Buying and selling · Australia

Personalised plates in Australia: the rules in every state

By the Great Plates team · Updated 14 October 2026 · 19 sources

Australia doesn't have one set of rules for personalised plates. It has eight. Whether you own a plate outright, pay a fee every year, or can sell it to a stranger at all depends on the state that issued it. Here is how each one works, from the official sources.

New South Wales

Personalised plates are sold through myPlates and transferred at Service NSW ^[1]. Transport for NSW keeps ownership of the plates: you hold a right to display them, and a new holder takes over the special number plates agreement on transfer ^[2]. Personalised plates attract an annual fee. Plates bought before September 2003 with no annual fee may start attracting one once they change hands ^[2]. To sell, both parties use the Exchange/Transfer Number Plates form at a Service NSW centre ^[2]. Transport for NSW lists one-off transfer fees of $120 for personalised plates and $257 for customised plates, with numeral-only plates from $254 up to $12,917 for a single digit ^[3].

Victoria

Vplates, part of VicRoads, sells custom plates, and is clear about ownership: "you own that combination" ^[4]. To sell plates separately from the car, swap the vehicle onto general-issue plates first, then lodge the VicRoads transfer of rights form ^[4][5]. Victoria issued over 45,000 custom plates last year, according to Vplates ^[6]. In May 2026 VicRoads auctioned the state's first seven-character plates. FERRARI fetched $328,000 and 8888888 $270,000, with the 12 lots raising more than $2 million ^[7].

Queensland

Personalised Plates Queensland (PPQ) sells the plates, and proceeds help fund government initiatives such as road safety. Once bought, "you will own them for life", even if you move interstate ^[8]. For a private sale, the buyer and seller lodge form F2963 at a customer service centre and pay the transfer fee. Transfers to a spouse, parent or child, or to a deceased estate, are free ^[9].

Western Australia

PlatesWA sells optional plates for the Department of Transport. WA is the strictest state for resale: standard personalised plates do not come with a Certificate of Right to Display and Trade, so they can only go on a vehicle registered to the original holder or an immediate family member (Form E45). Some other optional plate series can be traded ^[10]. Most WA car plates allow 1 to 7 characters ^[11].

South Australia

EzyPlates, run by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, sells personalised plates for a one-off $226. Custom plates carry an annual fee ^[12]. SA personalised plates are six characters, letters followed by numbers. Custom plates allow up to seven ^[13]. Check transfer rules with EzyPlates before you sell.

Tasmania

TasPlates is a partnership between the Tasmanian Government and Plate Impressions. Since 1 March 2007 buyers own the combination, with no annual renewal fees ^[14]. The Transfer Right to Display fee is $39, or $58.60 if you also assign the plates to a vehicle, from 1 July 2026 ^[15]. Most plates take six characters, Prestige Plus seven, and motorcycles five ^[14].

Australian Capital Territory

In the ACT, "numberplates are the property of Access Canberra". You buy the right to display them, which can be transferred for a fee or stored for two months to five years. Rights lapse if storage isn't renewed ^[16]. Personalised plates cost $618.20 to $1,242.60 depending on style ^[17].

Northern Territory

The Motor Vehicle Registry sells personalised plates online or with form R1. Plates remain the Registrar's property and you hold the right to display them. That right is lost if registration has been expired or cancelled for more than 12 months, or the plates have been on hold for more than 12 months ^[18][19].

Selling across state lines

A plate is tied to the state that issued it. A Victorian plate stays a Victorian plate, and in most cases the vehicle it is displayed on must be registered in that state. If you're buying from another state, check that state's rules before you agree a price. Great Plates lists every Australian plate with its state for that reason.

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