Transferring personalised and customised number plates

If you own personalised number plates, you can transfer them to another person or an organisation.

If you or your organisation own customised number plates, you cannot transfer them to another person or organisation. However, you can attach the customised plate to another vehicle registered in the same name.

Personalised number plates

Personalised number plates not attached to a vehicle

If you are buying personalised number plates from another person, you will need to bring the following items to a transport and motoring customer service centre or, if you live in a rural area, a QGAP office, Magistrates Court or local police station that provides vehicle registration services—please call to confirm before visiting:

• A completed personalised number plate/s transfer application (F2963) signed by the seller (referred to as the disposer on the form) and the buyer/s (referred to as the acquirer on the form).
• Evidence of identity.
• Transfer fee, unless an exemption applies.

Personalised plates attached to a vehicle that's not being sold

If you own a vehicle with personalised plates attached and you are selling the plates but keeping the vehicle, you will need to bring the following items to a transport and motoring customer service centre or, if you live in a rural area, a QGAP office, Magistrates Court or local police station that provides vehicle registration services—please call to confirm before visiting:

• A completed remove and/or attach personalised/customised number plates application (F2964)
• Evidence of identity.
• A standard plate fee.

You will receive a set of standard number plates—you must attach number plates within 1 day of receiving them.

The person receiving the personalised number plates must bring the following items to a transport and motoring customer service centre or, if you live in a rural area, a QGAP office, Magistrates Court or local police station that provides vehicle registration services—please call to confirm before visiting:

• A completed personalised number plate/s transfer application (F2963) signed by the seller (referred to as the disposer on the form) and the buyer/s (referred to as the acquirer on the form).
• Evidence of identity.
• The number plate transfer fee, unless an exemption applies.

Personalised plates sold with a vehicle

If you are buying a vehicle which has personalised number plates, you must bring the following items to a transport and motoring customer service centre or, if you live in a rural area, a QGAP office, Magistrates Court or local police station that provides vehicle registration services—please call to confirm before visiting:

• A completed vehicle registration transfer application (F3520)
• The vehicle registration duty, unless an exemption applies
• A completed personalised number plate/s transfer application (F2963) signed by the seller (referred to as the disposer on the form) and the buyer/s (referred to as the acquirer on the form)
• Evidence of identity
• The number plate transfer fee, unless an exemption applies.

Personalised plates registered to a business that no longer operates

If a vehicle with personalised number plates is registered to an organisation that becomes a non-legal entity (that is, an organisation that can't legally pay debt or enter into a contract) the personalised plates must be transferred to another person or organisation.

Read more about vehicle registration and non-legal entities.

Personalised number plates on confiscated vehicles

You can't transfer personalised number plates that are attached to a vehicle that the Queensland Police Service has put under a number plate confiscation notice. You must wait until the confiscation period has passed.

Transfer fee exemptions

You may not have to pay a transfer fee if the personalised plates are being transferred:

• as a gift to a spouse (married or in a de facto relationship), parent or child of the disposer
• to a beneficiary, administrator or executor of a deceased estate
• as a gift—if someone buys personalised plates from Personalised Plates Queensland (PPQ) to give to another person, there is no transfer fee when the plates are given to the recipient. If the plates are purchased from PPQ, the purchaser will receive a 'Fee exempt' letter—the receiver of the number plates can present this when the number plates are transferred to receive the fee exemption.

Customised number plates

Customised number plates can't be transferred or changed.

If a vehicle with customised number plates is sold, the person or organisation selling the vehicle can choose either:

• to keep the customised plates, removing them from the vehicle and attaching them to another vehicle owned by the same organisation
  or
• not to keep the customised number plates—during the transfer process the customised plates will become standard plates.

Find out about the rules for customised plates.

Removing customised number plates

To remove customised number plates you will need to bring the following items to a transport and motoring customer service centre or, if you live in a rural area, a QGAP office, Magistrates Court or local police station that provides vehicle registration services—please call to confirm before visiting:

• A completed remove and/or attach personalised/customised number plates application (F2964)
• Evidence of identity—if customised number plates are in 2 names both registered operators must sign the application and both provide identification
• The standard plate fee, unless an exemption applies. You must attach the standard number plates within 1 day of receiving them.

Attaching customised number plates

To attach customised number plates you will need to bring the following items to a transport and motoring customer service centre or, if you live in a rural area, a QGAP office, Magistrates Court or local police station that provides vehicle registration services—please call to confirm before visiting:

• A completed remove and/or attach personalised/customised number plates application (F2964)
• Evidence of identity—if customised number plates are in 2 names both registered operators must sign the application and both provide identification.
• Your old plates to surrender (but do not remove them from the vehicle until you arrive at the customer service centre). You do not need to surrender personalised or customised number plates if you are keeping the plate number.