Moving interstate: sell your car or take it with you?

Take your car interstate if it suits your new life and the trip is easy, but budget for transport, new rego and, in several states, an inspection at the other end. Sell before you go if those costs and the hassle outweigh what it would take to replace it.

Already moved? You can still sell it. The sale is recorded under the rules of the state where the car is registered, not the state you now live in.

State rules in this guide were checked against official transport and revenue pages in October 2026. If you’re the one selling to someone across a border, our guide to selling your car to an interstate buyer covers that side.

What does it really cost to take your car with you?

More than fuel. Before you plan the drive or book a car carrier, add up:

• Getting it there. Driving means fuel, overnight stops, days off work and extra kilometres, which can lower a car’s value. A car carrier means quotes, waiting for the truck and checking the carrier’s insurance before you hand over the keys.
• An inspection in your new state. Several states won’t register a car from interstate until it passes one (see the table below). Anything it fails on has to be fixed first.
• New rego, CTP and plates. You start a fresh registration in the new state, including whatever compulsory third-party cover that state requires.
• Insurance. Tell your insurer your new address. Your premium may change with the postcode.

You may get some money back on your old rego. If there’s time left on it, ask your old state’s authority whether you can get a refund, and what it needs from you, before you re-register, because the order can matter. Access Canberra, for example, says a refund of unused rego and Motor Accident Injuries insurance may be available when ACT rego is cancelled. WA’s transport department says that once a WA-licensed car is registered in another state, the WA licence is cancelled and no refund is payable.

Here’s a quick way to decide:

Which states inspect a car arriving from interstate?

WA, NSW, Queensland and the ACT all require an inspection before they’ll register a car from another state, and the NT lists one when a car is first registered there:

WA’s Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure says all interstate vehicles must be inspected at an Authorised Inspection Station and issued with a certificate of inspection before they can be licensed in WA.

In the ACT, Access Canberra says a car whose permanent garage address is in the ACT has to be registered there, unless it’s only kept there temporarily for 3 months or less. Changing interstate rego to the ACT needs a roadworthy inspection, and the certificate is valid for one month. That’s a different rule from an ACT-to-ACT sale, where the buyer needs a roadworthy only for a car more than 6 years old, or an imported one.

The NT Government lists a roadworthy inspection when a vehicle is being registered in the Territory for the first time, which is what happens when you bring a car up from another state. It also lists one when ownership of a light vehicle 7 years or older is transferred. Ask the Motor Vehicle Registry exactly what your car needs before you arrive.

Will you pay stamp duty again when you re-register?

Often not. If the car is already registered in your name, five revenue offices set out an exemption, each with its own conditions:

Watch that last ACT condition: let your old rego lapse before you re-register in the ACT, and you lose the exemption. Queensland’s exemption, by contrast, also covers a car whose interstate rego has expired or been cancelled.

Now compare selling and buying again. In every state and territory, the buyer, not the seller, pays the duty when a car changes hands. Selling your car costs you no duty, but the replacement you buy in your new state carries its own, based on its price or value. Count that when you compare the two options.

How do you time the sale with your move?

Work backwards from moving day. You want the car sold and collected after you’ve stopped needing it, but before the last week fills up with removalists and goodbyes.

When you sell to us, the order is always the same:

1. A genuine offer by phone from a licensed dealer, not an online estimate.
2. A deposit once you accept, often the same day.
3. An inspection at a time and place that suits you.
4. The balance paid into your bank account.
5. Collection, arranged by us, only after you confirm the funds have cleared.

Tell us your moving date on the call so the inspection and collection fit around it. If there’s finance on the car, allow for settlement with your lender too (more on that below).

Robert, from Melbourne, wanted his sale finalised before a holiday in New Zealand. He wrote: “I put my faith in the transaction going through while away on holidays and to his word Dean was honest, transparent and came through without any issues.”

A private sale is harder to time. You can’t choose when a genuine buyer turns up, and a deadline makes it tempting to accept the first easy offer. Scamwatch lists a buyer willing to buy without seeing the item in person as a warning sign, so be wary of anyone who skips the inspection and offers to sort everything out after you’ve gone.

Already moved? Selling a car registered in your old state

You can sell it from your new state. The sale is recorded with the authority where the car is registered, so your old state’s notice of disposal rules and deadlines still apply. What changes is which forms you can use, because some online services expect a local licence or a local buyer.

Don’t cancel the old rego or hand back plates until you know who’s buying, because the steps differ. VicRoads advises cancelling for an interstate buyer, while Access Canberra says plates stay on a car sold with current ACT rego. Our guide to selling a car in Australia links to the full guide for each state.

If you sell to us, the buyer is a NSW licensed motor dealer (MD 077404). 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 short form you lodge yourself.

The car doesn’t have to be where you are, either. If it’s still at your old address or with family, we collect it from there, and key drop-off can be arranged if no one can be home.

Moving interstate with a car loan

A move doesn’t change what you owe. If the loan is secured against the car, the lender’s interest is usually recorded on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR), a national register, so crossing a border makes no difference to it. Moneysmart notes that on a secured loan, the lender can take and sell the car if repayments aren’t met.

If you take the car, give the lender your new address and check your contract. If you sell privately, a buyer who runs a PPSR search will see the lender’s interest and will usually want the loan paid out as part of the sale.

When you sell a car under finance to us, we deal with your lender directly to pay out the loan, then pay you any equity. That usually takes 2 to 3 business days to settle. Ask your lender for a payout figure, or give us permission to request it.

Here’s how the numbers work, using made-up figures rather than a valuation. Say your payout figure is $28,000 and you accept an offer of $34,000. The lender receives $28,000 and the remaining $6,000 goes into your account. If the payout figure were $36,000 instead, the $2,000 gap would have to be covered before settlement.

A checklist for the weeks before you move

• Decide early whether to sell or take the car, and get a firm offer to compare with a transport quote.
• Taking it? Look up the inspection rules in your new state and keep your old rego current until the new one is done.
• Selling? Get a payout figure if there’s finance, and gather photo ID, the rego papers, the service logbook, every key and your bank details.
• Want to keep personalised plates? Sort them out before the sale. In WA, SA and Tasmania, for example, you swap them for standard plates first, so check your old state’s rules early.
• Take out the e-tag and remove the plate from your toll account.
• Clear your phone, home address and garage code from the infotainment system, and take the garage remote.
• Keep your insurance running until the car has been collected, then cancel it or move it to your next car.
• Lodge your notice of disposal (in Queensland, your side of the transfer) under your old state’s rules and keep a copy.

Sell it here, or take it there?

If the car suits where you’re going and the trip is easy, take it, and budget for new rego and any inspection at the other end. If it doesn’t, selling before you move saves the transport, any inspection and a second state’s registration paperwork. Either way, a firm offer gives you a real number to weigh against the cost of moving it.

That’s what we do. Sell Your Car Australia is run by Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd, a NSW licensed motor dealer, and we buy cars, utes, SUVs and 4WDs 2021 or newer with 100,000 km or less, anywhere in Australia. Older or higher kilometres? Send it through anyway and we’ll tell you straight away if we can help. There are no fees taken out of the offer. Start with a free valuation or call 1800 73 55 73.