Safety Certificates

Safety Certificates

In Queensland a safety certificate is needed when:

• a registered light vehicle is offered for sale in Queensland
• transferring registration to a new owner
• transferring to Queensland registration from another state or territory, or
• re-registering an unregistered vehicle.

Vehicles requiring a safety certificate are:

• cars
• motorcycles
• trailers (including caravans) with an aggregate trailer mass (ATM) between 750kg and 3,500kg
• any other vehicles up to 4,500kg gross vehicle mass (GVM)

This inspection covers the basic vehicle safety standards for many components, including:

• tyres
• brakes
• steering
• suspension
• body rust or damage
• windscreen
• lights.

The Vehicle  Inspection Guidelines explain how a safety certificate inspection is performed and the reasons a  vehicle may fail an inspection.

A safety certificate inspection is not a comprehensive mechanical inspection on the quality, or life  expectancy of a vehicle. If you are buying a used vehicle, AAG Automotive also offer a complete pre-purchase inspection service giving you piece of mind before you part with your hard earned cash.

Getting a safety certificate

You must obtain a safety certificate before offering a registered vehicle for sale or disposing of a registered vehicle, other than to a dealer.

Approved inspection stations (AIS) such as AAG Automotive, offer vehicle inspections and are the only businesses in Queensland that can issue safety certificates. An AIS will give you either a handwritten certificate or an electronically issued certificate.

When you obtain a handwritten safety certificate, you must display the certificate (or the blue cover label) on a registered light vehicle from the moment you offer it for sale, including when you:

• list the vehicle for sale online
• display that it is for sale in public
• drive the car with a sign in the window offering it for sale, including wording such as ‘Buy me or interested?—Ph 1234 5678’

Inspection fees—safety certificates (handwritten and electronic)

How long are safety certificates valid?

The duration that safety certificates are valid depends on who is selling the vehicle:

• licensed motor dealers—certificates are valid for 3 months or 1,000km (whichever comes first) from the date of issue
• all other sellers—certificates are valid for 2 months or 2,000km (whichever comes first) from the date of issue.

You can use the same safety certificate to register an unregistered vehicle and then transfer the registration, as long as you do this within the limits set out previously.

You will need to get a new safety certificate every time you sell a vehicle, even if you sell it within the limits set out previously. A single safety certificate can be used for 1 transfer only.