Selling a car in WA: the 7-day rule and interstate buyers

When you sell a car in WA, you must tell the Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure (DTMI) within 7 days that you’re no longer the owner, either online through DoTDirect or on the MR9 form. If the buyer doesn’t live in WA, the vehicle licence can’t go with the car: you hand the plates back first and sell it unlicensed.

That 7-day window is half what most states give you, and guides that say “14 days everywhere” get WA wrong. The Department of Transport became DTMI on 1 July 2025, but its online service is still called DoTDirect. Every rule here was checked against DTMI, RevenueWA and Consumer Protection WA pages, and the current MR9 form, on 13 October 2026. If your car is registered in another state, our guide to selling a car in Australia covers each one.

The WA seller’s timeline at a glance

How long do you have to notify DTMI?

Seven days from the sale. DTMI’s selling page says you must notify it within 7 days that you’ve stopped being the owner, and that a penalty applies if you don’t. The MR9 form adds that an infringement may be issued if the seller’s copy isn’t lodged in time. The buyer has a separate 14 days to do their part.

Here’s how WA compares:

If you’re used to 14 days elsewhere, treat WA as a same-day job.

The penalty is the smaller risk. DTMI’s owner responsibilities page says the “responsible person” receives camera infringement notices, whoever was driving. That’s typically the licence holder, and the new owner can become the responsible person once DTMI has received notice of the change of ownership. Until then, notices for the buyer’s speeding can come to you. If a fine dated after the sale does arrive, our guide to a fine or toll for a car you sold explains how to deal with it.

How do you notify DTMI through DoTDirect?

DoTDirect is DTMI’s free online account, and the MR9 form itself suggests transferring online to save time. For most private sales you’ll need:

• the date of sale, the selling price and the dutiable value
• the car’s plate number
• the buyer’s name and address

The dutiable value is the figure duty is charged on. The MR9 form explains that it’s generally the market value, and that when you sell on the open market to someone you aren’t related to, the price you agree generally counts as that value. Sell to a relative or business associate and that price may not be accepted. Give the car away and the open-market value is used.

DTMI notes that some vehicle licences can’t be transferred online. If your sale is one of those listed in the next section, use the paper form. Save or screenshot what you submit.

When is the MR9 paper form compulsory?

DTMI requires the MR9 Notification of Change of Ownership instead of DoTDirect when the sale involves:

• a court order
• a deceased estate
• a jointly owned vehicle
• a transfer between spouses or de facto partners
• a heavy vehicle
• optional plates
• a transfer to or from a company or organisation
• seller, buyer or vehicle details that don’t match DTMI’s records

The form isn’t valid until both you and the buyer have signed it. It has two copies. You give the red copy to the buyer, together with the current licence papers. You lodge the blue seller’s copy within 7 days, either at a DTMI service centre or regional agent or by post to Driver and Vehicle Services, GPO Box R1290, Perth WA 6844. Given the short deadline, post it or drop it in the day you sell.

Selling to a buyer outside WA: the licence can’t move

DTMI is blunt about this: “A Western Australian vehicle licence cannot be transferred to a person who is not a Western Australian resident”. The MR9 form gives the underlying rule: a WA licence can only be granted or transferred if the vehicle is kept mainly in WA, meaning garaged here.

So an interstate sale works differently. DTMI’s steps are:

1. Return the plates to a DTMI service centre or regional agent before the sale.
2. Sell the car to the interstate buyer as an unlicensed vehicle.

Returning the plates is also how you get money back. DTMI will consider refunding the rest of the licence period only if the plates go back before the sale to an interstate buyer. The refund runs from the date the plates are returned, and only the WA owner can claim it. Once the car is licensed in another state, the WA licence is cancelled and no refund is payable. DTMI also says the number plate receipt issued when a former WA car is licensed interstate must be emailed or posted to DTMI, or penalties follow. If you’re unsure which steps fall to you, call Driver and Vehicle Services on 13 11 56.

Once the plates are off, the car is unlicensed and can’t simply be driven home by the buyer. Plan how it will leave before the plates come off. Be careful with private interstate buyers too: Scamwatch lists a buyer willing to buy without seeing the car in person as a warning sign. Our guide to selling your car to an interstate buyer covers the safe way to do it.

We’re a NSW licensed motor dealer, so when you sell to us, WA rules mean the licence usually can’t move with the car. We’ll explain the steps, including any licence refund, before pickup, and we arrange the collection.

