What Happens to Your Number Plates When You Sell a Car in QLD? Standard, Personalised Plates and Toll Tags

By A1 Cash for Cars Team · Last updated: 4 November 2026

A1 Cash for Cars is a Brisbane vehicle buyer and licensed motor dealer with a yard at 60 Bowhill Rd, Willawong. We assess and buy unwanted, damaged, scrap and non-running cars, utes, vans and 4WDs across Greater Brisbane.

What happens to your number plates when selling a car in QLD depends on the plate type and whether the registration is transferred or cancelled. Standard plates normally stay on the car when the rego moves to the buyer. Personalised and customised plates can be kept, but you need to sort them out with TMR first. Toll tags are always yours to remove.

Do number plates stay with the car when you sell it in QLD?

Yes, standard plates usually do. When a Queensland registered car is sold and the registration is transferred, the buyer takes over the registration and the plates attached to the car stay with it. You don’t keep standard plates, because every number plate issued to a vehicle remains the property of the State of Queensland.

TMR’s number plate ownership page says any plate issued to a vehicle, including personalised and customised plates, stays the property of the State and must be surrendered to TMR if required. For personalised and customised plates, what you own is the number combination, not the physical plate.

On a normal private sale, the steps that matter to you as the seller are:

• Complete Part B of the transfer form. Fill in the seller’s part of the vehicle registration transfer application (F3520) on the day of sale, have the buyer sign it, and keep it until the registration is out of your name (Queensland Government).
• Check the 14-day window. The registration must be transferred within 14 days of the car changing hands, and you may be held accountable for offences committed by the buyer until the transfer is finalised.
• Leave the plates on. Don’t remove standard plates from a car that is being sold registered. The buyer needs them to keep driving it legally.

Our guide to transferring registration after selling a car in QLD walks through the transfer in more detail, and our guide to avoiding scams when selling a car in QLD covers protecting yourself on the day.

What happens to each type of plate when you sell, cancel or scrap?

It comes down to two things: the plate type and whether the registration is being transferred or cancelled. Standard plates go with the car on a transfer and are handed in on a cancellation. Personalised and customised plates can be kept in both cases, but you need to lodge the right TMR form before the car leaves you.

Here’s a quick summary:

Sources: Cancelling your registration, Buying, selling and transferring personalised number plates and About customised number plates, Queensland Government.

If you’re not sure whether to transfer or cancel, think about what the buyer will do with the car. A buyer who will drive it needs the registration and plates. A car going for parts or scrap is usually better off with the rego cancelled, which can also mean a refund of unused registration.

Can you keep your personalised plates when you sell your car?

Yes. Once you buy personalised plates in Queensland, you own the number combination for life, even if you stop using it. To keep them when you sell the car, lodge a remove and/or attach application (F2964) at a transport and motoring customer service centre before the sale. TMR issues standard plates for the car you’re selling.

What you’ll need to remove personalised plates and keep them (Queensland Government):

• Form F2964. The remove and/or attach personalised/customised number plates application, signed by a registered operator and all plate owners.
• Evidence of identity. For one registered operator of the vehicle and all plate owners.
• The standard plate fee, unless an exemption applies. Check the current fee with TMR, as fees change.
• Time to fit the new plates. You must attach the standard plates within 1 day of receiving them.

Personalised Plates Queensland (PPQ), which TMR runs, says you can then keep your plates at home or attach them to another vehicle whenever you’re ready (PPQ).

Selling the plates with the car instead. If the buyer wants the personalised plates too, the buyer brings the usual registration transfer documents plus a personalised number plate transfer application (F2963) signed by you and them, evidence of identity, and the number plate transfer fee unless an exemption applies. Some transfers are fee-exempt, such as a gift to a spouse, parent or child, or a transfer to a beneficiary or executor of a deceased estate (Queensland Government).

Either way, a registration with personalised or customised plates attached can’t be transferred online. It has to be done in person (Queensland Government).

What about customised plates?

Customised plates are standard-style plates you’ve customised, for example to keep the same number or get a slimline or retro plate. They can only be attached to a vehicle registered in exactly the same name as the plate owner, and they can’t be sold. When you sell the car, you either keep them or they become standard plates.

