Got a fine or toll for a car you've already sold? What to do

If the fine or toll is for a trip taken after you sold the car, you generally don’t have to pay it. You nominate the buyer, or tell the agency that issued it the car was already sold, and prove it with your notice of disposal and receipt. Act before the due date: in Victoria, for example, you can’t nominate once a Notice of Final Demand has been issued.

The steps below are based on official state government fines, toll and transport pages checked in October 2026.

Why do fines keep coming after you’ve sold the car?

Camera fines, parking fines and toll notices go to whoever the registration records show, not whoever was driving. In most states your name comes off when your notice of disposal is processed or the buyer transfers the rego. Until then, the car is still yours on paper. South Australia works differently: a notice of disposal there doesn’t transfer the registration, so if the buyer is from SA, the car stays in your name until they complete the transfer.

The official pages are blunt about it. The NSW Government says lodging the notice of disposal removes your name from the registration, so you’re “not responsible for any tolls or driving penalties issued to the new driver”. The Queensland Government says you remain liable for any tolls and fines for a vehicle registered in your name. The state table further down shows how every state puts it.

Tolls have a second route to you. If your e-tag went with the car, or the plate is still on your toll account, the new driver’s trips can land on your account whatever the records say.

First, did the offence happen before or after the sale?

Put the notice next to your receipt before you do anything else. Everything turns on whether the offence happened before or after the car changed hands.

The same-day case is the hardest to prove. Queensland’s fine transfer service asks for the time of sale, and wants supporting documents when the sale and the offence fall on the same date.

A hypothetical example: you hand over the keys on a Saturday at 2:15 pm, and at 4:40 pm the buyer drives through a red-light camera. You lodge your notice of disposal on Monday, and weeks later the fine arrives in your name. Your notice shows Saturday as the sale date and your receipt shows 2:15 pm, so that’s what you attach when you nominate the buyer. Without a time on the receipt, you’d be explaining that gap with nothing in writing.

What counts as proof that you sold the car?

Start with the official record of the sale, then add your own paperwork. Gather:

• Your copy of the notice of disposal, or the confirmation the authority sent. VicRoads, for example, emails you within a day to confirm the car is out of your name.
• The receipt or bill of sale, showing the date and time, and both parties’ names, addresses and signatures. Our guide to a bill of sale for a car lists what to include.
• The buyer’s full name, address, date of birth and licence number. The NSW and Victorian nomination processes ask for all four.
• Proof of payment, such as the bank statement showing the money arrived.
• Messages arranging the handover.

Lost your copy? Service NSW says that if you can’t find the notice of disposal for a car you sold, you can submit a request for access to your records. In South Australia, you can ask Service SA for a confirmation of sale.

How do you nominate the buyer or transfer the fine?

Follow the instructions printed on the notice, because the agency that issued it sets the process. In general you name the person who bought the car, give the date (and ideally the time) of sale, and attach your proof where the process allows it.

What each state asks for:

• NSW. Revenue NSW lets you nominate someone else if you sold the vehicle before the date of the offence. You’ll need their full name, address, date of birth and driver licence number, plus the state that issued it, and a new fine is then issued to them. The NSW Government’s nomination page links to myPenalty and the statutory declaration form.
• Victoria. Fines Victoria asks for the person’s full name, address, driver licence number and date of birth. If it accepts the nomination, the fine is withdrawn and reissued to the person you named.
• Queensland. The Transfer a fine page covers camera offences such as speeding, red light, mobile phone and seatbelt fines. You give the details of the person or organisation that bought the car, plus the date and time of sale.
• WA. The WA Government says that if the vehicle was sold before the time of the offence, you’re responsible for nominating the correct person. Infringement Services can help on (08) 9320 4444.

For a fine from South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT or the NT, contact the agency named on the notice before its due date, with the sale date and copies of your notice of disposal and receipt.

One warning: nominate only the person you actually sold to. Revenue NSW says a false nomination is a serious offence.

