Selling a car in Australia: the rules in every state
Each state and territory has its own forms, deadlines and certificate rules. Here they are side by side, with a link to the official page for each.
At a glance
What the seller has to do after a private sale. Selling to a licensed dealer changes some of this; each state’s section below explains how.
| State | Seller lodges | Deadline | Certificate for a private sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Notice of disposal | Within 14 days | No, not to transfer current rego |
| Victoria | Notice of disposal | Within 14 days | Yes, roadworthy under 30 days old |
| Queensland | Transfer of registration (seller's part) | Within 14 days | Yes, safety certificate |
| Western Australia | Notification of change of ownership | Within 7 days | No legal requirement |
| South Australia | Notice of disposal | Within 14 days | No, not for a registered car |
| Tasmania | Disposal notice | Within 7 days | No, not for a registered car |
| The ACT | Notice of disposal | As soon as you sell (the buyer has 14 days to transfer) | Buyer needs an inspection if over 6 years old |
| The NT | Notice of disposal | Within 14 days | Yes, if 7 years old or older |
Checked against each state’s transport authority in October 2026. Rules and fees change, so follow the official links before you act.
Selling a car in New South Wales
Transport for NSW, through Service NSW
- After a private sale
- Notice of disposal, within 14 days. Free, online with a MyServiceNSW Account, at a service centre or on the paper form by mail. Service NSW says to lodge it immediately after you sell, so you are not held responsible for the buyer's parking or driving fines.
- Roadworthy or safety certificate
- NSW does not need a pink slip to transfer a current registration. Pink slips are a yearly check at rego renewal for most light vehicles more than 5 years old, not part of the sale.
- Selling to a licensed dealer
- In place of a buyer's licence, the notice of disposal takes the dealer's NSW motor dealer licence number and registered business name. When you sell to us you list our licence, MD 077404, and we make sure the notice is done correctly. The NSW Government says not to sign anything that transfers ownership until you have been paid, and we collect the car only after you confirm the funds have cleared.
- Number plates
- Standard plates stay with the car. Personalised or special plates can be swapped for general plates so you keep them, moved to another of your vehicles, or included in the sale, in which case tell the buyer about the fees. Plates taken off a vehicle must be returned to a service centre.
- Rego, CTP and insurance
- The buyer pays the transfer fee and any motor vehicle duty, and your CTP green slip transfers automatically with the rego. Take the e-tag out of the car, delete the plate number from your toll account and keep a copy of your disposal.
Selling a car in Victoria
VicRoads
- After a private sale
- Notice of disposal, within 14 days. Most easily online through myVicRoads, completed with the buyer. VicRoads emails within 24 hours to confirm the car is out of your name.
- Roadworthy or safety certificate
- On a private sale of a registered car, the seller must give the buyer a roadworthy certificate (RWC) less than 30 days old. It checks safety, not mechanical reliability, and if the car fails you have 14 days to fix it and have it re-checked without paying for a new test.
- Selling to a licensed dealer
- VicRoads lists a transfer from a private owner to a dealer as needing no roadworthy and no duty, and says the dealer manages the transfer. We hold a NSW dealer licence rather than a Victorian one, so we confirm the paperwork for your Victorian car, including the roadworthy, rego and plates, before we collect it.
- Number plates
- If a car with custom plates is sold, the buyer is presumed to take the number rights unless you transfer them separately, so remove and transfer or store custom plates before the sale. VicRoads also recommends cancelling the rego and removing the plates when you sell to someone interstate.
- Rego, CTP and insurance
- The buyer pays the transfer fee and motor vehicle duty. Compulsory third-party cover is part of your rego, which stays with the car on a sale within Victoria. Cancel any rego direct debit before the sale, keep a copy of the transfer form, take your e-tag out of the car and remove the plate from your toll account.
Selling a car in Queensland
Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR)
- After a private sale
- Transfer of registration (seller's part), within 14 days. Started online by the seller, who pays no fee. The buyer then completes their part of the transfer within 14 days and pays the transfer fee and duty.
- Roadworthy or safety certificate
- A private seller must give the buyer a current safety certificate (the original, a digital copy or the certificate number). From a private seller it is valid for 2 months or 2,000 km and covers one transfer only, and a car with a gas system also needs a gas certificate no more than 3 months old.
- Selling to a licensed dealer
- TMR says the easiest way to sell is to a licensed motor dealer, and cars traded to licensed motor dealers do not need a safety certificate. We are licensed in NSW, so we confirm how that applies to your car on the call. We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership.
- Number plates
- Personalised plates move to a new owner through a transfer application, which carries a fee. If you want to keep yours, check with TMR before the sale.
- Rego, CTP and insurance
- The buyer pays the transfer fee and vehicle registration duty. CTP is bundled with your Queensland rego. Take the car off any rego direct debit before the sale, remove toll tags and update your details with Linkt.
Selling a car in Western Australia
Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure (DTMI)
- After a private sale
- Notification of change of ownership, within 7 days. Online through DoTDirect, or on the seller's copy of the MR9 form by mail or in person, giving the new owner's name and address. Joint owners, company transfers, deceased estates and optional plates need the MR9.
- Roadworthy or safety certificate
- Consumer Protection WA says private sellers are not legally required to have a roadworthiness check done. You can still be liable for a serious defect you knew about and did not disclose, and you must disclose any finance owing.
- Selling to a licensed dealer
- A WA vehicle licence usually cannot move to a buyer who is not a WA resident, so a car sold interstate is generally sold unlicensed. We are a NSW business, so we explain the steps before pickup.
- Number plates
- If optional plates are sold with the car, the buyer transfers them and pays the fee. To keep optional plates, exchange them at DTMI before the sale.
