The Northern Territory changed its light-vehicle inspection rules on 9 February 2026, and most of the selling advice online hasn't caught up.
Under the current regime, a light vehicle needs an inspection on transfer only if it's seven years old or older — and either the buyer or the seller can obtain it. The certificate is valid six weeks, with unlimited ownership changes inside that window. Inspections also moved off government facilities to authorised private inspectors.
If you read something different, check its date.
Two NT specifics worth knowing: the inspection is negotiable — either party can get it — and it's valid for six weeks, so a recent one from a previous sale may still count.
Does your car need an inspection?
Only if it's a light vehicle seven years or older. The NT publishes a check-if-your-vehicle-needs-an-inspection page that's the authoritative answer for your specific vehicle.
Two things follow from the current rules that are worth using:
Negotiate who pays. Because either party can obtain it, the inspection isn't automatically the seller's cost the way Victoria's roadworthy is. That's a live point in a negotiation.
Check whether a valid certificate already exists. Six weeks of validity with unlimited ownership changes means a certificate from a recent transfer may still be current.
Inspections are now performed by authorised inspectors rather than government facilities, which is the part of the February change most likely to send you to the wrong place if you're following older instructions.
Before you advertise
- Check whether your vehicle needs an inspection — age is the trigger.
- Gather the registration papers and service history.
- Note the odometer reading.
- Deal with any finance owing before you list. A buyer running a PPSR check will find it.
Selling the car
Write a receipt: both names and addresses, the date, the sale price, the registration and VIN, the odometer reading, both signatures. Keep a copy and photograph it.
Take the buyer's details from their driver licence — you need them for the notice of disposal, and a name that doesn't match is a reason to stop.
Lodging the notice of disposal — 14 days
Fourteen days from the sale, using form R06. The NT sets out the former owner's responsibilities explicitly, and they're worth reading — the Territory is direct about what happens if you don't lodge.
Do it the day you sell. Until it's in, the vehicle is registered to you, and infringements follow the registration.
What the buyer does and pays
The buyer applies to transfer ownership — in person, by email or by mail; like the ACT, the NT has no online transfer for private individuals — and pays the transfer fee, currently $20, at the low end nationally.
Stamp duty in the NT is a flat 3% of value, which makes it one of the simpler duty calculations in the country — most states use value bands, Queensland uses cylinder count and the ACT uses emissions. Current registration fees and duty are on the NT Government site.
Number plates
The NT treats the right to display a plate as separate from the vehicle, and publishes a process for transferring the right to display. If you have a plate you want to keep — or one the buyer wants — sort it out before the transfer rather than after.
Insurance
Cancel or transfer your comprehensive cover once the sale is complete and the notice is lodged. Ask your insurer about test drives specifically.
What this means if you're selling on MotorLoop
The inspection and the notice of disposal are between you and the Territory. What we can do is the listing side: listing a car on MotorLoop is free, and buyers message you in the app so your phone number stays private until you choose to share it.