How to cancel rego in QLD when you sell or scrap your car

When a car leaves your driveway on the back of a tow truck, it is easy to think the job is done. It isn't quite. If the rego is still in your name, you are still the registered operator as far as Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) is concerned. Cancelling it properly takes ten minutes of paperwork and can put some money back in your pocket.

This guide walks through exactly what TMR asks for, in the order you will need it. If you are still deciding whether to scrap the car at all, our car removals page explains how a pickup works.

Do you actually need to cancel the rego?

It depends on where the car is going and whether it is registered.

• Selling to a wrecker or scrapping it: the car is not going back on the road, so cancelling the rego is the usual way to take it out of your name.
• Selling privately to someone who will drive it: you transfer the rego to them instead of cancelling it. We cover the difference in selling privately vs selling to a wrecker.
• Already unregistered: there is no live registration, so there is nothing to cancel.

Who can cancel a Queensland registration

TMR says you can cancel a registration if you are listed as a registered operator, or if you represent the organisation listed as the registered operator. Not sure whose name it is in? You can log in to My registrations on the TMR website to check.

If the registered operator has died, the executor, administrator or next of kin has to transfer the registration into the estate or to another person first. Only then can it be cancelled, which makes sure any refund goes to the right place.

Step by step: cancelling your rego

1. 1Get the form. Download the cancellation of registration form (F3517) from the TMR website. You need one form per registration, unless you are cancelling five or more, in which case one form plus an attachment will do.
2. 2Fill it in fully. Complete every section, including all the declarations in Section 7, add your current mailing address and sign it. You can sign it digitally if you download it and open it in Adobe Reader rather than your web browser.
3. 3Take the plates off. Do this before the car is collected so you still have them. If the car has two plates, both go back.
4. 4Lodge it. Hand in the form and plates in person, post them, or email the form if you have already surrendered the plates or do not need to.
5. 5Keep your receipt. You get a receipt for any plates you hand in. Hang on to it.

Where to lodge the form and plates

In person, you can take them to a transport and motoring customer service centre, or to a QGAP office, Magistrates Court or local police station that provides registration services. You can also post the signed form with the plates (or your plate surrender receipt) to TMR. The current postal address is on the TMR cancellation page linked in the sources below.

What if you do not have the plates?

Lost, stolen or destroyed plates

If one or both plates have been lost, stolen or destroyed, you declare that in Section 7 of the cancellation form instead of handing them in. This is the answer to the common question of how to cancel rego in QLD without plates.

Personalised or customised plates

In Queensland you can keep personalised or customised plates. If you would rather cancel them along with the car, complete the cancel personalised/customised plate application (F5339), lodge it with the cancellation form and hand in those plates.

Plates confiscated by police

If the Queensland Police Service has confiscated your plates, the registration cannot be cancelled during the confiscation period. Contact the police for details.

Getting a rego refund

If you cancel a current Queensland registration, you may get a refund for the unused portion of the registration and the CTP insurer’s premium. To be eligible, the rego has to be current and in your name in Queensland at the time you ask to cancel it.

• A cancellation fee is taken out of the refund to cover processing.
• The traffic improvement fee is not refunded, and neither are some other fees, surcharges and levies.
• If the car was written off and an insurer is involved, check with them first. We explain why in our guide to written-off cars in Queensland.

The other loose ends

Cancelling the rego is the big one, but TMR also suggests a couple of small jobs when you sell a car:

• If your rego is paid by direct debit, take it off direct debit so nothing comes out after the car is gone.
• Remove any toll tag and update your details with Linkt.
• Check the glovebox, boot, door pockets and under the seats for your things. Spare keys, service books and sunglasses are the usual suspects.

Where EMR fits in

We are a car removal and wrecking yard at 48 Sherbrooke Rd, Willawong. If you have a car you want gone, send us the details or call 0451 160 233 and we will talk you through what happens on the day. You can also read how it works or check our FAQs.