Transferring Car Registration In QLD When You Sell
When you sell a registered car to someone who will drive it, the registration is transferred into their name rather than cancelled. In Queensland the buyer has 14 days to complete the transfer, but as the seller you have your own steps to take, and getting them right protects you from fines and tolls on a car you no longer own.
Transfer or cancel: which one applies
This is the first thing to sort out, because the two paths are different.
You transfer the registration when you sell a car to someone who will keep driving it on the road. The rego stays alive and moves to the new owner.
You cancel the registration when the car is going off the road for good, being scrapped, wrecked, sold for parts, or sold unregistered. Selling to a cash-for-cars buyer for parts or salvage falls here, and our cancellation guide covers it.
The rest of this guide is about the transfer path, for a registered car sold to a driver.
The 14-day rule
Once the car changes hands, the buyer has 14 days to finalise the transfer with Transport and Main Roads. Miss that window and late fees apply. The important point for you as the seller is that until the transfer is done, the car is still recorded in your name, so any speeding fines, tolls or infringements can land on you. That is why you should not just hand over the keys and forget it.
The seller’s steps
Complete your side of the transfer form. In Queensland the transfer uses the Vehicle Registration Transfer Application (form F3520). The buyer lodges their part, and you complete and keep your part, signed by both of you on the day of sale, with the buyer’s full details taken from their licence.
Provide a current safety certificate. When you sell a registered car, Queensland generally requires you to give the buyer a current safety certificate, unless an exemption applies.
Lodge your side promptly. You can notify Transport and Main Roads that you have sold the car, either through the online seller transfer service or in person, and you should keep the confirmation. If you believe the buyer has not lodged their part within 14 days, you can submit your part yourself as proof you have sold the car.
What you pay, and what the buyer pays
As the seller, you do not pay a transfer fee. The buyer pays the registration transfer fee and, in most cases, vehicle registration duty, which is a state tax calculated on the sale price or market value. There is no duty on trailers, caravans or mobility devices. The buyer sorts these out when they lodge their side.
Protect yourself after the sale
A few simple steps close the sale off cleanly and keep you in the clear. Keep a signed receipt or your copy of the transfer form as proof you sold the car, with the date, the car’s details, the price and both parties’ contacts. Remove any direct debit you had set up for registration renewals, so you are not charged for a renewal on a car you have sold. Notify your insurer. And a little while later, confirm with Transport and Main Roads that the car is no longer in your name.
Personalised plates
If your car has personalised or customised plates, they belong to you, not the car. If you want to keep them, you remove them and fit standard plates before the sale, using the plate application process. Otherwise they would transfer with the car to the new owner.
When transferring is not the right path
If the person taking your car is a wrecker or cash-for-cars buyer, or the car is unregistered, damaged or not roadworthy, you are not transferring rego to a new driver, you are cancelling it. In that case you surrender the plates, cancel the registration, and may claim a refund, while the buyer takes the car for parts or salvage. Cash Your Car handles that side simply: we buy the car, tow it free and pay on the spot, and you cancel the rego with TMR to claim any refund. Call 0403 522 042 for an offer.
Frequently asked questions
Who transfers the rego when I sell my car, me or the buyer?
The buyer completes the transfer within 14 days, but you should lodge your side promptly and keep proof, because the car stays in your name until the transfer is done.
Do I pay a fee to transfer rego out of my name?
No. The seller does not pay a transfer fee. The buyer pays the transfer fee and any duty.
What happens if the buyer does not transfer it?
Until the transfer is complete, the car is recorded in your name and you can be liable for fines and tolls. If the buyer has not lodged within 14 days, you can submit your part of the form as proof of sale.
Do I need a safety certificate to sell a registered car?
Generally yes, when selling to someone who will drive it. An unregistered car sold for parts does not need one.
Can I transfer QLD rego to an interstate buyer?
No. Queensland rego cannot transfer interstate. The buyer registers the car in their own state, and you may cancel the QLD rego for a refund.
What is the difference between transferring and cancelling rego?
Transfer keeps the rego alive and moves it to a new driver. Cancellation ends the rego for a car going off the road, and may earn a refund.
Should I keep my personalised plates?
You can. They belong to you. Remove them and fit standard plates before the sale if you want to keep them.
How do I make sure I am not liable after the sale?
Keep proof of the sale, remove rego direct debits, notify your insurer, and confirm with TMR that the car has left your name.
Selling a car that is going off the road instead?
Call 0403 522 042 or use the quote form. Cash Your Car buys cars for parts and salvage across Brisbane, tows them free, and pays on the spot.