TMR’s rules for customised plates (Queensland Government):

• Keeping them. Replace them with standard plates before you transfer the car, then attach them to another vehicle registered in your name. The remove and attach form (F2964) covers customised plates too.
• Not keeping them. If they’re still on the car when the registration is transferred, they become standard plates.
• Cancelling the rego. You can keep customised plates when you cancel your registration.
• No sale to someone else. Ownership of a customised plate number isn’t transferable.

What happens to your number plates when you cancel rego or scrap a car?

When you cancel a Queensland registration, you lodge the cancellation form (F3517) and hand in the number plates. If the car has 2 plates, both go back, and you get a receipt. You don’t have to surrender personalised or customised plates you’re keeping, lost or stolen plates, or plates from a written-off car.

Practical points from TMR’s cancellation page:

• Where to hand them in. Take the form and plates to a transport and motoring customer service centre, or a QGAP office, Magistrates Court or police station that provides registration services. You can also post the form and plates to TMR’s registration cancellations address in Longreach.
• Email only works without plates. You can email the form only if you’ve already surrendered the plates or don’t need to.
• Refunds. If the rego is current and in your name, you may get a refund of the unused registration and CTP premium, less a cancellation fee.
• Insurer involved? Check with your insurer first, because they may take over the registration as part of a claim.
• Registering interstate. The other state’s authority takes your Queensland plates. Keep the plate surrender receipt and send it with your cancellation form.
• Confiscated plates. If Queensland Police have confiscated the plates, the registration can’t be cancelled during the confiscation period.

Don’t throw old plates in the bin or leave them loose in a car that’s going to the wrecker. They still belong to the State, and handing them in with a receipt gives you a clear record. Our step-by-step guide to cancelling car registration in QLD covers form F3517 and refunds, and our guide to car recycling in QLD explains what happens to a scrapped car.

What should you do with your toll tag and Linkt account?

Take the toll tag out of the car and remove the vehicle from your Linkt account on the day you sell it. TMR’s seller checklist says to remove toll tags and update your details with Linkt. Linkt warns that a sold vehicle stays on your account until you remove it, so you could end up paying someone else’s tolls.

Linkt is the toll payment provider for Queensland toll roads (Queensland Government). Here’s what to do:

• Remove the vehicle. Log in to your Linkt account or app, go to Vehicles and remove the car you’ve sold (Linkt).
• Take the tag with you. A tag links trips to your account, so don’t leave it on the windscreen for the buyer.
• Reuse or return the tag. Linkt tags can’t be cancelled. If you won’t use it in another vehicle of the same class, return it to Linkt or report it lost or stolen so you don’t incur extra fees (Linkt).
• Closing your account? Return all tags when you close it. Linkt can charge a tag non-return fee for tags that aren’t returned.
• Tag from another provider? If your tag is from a different toll operator, return it to that operator.
• Add your next car. If you’re buying another car, add it to your account so its trips are covered.

Removing the tag doesn’t change who is the registered operator. Unpaid toll notices go to the registered owner, so the rego transfer still needs to go through. If a toll notice turns up for a trip after the sale, contact Linkt on 13 33 31 with your sale date and keep Part B of the transfer form handy.

What if your plates are lost, stolen or you don’t have the paperwork?

You can still cancel the registration or sell the car. If one or both plates are lost, stolen or destroyed, declare it in Section 7 of the cancellation form (F3517) instead of handing them in. If the rego papers are missing, you can check the vehicles registered in your name through My registrations.

A few situations we see often:

• One plate missing. Hand in the plate you have and declare the missing one in Section 7 of the form.
• Plates stolen. Declare it on the form. If you think they’ve been stolen, consider reporting it to Queensland Police, since stolen plates can be misused on another car.
• Plates already taken interstate. Use the plate surrender receipt from the other state’s authority.
• Not sure what’s in your name. Log in to My registrations or call TMR on 13 23 80 to check before you sell (Queensland Government).

If the car’s registration has lapsed or you’ve lost the ownership paperwork, our guide to selling a car without papers in QLD explains other ways to show you own it.

How are plates and tolls handled when you sell to A1 Cash for Cars?

We’re a licensed motor dealer, so you don’t need a safety certificate to sell to us. Before we collect or you drop off the car, we’ll explain whether the rego will be transferred or cancelled and what that means for your plates. Sort out any personalised plates first, and take your toll tag out before the car leaves.