What about toll notices and charges on your Linkt or e-tag account?

Toll problems come in two shapes, and each has its own fix.

A toll notice in the mail. The car used a toll road without a working tag or account, and the notice went to the registered owner. In NSW, you can nominate another driver for a paper toll notice by lodging a statutory declaration. If you disagree with a toll payment demand, you can object in writing to the road operator. Elsewhere, contact the operator named on the notice with the sale date and your proof. Don’t let it sit: NSW warns that if a toll payment demand isn’t paid by its due date, you may face additional fees and penalties.

Trips charged to your own account. Your tag is still in the car, the plate is still on your account, or both. Linkt says to remove a sold car from your account, because while it stays on you may keep being charged tolls for it. Log in, select Vehicles, choose the car, then select Edit and Remove.

If the tag went with the car, contact your toll provider with the date of sale and ask them to cancel it. Ask what they can do about trips dated after the sale, have your receipt ready, and check your next two statements.

Never lodged a notice of disposal? Do it today

Lodge it now, even if the deadline has passed. In NSW the notice is free, but a late lodgement fee may apply once you’re past 14 days. Don’t let that put you off. In most states, until the notice is in or the buyer transfers the rego, your name stays on the car and the next fine comes to you as well.

A few things to check as you do it:

• Your deadline. Most states allow 14 days, but WA and Tasmania allow only 7. In Queensland, you start the transfer of registration out of your name within 14 days, at no cost to you.
• Who you sold to. If you sold to a licensed motor dealer in NSW, you enter the dealer’s motor dealer licence number and registered business name in place of a buyer’s licence.
• Whether the buyer has already transferred. Even if they have, keep your receipt handy. A fine dated between the handover and the change in the records may still need a nomination.

Our state guides walk through each form. Start with selling a car in NSW or selling a car in Victoria, or find your state in our guide to selling a car in Australia.

Does your state hold you liable until the records change?

Every state expects the seller to notify, but the deadlines and the wording on liability differ. Here’s how they compare, based on each authority’s own pages as at October 2026:

Tasmania needs one extra step. Transport Tasmania sends no automatic confirmation, so allow a week after lodging and then check with Service Tasmania that the sale has been recorded.

How do you stop this happening next time?

Most of this can be prevented on the day you sell. Next time:

1. Take the e-tag out of the car before the buyer arrives.
2. Write the date and time of the handover on the receipt, and get both signatures.
3. Record the buyer’s full name, address, date of birth and licence number.
4. Lodge your notice of disposal, or start the seller’s transfer in Queensland, the same day.
5. Remove the plate from your toll account.
6. File the confirmation with your receipt and proof of payment.
7. Watch your toll statements and your mail for the next few weeks.

Our after-sale checklist covers the rest of the first week, from rego direct debits to insurance.

Selling again? Choose a sale with a clear handover

Fines after a sale often trace back to a fuzzy handover: no time on the receipt, a notice lodged late, a tag left in the glovebox. A fixed handover time and complete paperwork protect you, and selling to a licensed dealer makes both easier.

Sell Your Car Australia is run by Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd, NSW motor dealer licence MD 077404. You get a genuine offer by phone, not an online estimate, and a deposit often the same day. The inspection happens after you accept, at a time and place that suits you. The balance goes into your bank account, and the car is collected only after you confirm the funds have cleared, so you know exactly when it left your hands.

We prepare the sale paperwork, help with the transfer of ownership and make sure your notice of disposal is done correctly. In most states it’s a quick online form. Ray Murray, who sold us his Jaguar XE, said: “Holly contacted me to fill in the sales details very professionally and without fuss.”

We buy cars, utes, SUVs and 4WDs 2021 or newer with 100,000 km or less. If yours is older or has more kilometres, send it through anyway and we’ll tell you straight away if we can help. Start with a free, no-obligation valuation or call 1800 73 55 73.