Changing your registration—moving interstate or buying a Queensland registered vehicle

Find out how to change your registration if you are:

• moving to Queensland
• moving from Queensland to interstate
• living interstate and buy a Queensland registered vehicle
• an Australian Defence Force member or their immediate family.

Moving to Queensland—change your registration

If you move to Queensland from another state or territory, you must get Queensland registration and a Queensland driver licence. You have 14 days to register your vehicle in Queensland and may be fined if you don’t.

When you register your vehicle in Queensland, you can apply to get a refund on the remaining part of your interstate registration.

To do this, you need to hand in your interstate number plates and provide a current Queensland safety certificate to a transport and motoring customer service centre or, if you live in a rural area, a QGAP office, Magistrates Court or local police station that provides vehicle registration services.

You will get a receipt for the surrender of the number plates. To cancel the interstate registration and receive a refund, you must contact the interstate authority where your vehicle was previously registered.

If your heavy vehicle is currently registered in another state or territory under the National Heavy Vehicle Registration Scheme and has national heavy vehicle number plates attached, you will be able to use these plates when registering the vehicle in the same name in Queensland.

Find out more about the National Heavy Vehicle Registration Scheme.

If you have purchased personalised or customised number plates from the interstate authority, you will have to check with them to see whether you can keep the plates.

Moving from Queensland to interstate

If you move to another state or territory and take your Queensland registered vehicle with you to your new address, you will need to register your vehicle in that state or territory.

Registering your vehicle in another state or territory does not automatically cancel your Queensland registration. You will need to cancel your registration to stop receiving renewal notices and reminders and receive a refund for the unused portion of your registration.

When you register your vehicle in another state, surrender the number plates to the transport authority and make sure to get a plate surrender receipt.

To do this, you need to contact the relevant transport authority to find out their registration requirements.

If your heavy vehicle is currently registered in Queensland under the National Heavy Vehicle Registration Scheme and has national heavy vehicle number plates attached, you will be able to use these plates when registering the vehicle in the same name in another participating jurisdiction.

Find out more about the National Heavy Vehicle Registration Scheme.

Refund of unexpired Queensland registration

You can apply to the Department of Transport and Main Roads for a refund of the unexpired portion of Queensland registration, as well as the compulsory third party (CTP) insurance component.

A refund will only be issued to the registered operator of the Queensland registered vehicle—this is the person who the vehicle is registered to. If you’re not the registered operator of a vehicle you cannot get a refund.

To apply for a refund of unexpired registration

You can cancel your registration to get a refund for the unused part of your registration.

Make sure you provide your mailing address on the form.

Buying a Queensland registered vehicle from interstate

A vehicle must be garaged at a Queensland address to be registered in Queensland. If you live interstate and purchase a vehicle that is registered in Queensland, you cannot register it in your name in Queensland unless you have a Queensland garaging address.

If you can’t transfer the Queensland registration into your name, you may ask the seller to cancel the vehicle’s registration at a transport and motoring customer service centre. You can then apply for an unregistered vehicle permit to transport the vehicle to your home address. To register the vehicle you will need to contact the transport authority in your state or territory to find out their registration requirements.