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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Land Transport Act 1998

Motor vehicle registration and licensing - Register of motor vehicles

237: Entitlement to receive information

You could also call this:

“You can ask for vehicle information, but there are rules about sharing personal details”

You can ask for information about a specific motor vehicle from the register. However, the Registrar can’t give out personal information about someone unless certain conditions are met. These conditions include if you’re asking about yourself, if the information is needed for a special reason, or if the law allows it to be shared.

You usually have to pay a fee to get information from the register. But if you’ve made arrangements to pay later, that’s okay too.

If you want to know who has received your personal information from the register, you can ask the Registrar. They will tell you who got the information and why, but only in certain cases. This includes when your information was shared because of the Official Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act 2020.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3701412.

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Part 17 Motor vehicle registration and licensing
Register of motor vehicles

237Entitlement to receive information

  1. A person who applies for information under section 236 is entitled to receive information from the register in relation to a specified motor vehicle.

  2. However, the Registrar may not disclose personal information about an individual unless the Registrar is satisfied that—

  3. the person applying for the information is that individual; or
    1. the information is required for a purpose specified in section 235; or
      1. the information is within the exception specified in section 241; or
        1. the information may be disclosed under an enactment.

          1. Information from the register must not be supplied unless—

          2. the prescribed fee is paid; or
            1. the Registrar is satisfied that satisfactory arrangements have been made for payment of that fee.

              1. The Registrar must, at the request of an individual, supply to the individual—

              2. the name of any person to whom personal information about the individual has been disclosed under—
                1. subsection (2)(c); or
                  1. subsection (2)(d), but only if the enactment in question was the Official Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act 2020; and
                  2. the purpose of any such disclosure.

                    Compare
                    Notes
                    • Section 237: inserted, on , by section 32(3) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 17).
                    • Section 237(4)(a)(ii): amended, on , by section 217 of the Privacy Act 2020 (2020 No 31).