If you sell a registered car in Queensland to anyone other than a licensed motor dealer, you need a current safety certificate and you give it to the new owner. Without it the new owner cannot move the registration out of your name, and a seller who does not get and hand over a current certificate can be fined more than $700.
General information, not legal advice. The rules belong to the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), which sets them out on the Queensland Government’s safety certificates page and answers questions about exemptions on 13 23 80.
1.1When a certificate is needed
TMR names three occasions: transferring a registration to a new owner, moving a vehicle onto Queensland registration from another state or territory, and registering a vehicle again after it has been unregistered. For a seller, the first is the one that counts.
Cars and motorcycles need one. So do trailers and caravans with an aggregate trailer mass between 750kg and 4,500kg, and any other vehicle up to 4,500kg gross vehicle mass.
The timing has changed. TMR says a certificate is no longer required before a registered vehicle is advertised, but it is still required before you dispose of the vehicle, unless the buyer is a dealer. A car with a gas fuel system or other gas fittings also needs a gas certificate from an authorised gas installer, issued no more than three months before the registration is transferred.
1.2What the inspection looks at
Only approved inspection stations can issue safety certificates in Queensland. The inspection is done by an approved examiner at a station TMR has accredited. It covers basic safety standards, and the parts TMR lists include:
- tyres, brakes and steering
- suspension
- rust or damage to the body
- the windscreen and the lights.
The examiner works to the Queensland Light Vehicle Inspection Manual, which gives the industry one set of criteria for vehicles up to 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass; transport inspectors and police use the manuals too. TMR points to the manuals for anyone who wants to see how the inspection runs and why a vehicle can fail.
A certificate is a minimum safety check, not a full mechanical report: TMR says the inspection is not a full mechanical check of the vehicle’s quality or how long it will last.
1.3What it costs, as at October 2026
| Vehicle or document | Fee |
|---|---|
| A motor vehicle up to 4,500kg gross vehicle mass | $102.70 |
| A motorcycle | $66.00 |
| A trailer over 750kg and up to 4,500kg aggregate trailer mass | $51.45 |
| A replacement inspection certificate issued by TMR | $28.00 |
TMR’s fees go up on 1 July each year; the rise on 1 July 2026 was 3.4 per cent.
1.4How long a certificate stays current
It depends on who is selling. For a private seller, a certificate lasts two months or 2,000km from the date it was issued, whichever runs out first. For a licensed motor dealer the limits are three months or 1,000km.
Each certificate covers one transfer. If the car is sold twice, even inside those limits, the second sale needs a fresh certificate.
Worked example · the dates and readings are invented
- Issued
- 3 November, odometer at 84,350km
- Time limit
- 2 months: runs out on 3 January
- Distance limit
- 84,350 + 2,000 = 86,350km
- Sale A
- 20 December at 85,850km: still current
- Sale B
- 10 January at 85,100km: expired by date
Both limits run at once, so a long holiday drive could end the certificate before the date does, and a quiet summer in the garage could see the date end it first. The private-seller limits apply here.
1.5Handing it over
A station gives you either a handwritten certificate or an electronic one, which it may email to you or print. For a handwritten certificate the buyer gets the original blue copy. For an electronic one, give the buyer a printed copy or write the certificate number on the transfer form, and if the buyer asks to see the certificate to check it is valid, you must show it.
If you are transferring online, an electronic certificate is already recorded with TMR. A handwritten one has to be recorded at a transport and motoring service centre before the online transfer will work. While the car stays registered in your name, you remain liable for tolls and infringement notices issued for it.
1.6When no certificate is needed
A vehicle sold unregistered needs no certificate, and neither does one traded to or between licensed motor dealers. TMR also lists exemptions for some transfers, including:
- a car garaged in an exempt area at the time of sale
- a transfer to a beneficiary of a deceased estate
- a transfer between spouses, which includes separated married couples and registered partners until the divorce, or the application to end the registered relationship, is finalised.
A seller claiming an exemption cannot use the online transfer service.
1.7If the car does not pass
For a car in an unsafe or defective condition, TMR’s guide to selling a used vehicle sets out four options: repair every defect, sell the car to an auto dealer, sell it to an auto parts dismantler, or sell it unregistered. An unregistered car needs no inspection, but moving it needs an unregistered vehicle permit.
Certificates are checked after the event too. A buyer who received one in the last three months and doubts it is genuine can report it to TMR, and can ask TMR to investigate.