- Rego, CTP and insurance
- In WA, rego is called the vehicle licence. The buyer pays the transfer fee and vehicle licence duty, and you should tell the buyer if the car is on a concession rate, because they will need to pay full rates. Make sure the money has arrived before you hand over the keys.
Selling a car in South Australia
Department for Infrastructure and Transport, through Service SA
- After a private sale
- Notice of disposal, within 14 days. Free, online through mySAGOV in a web browser (not the app) when the buyer is from SA. When the buyer is interstate, or the car is written off or wrecked, use the paper notice of disposal.
- Roadworthy or safety certificate
- South Australia does not ask for a roadworthy certificate to transfer a registered light vehicle. Some heavy vehicles and trailers need a change-of-ownership inspection.
- Selling to a licensed dealer
- Service SA only takes the notice online when the buyer is from SA. We are a NSW business, so your notice of disposal goes in on the paper form, and we walk you through it. We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership.
- Number plates
- To keep special plates, get new standard plates at a Service SA centre before you sell, and surrender the old ones. Moving a special plate to another of your vehicles has a further reallocation fee.
- Rego, CTP and insurance
- Lodging the notice stops rego direct debits but does not transfer the rego. With an SA buyer the car stays in your name until they transfer it, and with an interstate buyer Service SA keeps you recorded as the last SA owner. Your rego includes CTP, and on transfer the new owner takes over the rest of the rego and the CTP with it. Ask your insurer about cancelling comprehensive cover.
Selling a car in Tasmania
Transport Tasmania (Registrar of Motor Vehicles), through Service Tasmania
- After a private sale
- Disposal notice, within 7 days. Through the online disposal portal (it needs a Tasmanian driver licence), on the MR116 form at Service Tasmania, by mail or by email. There is no automatic confirmation, so check with Service Tasmania after about a week.
- Roadworthy or safety certificate
- No inspection is needed to transfer a currently registered car. A car that has been unregistered for three months or more must be inspected before it can be registered to the buyer.
- Selling to a licensed dealer
- Plan on lodging the disposal notice within 7 days when you sell to a dealer too. We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership, and we confirm the details for your car on the call.
- Number plates
- If personalised TasPlates are on the car, transfer the right to display them to the buyer, or swap to standard plates before the sale to keep them. Check whether any other plates, including bike rack plates, need returning or transferring.
- Rego, CTP and insurance
- The buyer pays the transfer fee and duty, and must transfer within 14 days. Once your disposal is processed your name comes off the registration, and Transport Tasmania says you are no longer responsible for the car for registration purposes. Ask your insurer when to cancel your own policy.
Selling a car in the ACT
Access Canberra
- After a private sale
- Notice of disposal, as soon as you sell (the buyer has 14 days to transfer). You and the buyer sign the transfer and disposal sections on the back of the rego certificate. Then notify Access Canberra online if you both hold ACT licences, or otherwise through the ACT Digital Account, by mail or in person.
- Roadworthy or safety certificate
- The buyer of an ACT-registered vehicle that weighs up to 4.5 tonnes and is more than 6 years old, or is imported, needs a roadworthy inspection before transferring the rego. As at October 2026, cars built in 2021 or later are under 6 years old.
- Selling to a licensed dealer
- Access Canberra says selling to an interstate buyer carries the same seller obligations, so selling to us, a NSW dealer, still means signing the disposal section and notifying Access Canberra. We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership.
- Number plates
- Number plates must stay on the car when it is sold with current ACT registration. To sell it unregistered, surrender the plates and cancel the rego at a service centre.
- Rego, CTP and insurance
- The buyer pays the duty when they transfer. Sellers usually build the remaining rego into the price. If you cancel the rego instead, a refund of unused rego and Motor Accident Injuries (MAI) insurance may be available.
Selling a car in the NT
Motor Vehicle Registry (MVR), Northern Territory Government
- After a private sale
- Notice of disposal, within 14 days. There is no online form. You and the buyer both sign it, then email it to MVR, post it or hand it in. Form R06, the latest rego certificate, an email or a clearly written document all work if they carry the required details, including the engine number.
- Roadworthy or safety certificate
- A light vehicle 7 years old or older needs a roadworthy inspection when ownership is transferred. One is also needed if the car has been unregistered for 12 months or more, or is being registered in the NT for the first time.
- Selling to a licensed dealer
- Expect the same notice of disposal process: signed by you and the buyer, and lodged with MVR within 14 days. As at October 2026, cars built in 2021 or later are under 7 years old, so the transfer inspection rule does not reach them yet. We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership.
- Number plates
- All plates, general and personalised, belong to MVR. You can transfer the right to display them with the car, keep them for another vehicle you own, or swap plates.
- Rego, CTP and insurance
- The buyer pays the transfer fee and stamp duty. After the sale you are no longer responsible for traffic infringement notices issued for the car. You can also choose to sell it unregistered and check whether a rego refund is available.
Do I need a roadworthy or safety certificate?
Usually not. In most cases you do not need to organise a roadworthy or safety certificate when you sell to us, because we handle the registration side of the sale. Rules differ between states and territories, so we confirm what applies to your car on the call.
What documents do I need?
Photo ID, the registration papers, the service logbook and any receipts for recent work, your bank details for the payment, and your loan details if the car is under finance. We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership, so you do not have to chase forms.
What happens to my car insurance and rego?
Keep your insurance active until the car has been collected. After that, contact your insurer to cancel or move the policy to your next car; many insurers refund unused premium. The transfer of registration notifies your state transport authority that you no longer own the car.
Selling to us? We walk you through your state’s paperwork
We prepare the sale paperwork and help with the transfer of ownership, wherever you are. Buying cars 2021 or newer, with 100,000 km or less.