There comes a time when even you get fed up with your favourite car and have to either hand it over to someone else or get rid of it completely. If you are a car owner who hasn’t reached that point yet, give it a few years.
In this article
When that time comes, you’ll need concrete information on how to transfer ownership of your car to a new person. The procedure isn’t that complicated if you follow it correctly. The New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) has a set of requirements you have to fulfil, after which you have to pay a small fee to transfer ownership of your vehicle.
Here is a step-by-step guide on the best practices to follow:
The Basics
The NZTA has a form, which is available both online and at one of their service centres. You need to fill out that transfer of ownership form and submit it to the authorities. If you’d like to do that online, you’ll need to visit the specific webpage made by the NZTA for this purpose.
However, if you are one of those traditional folks, you can submit the document in person by visiting any of the NZTA service centres. You can learn more about this procedure here.
If you ask us, it is much better to perform this entire process online, as it is streamlined for the end-user. Plus, you can submit the form and pay the fee in one go as well, which is a much more arduous task when doing the submission in person.
There is a fee you have to pay for this procedure, which is not more than $15. It is the same whether you choose to pay online or at the NZTA service centre.
You’ll need a few things to fill out the form the details of which are as follows:
Requirements for the Vehicle’s Seller
If you are the person selling your vehicle and looking to transfer ownership to another person, you’ll need a few things to fill out the form.
- The first thing you need is your valid New Zealand driver’s licence
- The registration number on the car’s plate
- The particulars of the person you have sold the car to.
All the information you need to fill out the form can be found in these three things. If you don’t have even one of them, you’ll find it difficult to transfer the ownership of your vehicle to the new owner.
Requirements for the Vehicle’s Buyer
If you are the buyer and you want the vehicle to be transferred to your name, you’ll need pretty much the same things that are required by the seller. However, there is one small exception, which you’ll find out below. So, you’ll need:
- Your personal NZ driver’s licence
- The plate number of the car
- A credit or debit card to pay the transfer fee
What if you don’t have a credit card or debit card? Well, the NZTA has a solution for that. You can pay the fee through bank transfer.
You can find out more about this on the NZTA website or at any of their service centres in the city you live.
Special Conditions
The aforementioned procedure is meant for those who have all their documents up to date and there is no discrepancy involved. However, in real-life situations that’s not always the case. Sometimes you can come up short, like losing your driver’s licence. Here is what the NZTA has to say about such issues:
Expired Vehicle Licence
If the car’s licence fee has not been paid and has expired you have to pay it in full from the time you bought the vehicle. You’ll have to visit the NZTA website to pay the invoice using your credit or debit card.
Buying Deregistered Car
In NZ, you can buy a deregistered vehicle. But that means when you buy that vehicle, it won’t have any plates. So, what do you do? You inform the NZTA, register the car in your name, and get the numbers on your new plates if the vehicle meets the roadworthiness requirements.
Things To Do Before & After Buying a Car
Now that you know how to transfer ownership of a vehicle in NZ, it is time to consider all those things that you must do to never get in trouble with the authorities, especially when it comes to transfers.
Perform Checks
It is highly important that you thoroughly check the car you are buying, not only mechanically but also ownership-wise. There are plenty of scammers out there and people selling vehicles that aren’t even in their name. So, you must ensure that the person selling you the car is the rightful owner.
You can use NZTA’s online portal on their website to learn about the rightful owner of the car you are buying. With this tool, you’ll never again be on the wrong side of the tracks.
Moreover, it is your duty to ask the buyer if there are some other dues pending on the vehicle. In case there are any unpaid dues, you should ask the seller to clear them before handing over the vehicle to you.
Inform the Authorities
Once you have bought the vehicle of your liking, performed checks, and ensured everything is in order, you can make the payment for the vehicle. Afterwards, you’ll need to perform another simple online procedure, which is informing the NZTA about buying a vehicle. This step is important as it allows the NZTA to remove the vehicle from under the previous owner’s name and put it under yours.
Note: Failure to inform the authorities can result in hefty fines. Therefore, do not delay this procedure and perform it as quickly as possible.
Conclusion
There you have it, your very own short guide on how to transfer a vehicle in your name. If you follow this guide from start to finish, you should not face any troubles with the NZTA. Just remember to keep in mind the special cases and you will be good to go!
