How do you transfer car registration in QLD?

What 'transferring registration' actually means

Transferring registration is the administrative step that moves a vehicle's registration from the seller's name into the buyer's name on the Queensland register. It is separate from physically handing over the keys and the money; it is the paperwork that makes the change of ownership official with QLD Transport.

Getting it done matters to both sides. For the seller, notifying the change of ownership is what stops the vehicle, and anything that happens with it, from remaining your responsibility. For the buyer, completing the transfer is what puts the registration, and the obligations that come with it, properly in their name. Because both parties have duties, it pays to know your part before you sign anything.

The seller's responsibilities

As the seller, your job is to hand over a correctly completed transfer form and the details the buyer needs, and to notify QLD Transport that you have disposed of the vehicle. In Queensland, selling a registered light vehicle generally also requires a current safety certificate, so that is usually part of the picture unless an exception applies. Keep a record of who you sold to and when.

Notifying the disposal promptly is the step sellers most often forget, and it is the one that protects you. Until the change of ownership is recorded, the vehicle is still associated with your name on the register. Make sure your part of the transfer paperwork is filled in accurately, give the buyer everything they need, and lodge your notification within the timeframe QLD Transport requires.

1. 1Ensure a current safety certificate is in place if one is required for your sale.
2. 2Complete the seller's portion of the vehicle transfer-of-registration form.
3. 3Give the buyer the completed form and the details they need to register it.
4. 4Notify QLD Transport that you have disposed of the vehicle, within the required timeframe.
5. 5Keep a record of the buyer, the date, and the agreed sale.

The buyer's responsibilities

As the buyer, you take the completed transfer form from the seller and lodge the transfer with QLD Transport to put the registration in your name. There is generally a transfer process to follow and associated costs to pay, which can include a transfer fee and, where applicable, vehicle registration duty. The exact amounts and what applies to your purchase should be confirmed with QLD Transport.

Before you commit, it is wise to do your own checks: confirm the vehicle's details match the paperwork, and consider a Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) check to see whether any money is owing against the car. Lodging the transfer within the required timeframe keeps you on the right side of the rules and ensures the registration, and its renewal notices, come to you.

1. 1Confirm the vehicle's details match the transfer form and the seller's ID.
2. 2Consider a PPSR check to see whether finance is owing on the vehicle.
3. 3Complete the buyer's portion of the transfer-of-registration form.
4. 4Lodge the transfer with QLD Transport within the required timeframe.
5. 5Pay any transfer fee and duty that applies, as advised by QLD Transport.

The transfer form and the 14-day limit

The form is the Vehicle Registration Transfer Application, form F3520. Both the buyer and the seller complete and sign it, and it records the seller, the buyer, the vehicle and the sale. Once a used vehicle changes hands, the registration must be transferred within 14 days.

The part worth knowing if you are the seller is Part B. Even when the buyer intends to complete the transfer online, QLD Transport recommends the seller fills in Part B and has the buyer sign it on the day of sale. That signed section is your record of who took the car and when, which is what helps you if the buyer is slow to lodge or the vehicle collects an infringement before they do.

The buyer pays. The transfer fee and vehicle registration duty are the buyer's, and the seller pays nothing to transfer a registration. Duty is charged on the dutiable value and depends on cylinder count: 2 dollars per 100 for hybrid and electric, 3 dollars per 100 for one to four cylinders, 3.50 for five or six, and 4 dollars for seven or more, with higher rates above 100,000. Those are the published light-vehicle rates and rates do change, so use QLD Transport's own duty calculator for an exact figure.

Rules, forms and fees change and vary with circumstances, so treat this as orientation rather than the final word. QLD Transport is the authority on which form to use, what it costs and how long you have. Figures here were checked on 28 July 2026.

1. 1On the day of sale, complete form F3520 together. The seller fills in Part B and the buyer signs it.
2. 2The seller keeps a copy or a photo of the signed form before handing over the keys.
3. 3The seller notifies QLD Transport that the vehicle has been disposed of.
4. 4Within 14 days, the buyer lodges the transfer, online or in person, and pays the transfer fee and any duty.
5. 5The buyer sorts out their own compulsory third party position and confirms the registration now shows in their name.

Transferring a vehicle that is not currently registered

If the registration has already expired or been cancelled there is nothing live to transfer, and this is where a lot of private sales get stuck. Ownership of an unregistered vehicle is handled differently from a straightforward transfer: the buyer generally has to register it in their own name rather than take over yours, which usually means a roadworthy certificate first.

That matters most for cars that have been sitting. A vehicle parked for a year with expired rego cannot simply be signed over on a Saturday afternoon, and a private buyer who discovers that midway through often walks away. Check the vehicle's actual registration status before you advertise it, so the conversation with a buyer starts from the real position.

It is also one of the clearer cases for selling direct rather than privately. We buy unregistered vehicles and cars that no longer drive, and we arrange collection rather than expecting the car to be driven anywhere, so expired registration changes the logistics rather than ending the sale.