What to expect when you sell to us:

• Plates sorted before the sale. If you want to keep personalised or customised plates, lodge form F2964 with TMR before the sale, so the car has standard plates when it changes hands.
• Rego and paperwork. We’ll tell you whether you should cancel the registration yourself or sell the car still registered, and complete the paperwork with you at the time of sale.
• Toll tags and belongings. Remove your toll tag, parking permits and personal items, and update your Linkt account the same day.
• Most conditions considered. We buy running cars as well as old, damaged, non-running and written-off cars, utes, vans and 4WDs. We can often collect written-off cars, subject to ownership, insurer status and safe access.

If you’re also weighing up a dealer trade-in, our guide to trade-in vs cash for cars in QLD compares the two.

Frequently asked questions

Do number plates stay with the car when you sell it in QLD?

Standard plates usually do. When the registration is transferred to the buyer, the plates on the car go with it. You only keep plates if they’re personalised or customised and you’ve lodged form F2964 with TMR to remove them and get standard plates for the car before the sale.

Do I have to hand in my number plates when I cancel my rego?

Usually, yes. You hand in both plates with the cancellation form (F3517) and get a receipt. You don’t have to surrender personalised or customised plates you’re keeping, plates that are lost, stolen or destroyed and declared on the form, or plates from a written-off car.

Can I keep my personalised plates when I sell my car in Queensland?

Yes. Before the sale, lodge form F2964 at a transport and motoring customer service centre with evidence of identity and the standard plate fee, unless an exemption applies. You’ll get standard plates for the car you’re selling, and you can keep the personalised plates or attach them to another vehicle.

Can I sell my car with the personalised plates on it?

Yes. The buyer lodges a personalised number plate transfer application (F2963), signed by both of you, along with the usual registration transfer documents, evidence of identity and the plate transfer fee unless an exemption applies. A registration with personalised plates attached can’t be transferred online, so it’s done in person.

What happens to my plates if my car is scrapped?

If the registration is being cancelled, you hand the plates in with form F3517, unless they’re personalised or customised plates you’re keeping or the car has been written off. Don’t bin them or leave them loose in the car, as the physical plates remain the property of the State of Queensland.

What should I do with my toll tag when I sell my car?

Take the tag out of the car and remove the vehicle from your Linkt account the same day. You can use the tag in your next vehicle of the same class. If you don’t need it, return it to Linkt, because tags can’t be cancelled and fees may apply to tags that aren’t returned.

Who pays tolls if the buyer uses my old tag or the transfer hasn’t gone through?

If your tag is still in the car or the vehicle is still on your Linkt account, tolls may be charged to you. Unpaid toll notices go to the registered owner, so remove the vehicle from Linkt, take the tag, and check the transfer is finalised. Contact Linkt on 13 33 31 about any trips after the sale.

Sources and further reading

• Number plate requirement and ownership, Queensland Government (Transport and Main Roads)
• Cancelling your vehicle registration, Queensland Government (Transport and Main Roads)
• How to transfer a Queensland registered vehicle in person, Queensland Government (Transport and Main Roads)
• How to transfer a Queensland registered vehicle online, Queensland Government (Transport and Main Roads)
• Selling a used vehicle, Queensland Government (Transport and Main Roads)
• About personalised number plates, Queensland Government (Transport and Main Roads)
• Attaching, removing or cancelling personalised number plates, Queensland Government (Transport and Main Roads)
• Buying, selling and transferring personalised number plates, Queensland Government (Transport and Main Roads)
• About customised number plates, Queensland Government (Transport and Main Roads)
• I’ve sold my car. Can I keep my plates?, Personalised Plates Queensland
• Paying tolls, Queensland Government (Transport and Main Roads)
• Add, remove or update vehicles, Linkt
• Return your tag (Brisbane), Linkt

About the author

A1 Cash for Cars Team. A1 Cash for Cars is a licensed motor dealer at 60 Bowhill Rd, Willawong, buying unwanted, damaged and non-running vehicles across South East Queensland. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Plate rules, forms and fees can change, so check the linked official pages or call TMR on 13 23 80 for your situation.

Ready to sell your car?

Call 0400 119 641 or request a quote. Tell us the year, model, kilometres, condition, whether it’s registered and where the car is, and we’ll explain how the rego, plates and paperwork will be handled.