The species is found only in the Northland region of New Zealand, north of Whangaroa, and is one of the rarest and most highly sought after lizards.

[6] In 2012 the Department of Conservation classified the Northland green gecko as "At Risk" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.

It was judged as meeting the criteria for "At Risk" threat status as a result of it having a low to high ongoing or predicted decline.

[citation needed] Outside of its home range, it is most commonly kept in Europe where there are several keepers producing offspring, though still extremely rarely seen.

[citation needed] In 2001 a German tourist was fined $12,000 for attempting to smuggle Northland green geckos out of the country in his underwear.