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Land Transport Act 1998

Motor vehicle registration and licensing - Registration and licensing requirements

243: Application for registration

You could also call this:

“How to apply to register your vehicle”

When you want to register a motor vehicle, you need to follow these rules:

You or someone acting for you must apply to the Registrar. You need to do this in the way the rules say. You also need to pay the required fee and apply for a licence for the vehicle at the same time.

Sometimes, you might need to pay an extra amount called a ‘motor vehicle levy’. This is related to greenhouse gases. You’ll know if you need to pay this based on certain rules.

Only certain people can register a motor vehicle:

  • A person who is 15 years old or older
  • A company
  • Someone representing the New Zealand government

If more than one person owns the vehicle, only one of you can be registered as the owner at a time.

Once you register a vehicle, it stays registered unless it’s cancelled. You don’t need to renew the registration.

If you owned a vehicle before these new rules started, you’re automatically registered under the new system. If there was more than one owner before, you’re all considered registered until there’s a change in ownership.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3705369.

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Part 17 Motor vehicle registration and licensing
Registration and licensing requirements

243Application for registration

  1. An application for registration of a motor vehicle must be—

  2. made by or on behalf of the owner to the Registrar in accordance with any regulations made under this Part; and
    1. accompanied by—
      1. the prescribed fee; and
        1. an application for a licence for the motor vehicle.

        2. An application for registration of a motor vehicle must also be accompanied by the amount of the motor vehicle (synthetic greenhouse gas) levy for the motor vehicle if required under section 227(1)(a) of the Climate Change Response Act 2002.

        3. Repealed

        4. The only persons who may be registered in respect of motor vehicles are—

        5. a natural person of or over 15 years of age; or
          1. a body corporate; or
            1. an agent of the Executive Government of New Zealand.

              1. If more than 1 person owns a motor vehicle, only 1 of them may be registered in respect of that vehicle at any given time.

              2. Unless the registration is cancelled under this Part, the registration of a motor vehicle continues in force without renewal.

              3. In relation to a vehicle treated by virtue of section 242(4) as if it were registered under this Part,—

              4. the person registered as the owner of the vehicle immediately before the commencement of this section is to be treated as being registered in respect of the vehicle under this Part; and
                1. if there is more than 1 such person, each of them is to be treated as being so registered (accordingly, subsection (3) does not apply until there is to be a change of registered person).

                  Compare
                  Notes
                  • Section 243: inserted, on , by section 32(5) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 17).
                  • Section 243(1A): inserted, on , by section 103 of the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 89).
                  • Section 243(1B): repealed, on , by section 8 of the Land Transport (Clean Vehicle Discount Scheme Repeal) Amendment Act 2023 (2023 No 66).