Optional plates: exchange them before you sell

To keep your optional plates, DTMI says you must exchange them at a service centre or regional agent before you sell.

If the plates are going with the car, give your consent on the MR9. The buyer applies to transfer the right to display them and pays the transfer fee. If the buyer doesn’t want them, the MR9 says they must return them to a service centre or regional agent. If you don’t want to sell the plates with the car, DTMI says to return them and buy a set of ordinary plates for the car before the sale. Our guide to keeping personalised number plates walks through the choices.

Selling interstate? Every plate goes back to DTMI before the sale anyway, so decide what you want to do with optional plates before you hand them in.

Do WA private sellers need a roadworthy?

No. Consumer Protection WA says private sellers “are not legally required to do a roadworthiness check on the car they are selling”. There’s no WA equivalent of the Victorian roadworthy or the Queensland safety certificate for a straightforward private sale.

Inspections do come up in two cases:

• The licence has lapsed. Only currently licensed vehicles can be transferred. Once the licence has been expired for more than 15 days, DTMI treats the car as unlicensed, and the new owner has to have it inspected and apply for a new licence.
• The car is on interstate plates. An interstate vehicle can’t be licensed in WA until it passes an inspection at an Authorised Inspection Station. Notify the sale under the rules of the state it’s registered in.

When you sell to us, a roadworthy or safety certificate usually isn’t needed. Rules differ by state, and we’ll confirm what applies to your car on the call.

What must you tell a WA private buyer?

No roadworthy doesn’t mean “sold as is, no questions”. Consumer Protection WA points to two things private sellers have to get right. You “must let the buyer know of any finance owing on the car before a sale”. And you may be held liable if you knew about a serious defect and didn’t tell the buyer.

At the same time, the Australian Consumer Law doesn’t apply to private car sales, so the buyer has fewer protections than at a dealership. That makes your disclosure the main thing they rely on. Put it in writing.

Before the buyer pays, tell them:

• whether there’s any finance owing on the car
• about any serious defect you know of
• whether the car is licensed at a concession rate, because they may need to restore it to full rates
• whether it’s listed on the Written-off Vehicle Register, which the MR9 asks about
• whether optional plates are included in the price
• for an interstate buyer, that the car will be sold unlicensed

Finance will come out anyway. A buyer can search the car’s VIN on the PPSR for $2 online (as at October 2026), and a lender’s security interest shows up. The cleaner fix is to have the loan paid out as part of the sale. When you sell to us, we deal with your lender directly to pay out the loan, then pay any equity to you, and it usually takes 2 to 3 business days to settle. If you owe more than the car is worth, that negative equity has to be covered before settlement. Our page on selling a car under finance explains the steps.

Last, get paid before anything else. Consumer Protection WA’s advice is to make sure the money has transferred before you hand over the keys.

What does the buyer pay?

The buyer pays the transfer fee and vehicle licence duty, and DTMI sends them an invoice. Duty is charged on the dutiable value explained above: generally the open-market value, which in an arm’s-length sale is usually the agreed price. These are RevenueWA’s duty rates for vehicles of 4.5 tonnes or less, as at October 2026:

In the middle band, the rate as a percentage is 2.75 plus the dutiable value above $25,000 divided by 6,666.66, rounded to 2 decimal places. Here’s a worked example with hypothetical numbers, where each sale price equals the market value:

In that example, a private buyer paying $40,000 also owes $2,000 in duty plus the transfer fee, and may factor that into their offer.

Some buyers will ask you to write a lower price on the form to cut their duty. Say no. The MR9 warns that a seller or buyer who understates the price or dutiable value commits an offence under the Duties Act 2008. Both of you are then liable for the missing duty plus a penalty equal to it, and the form notes that RevenueWA regularly checks declared values against market data.

Private buyer or dealer: what’s left for you to do

Sell privately in WA and every step above is yours: disclosing, getting paid safely, the 7-day notification, and the extra plate and refund steps if the buyer lives interstate. Sell to a licensed dealer and most of that shrinks to your side of the DTMI paperwork and your plates.

That’s how it works with us. Sell Your Car Australia is run by Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd, NSW licensed motor dealer MD 077404, and our valuer has priced cars since 1992. The valuation is free, there’s no obligation, and no fees are taken out of the offer. You get a genuine offer by phone from a licensed dealer, 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, from Perth or anywhere else in WA.

We prepare the sale paperwork, help with the transfer of ownership and make sure your side of the DTMI paperwork is done correctly. 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 on our Western Australia page, or call 1800 73 55 73.