice 2?

No. The regulations do not let a driver with a Novice 1 or Novice 2 restriction operate a right-hand drive vehicle. The same rule applies to a Class 7 learner.